Winter safety and new car

carlazai

carlazai

carlazai

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Joined
16 Feb 2007
Posts
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As most of you know it’s been a miserable week for weather. Snow, ice, typhoon style rain, and high winds.

I'm still in the market for a new car to replace the 306 and these weather conditions have really pushed it forward. In the next 2 week I get some money so I will have ~£8k to spend on a car with money left over for insurance and running repairs.

Now I want a car that is safer in these weather conditions and I don’t think a hatchback will cut it imo (you can argue about the numbers, it’s just my feelings). Now I’ve looked on pistonheads and auotrader and you come back with the same things: BMWs, Mondeos, and Saabs. I'm open but I’m not a fan of the mondeo design, I know the engines are great.

I need a car with xenon lights, great handling, and good safety features. Can you point me in the right direction of a few examples that I can work with. If possible close to Milton Keynes. Thanks for any help with all this.
 
If you don't need a hatchback, and you're buying second hand, a saloon is the way to go.

They - on a whole - depreciate considerably more than hatchbacks.
 
Well if you are buying a car based on weather paranoia don't buy a BMW, it's rear wheel drive so if its snowy or icy then you will die in a huge crash. So you need something FWD or 4WD.

Subaru Forester is a good shout, perhaps something like... oh just get a Mondeo. They are perfect :p
 
Dont they have all sorts of magic to stop you losing control in snow and ice? Last time i saw germany it wasnt exactly tropical in the east
 
carlazai said:
Dont they have all sorts of magic to stop you losing control in snow and ice? Last time i saw germany it wasnt exactly tropical in the east
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Well yea but they are still frankly useless in the snow. Germany sells a lot of, say, 330Xi's for a reason - they are 4wd. They are not offered over here unfortunately.
 
Tbh buying a car because of a light frost some mornings is silly, doesn't matter what traction control computers you have, if you hit a patch of black ice going around a corner the computer 'might' save you from spining but you're still going to sail straight ahead, nothing except snow tyres can correct this.

I'm not saying the OP is, but i love how people get all worried because of a slight bit of snow or Ice and the country comes to a hault, perhaps better driving tests would fix a lot of this.

Anyways computers aside, given your worry you want something FWD or 4WD not RWD.
 
You could get a decent 9-3 Aero, but I wouldn't spend £8k on one. Very safe cars in a crash but apart from ESP it would be the same as most FWD cars in bad weather.

Best of going 4WD if your worried about snow / ice.
 
I might have overplayed the snow and ice a bit. It was the rain + winds + dark that got me a little worried in the 306. I felt that something more modern and larger would give me piece of mind for those conditions.
 
If you have an Audi S-Line diesel Quattro you can do 90mph in really heavy rain and stuff.

Well all the ones on the M5 do anyway. Must be an S-Line for that, though.
 
Actually, TBH, the best car I've driven in snow was a 999cc FIAT Uno. Small hatches on miniature tyres are well suited to the white stuff.

Stopping on wet ground... Not so epic.
 
carlazai said:
Why wouldnt you spend 8K on one? Are they prone to going to wrong or is it too cheap?
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Because I haven't got £8k to spend. :D

Nah I'm looking for one myself and I've seen some nices ones around £6k. You could get a better one for £8k but don't expect it to hold its value.
 
Get a Volvo, works for the Swedes and will probably come with heated seats, the greatest addition to automotive transport since the wheel.

Plus, being a Volvo you can crash it into stuff if you get bored.
 
You're afraid of the snow, wind and rain? Grow a pair please. You don't deserve to be driving if something like a bit of wind and rain scares you.
 
I see a fair few pages coming up here...

Audi Quattro i suppose is for you, or a Mondeo, or a Pair of Skis and Boots <- much cheaper.
 
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