Cars that are great in the snow with low uk car tax?

GolfBravo

bushranger31 wrote: »

Hi all, can anyone recommend a used car that can easily deal with snowy and icey roads with low uk road taxes ? As a lot 4x4 have high road taxes , I would like a estate please help

Find a low tax front wheel drive estate that you like. Then buy a set of winter tyres and use them from November till about late February.

interstellaflyer

GolfBravo wrote: »

Find a low tax front wheel drive estate that you like. Then buy a set of winter tyres and use them from November till about late February.

I live in a rural area and at the top of a hill, the last 2 bad snowfalls I managed my 20 mile each way commute in a Vauxhall Astra H Life 1.3 CDTi Estate without any problem, even passing a Range Rover in a ditch one morning, sometimes driving skill and driving to the conditions are better than booting it in a fancy 4 x 4.

Notmyrealname

bushranger31 wrote: »

Hi all, can anyone recommend a used car that can easily deal with snowy and icey roads with low uk road taxes ? As a lot 4x4 have high road taxes , I would like a estate please help

You don't need a 4x4 to drive in snow. What you do need are the proper tyres and the ability to drive.

mikey72

Just tyres works for me.

And then only two, not four.

And they're on the front.

Welsh_Exile

mikey72 wrote: »

Just tyres works for me.

And then only two, not four.

And they're on the front.

This is a very stupid and dangerous thing to do.
You need to have winter tyres on all four wheels, not just the driven ones. You might drive sensibly and think it's OK with just the two but if you have to stand on the brakes or change direction in an emergency you will probably lose control.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdtAm7RsTmE

the relevant bit starts at the 1:25 mark - and that's with two winters and two all-seasons.

vaio

winter tyres on one end might be better than nothing but winters on both ends will be better still, throw in four wheel drive too and you are at the top of the tree

skivenov

Nah, knowing what you're doing is a far better advantage than 4wd any day.

Trust me, I've witnessed someone pull into an icey sideroad driving an X5, realise it was icey, brake, and skate down the road sideways.

Hintza

As has been said tyres are king and if you don't want winter tyres then a car with skinny tyres will do the job. Even a 2wd Panda is pretty good in the snow. The only time we have come unstuck is when the snow drift lifts the wheels off the ground!

redux

I agree with the comments that having winter tyres will have more influence than other factors.

As well as that, have four not only two winter tyres, and note that as a general principle tyre manufacturers and vendors recommend that the better pair of tyres should be at the rear.

Strider590

I recall 2 years ago in all heavy snow, it was the small hatchbacks that were fairing the best.... Add winter tyres to that and I reckon you'd make all the Chelsea tractor drivers look like even bigger idiots.