Icy and snow covered roads

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hollyrescue

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We are going away at a time when icy roads and snow are likely. Which car do we take, both cars have standard tyres, traction control and are similar in all those toys. The Volvo is heavy and comes from the land of ice and snow, the A2 is light and doesn't. Which would you use and why. don't suggest changing tyres, it's a far too expensive option.
My longest trip in really icy conditions (300 miles of it)was in an Alpine, not too much of a problem with the car, but I'm sure my hair turned white. It was so bad that I stopped at Scotch Corner only to meet a motor cycle courier who had just driven up from St Albans, and was on his way back again, and this was all overnight. What I used to do to earn a crust!
 
Holly - personally I would use the A2, my reasons being that where I live we have a lot of snow and because its on the outskirts of a town the roads are never gritted or ploughed, Ive found the A2 drives suprisingly well in the snow, has more grip than my last car, Ford focus.

My dad on the other hand drives a brand new Volvo V70 estate and although it does cope well with the bad weather, if the car starts to skid, because its a long car, the rear can sometimes end up in the other lane.

[2002] | 1.4 | azure blue | 2 tone leather | concert II single cd.
Member of A2OC site.
http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk12.htm
 
Holly, I assume your Volvo is rear wheel drive, in which case I'd take the A2 because it's front wheel drive. I'd prefer to drive a front wheel drive car any day of the week in slippery conditions, traction or not.

From experience, it's a fine line between the back end breaking away or not in a rear wheel drive vehicle. At least with front wheel drive it's not so bad.

I've done courier work too. Some of my most memorable trips include Manchester to Ashford, Kent (bike) late on a Friday afternoon. Leicester to Brighton & Hove and on to Polpero, Cornwall also on a Friday evening (van) to name but a few. Those were the days.....

Nov 2002 TDi Sport, Silver,Black/grey interior,climate. Replaced previous Mar 2001 TDi SE
 
I'd say the Volvo. Not nice to say, but if it does get nasty will the Volvo hold up better against some other twit coming at you?

For a minor shunt, would the Volvo be cheaper to repair?

As the Volvo is heavier will it grip better in snow?

Steve - 2002 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior, Then an identical replacement 2003 A2. Now a Toyota Corolla 1.6 T-Spirit
 
Some interesting replies there, keep 'em coming. The Volvo is Front wheel drive V70 2.5T. I thought that in a shunt after a slide, the Volvo would possibly keep us safer, and be cheaper to replace (like for like). I could live without the Volvo until I need to move the caravan again, noot so easy to do without the A2. I'd like to see some replies like Mal2002 from drivers to whom ice and snow is a common occurence.
I used to drive a heavy motorcycle to work every, very unfunny indeed on ice, I'll tell you about it over a pint one day. Why go on the bike? I couldnt afford to go by train, then Ken Livingstone changed everything with his fares policy. He probably saved my life.
So far it's 2 to 1 in favour of the A2, I promise to use the one which comes out top on this forum.
 
I agree with Steve. I love my A2, however sometimes I do feel a little vunerable in it. I grew up with Volvo's and for the obvious reasons, always feel safer in them.

Kaine
 
Just when you were talking A2´s and safety:
One of the german A2 forum members just crashed his 1.2TDI, a ghost driver smashed head on into the A2 at 70 kph, I don´t know what happened to the other driver, but the A2´s occupants were unharmed. I think the A2 is a very safe car.

Bye, Frido.

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[img=left]http://homepage.mac.com/frido/a2pic.gif[/img=left]
A2 1.4 TDI 2003 S-Line, cobalt blue, CC, DIS, SatNav+, Apple iPod
now parents' car: A2 1.2 TDI 2002 silver, CC, DIS
My A2OC pics Homepage
 
quote:Originally posted by frido

...a ghost driver smashed head on...
Click to expand...
Please forgive my ignorance [:I] - but what's a ghost driver? A driver that's recently deceased?

[img=left]http://www.santorini.dsl.pipex.com/a2_avatar.gif[/img=left]Mark.
2003 Azure Blue 1.6 FSI SE

OpenSky | Climate Control | DIS | Isofix + brat | Space-Floor-Box
ERW | Symphony II | Winter Pack | Auto-Dimming Rear View Mirror
 
Mark,
I think this a (incorrect) literal translation made by Frido. He's German. And I'm Dutch. And in Dutch (which borrows a lot from German and vice versa) we use the word spookrijder' to indicate a car that is driving in the wrong lane (and therefore also in the wrong direction).
And the English word for 'spook' could be 'ghost'.
So there you have it ;)

And no, I cannot offer you the right word for it either. Can't seem to find it anywhere!

--
Edo
(2003 Silver 1.4 Tdi Exclusive(SE), black interior, sport seats, heated mirrors, JVC KD-SH909RB cd-receiver, Infinity Kappa 63.1 + Vifa on-dash tweeters, 12" Subwoofer on 300w Amp)
 
car in the wrong lane you say?

In that case the word you are probably looking for is "idiot"

:)
 
The ones in the wrong lane normally are about 75 years old, eye line just over the dashboard and have never taken a test.....;)

Steve - 2002 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior, Then an identical replacement 2003 A2. Now a Toyota Corolla 1.6 T-Spirit
 
Oops... sorry, I did not know the correct english term for people who drive in the wrong direction on motorways...:)

Bye, Frido.

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[img=left]http://homepage.mac.com/frido/a2pic.gif[/img=left]
A2 1.4 TDI 2003 S-Line, cobalt blue, CC, DIS, SatNav+, Apple iPod
now parents' car: A2 1.2 TDI 2002 silver, CC, DIS
My A2OC pics Homepage
 
Usually they are know as 'Joyriders' or 'Grandparents'.
The Grandparents are the scourge of safety as they have to think long and hard about which pedal to press to make the car speed up or slow down - usually with disastrous consequences.

There just seem to be a lot of Octogenarians driving around at 20MPH (on ALL roads), bouncing off kerbs and generally more worried about their beaded seat cover than the small child playing at the side of the road.
No offense meant to any Grandparents reading this - just a generalisation of some of my observations.

Don't drink drive! Not only is it socially unaceptable, it also harms A2's.
Was a 1.4SE petrol. http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk14.htm http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/safety.htm
New A2 - Ebony Black, Red Leather, CC, Symphony + all the previous options we had.
 
Thanks for the translation, Edo... [24]

quote:Originally posted by Rob Earl

There just seem to be a lot of Octogenarians driving around at 20MPH (on ALL roads), bouncing off kerbs and generally more worried about their beaded seat cover than the small child playing at the side of the road.
Click to expand...
Indeed... like the elderly couple that surprised me on the inside lane of the M6 last night. In less-than-brilliant weather conditions they were trundling along at 40mph showing only sidelights* with the obligatory grandchild standing in the back - hands on the front headrests. Sorry for going off-topic but this sort of natural-selection by proxy really irritates me :(

* car was a MkIV Golf but its rear lights were dim like sidelights. Sounds more like an electrical fault...?

[img=left]http://www.santorini.dsl.pipex.com/a2_avatar.gif[/img=left]Mark.
2003 Azure Blue 1.6 FSI SE

OpenSky | Climate Control | DIS | Isofix + brat | Space-Floor-Box | Satellite Cloth
Electric Rear Windows | Symphony II | Winter Pack | Auto-Dimming Rear View Mirror
 
frido means those people who drive on the wrong way down a dual carriageway, without necessarily realising it. happens quite a lot here for some reason, i suspect it has to do with the truly awful road signage and not a lot of lit "no entry" signs.
about the snow / ice stuff: hey, i like front wheel drive, but i'm used to it. it means you can power your way out of "trouble", whereas rear wheel drive tends to make it worse. Have you tried playing with the volvo on badly surfaced roads when it's wet and there are leaves everywhere? are you happy with doing this? you should be in the A2 when you've turned traction control off, otherwise it oversteers badly (i'm still on 17" wheels at the moment); without traction control it becomes real fun, as it's controllable and steerable with your right foot. with a certain amount of practice, and when you /*know*/ where the roads are slippery....:)))) i'd wager the volvo feels slightly safer, but i'd rather put my a2 in a ditch than my wife's 307, simply because i drive it more and therefore understand better what's going to happen. ah yes, how's the turbo lag on the v70? is there a hole? fancy driving "round" it?

simple thoughts, making things complicated, no?

just my two penn'orth

Bret

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2002, Petrol 1.4, 17", sports suspension, OpenSky, leather / alcantara in iceblue
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I thought we had got over this "Ageist" rubbish...obviously not.

No appreciable lag on the turbo, in fact it goes like **** off a shovel.

I feel I am in the wrong company as I am "old" (elderly?), a "grandparent", a "Volvo" owner (with sidelights). But I can see over the dashboard and have taken a test and I don't use a mobile phone whilst driving. I've also trained approx 400 motorcyclists and 10 motorists to pass a test, with not one failure. That makes you old! If you really want to do a Clarkson on me, I also own a caravan!!! So now you can really put the boot in.
I am beginning to feel unworthy amongst all the A2 geniuses (Iknow it's genii, but you may not). Of course if you side with Clarkson , then I KNOW I am in the wrong club. Now VBH, that's different.
Just kidding, well not really.
Mal, you can still be my friend.
 
If we sided with Clarkson then none of us would have bought A2s in the first place... unless we wanted rocking to sleep.[8D]

[img=left]http://www.santorini.dsl.pipex.com/a2_avatar.gif[/img=left]Mark.
2003 Azure Blue 1.6 FSI SE

OpenSky | Climate Control | DIS | Isofix + brat | Space-Floor-Box | Satellite Cloth
Electric Rear Windows | Symphony II | Winter Pack | Auto-Dimming Rear View Mirror
 
hollyrescue

we all love you because you shop at Tesco, so no hard feeling. Got any value Jaffa cakes on the go?

Steve - 2002 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior, Then an identical replacement 2003 A2. Now a Toyota Corolla 1.6 T-Spirit
 
Or we could pick on Norfolk drivers-they are just weird.....and many don't shop at Tesco......poor devils..

Steve - 2002 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior, Then an identical replacement 2003 A2. Now a Toyota Corolla 1.6 T-Spirit
 
okay, so this means the v70 shouldn't be an issue. and if i remember correctly, you have something like 200bhp and FWD, so therefore it should be pretty cool in the snow. plus more space for cheap beer....[:p]

and as far as the other stuff is concerned:
a) grandparents are really useful;)
b) sidelights are cool (i need to work out where they're going on my A2, and i'm serious)
c) you have to have style. you've ignored clarkson, and you run an a2. do we really need more evidence?

Bret

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2002, Petrol 1.4, 17", sports suspension, OpenSky, leather / alcantara in iceblue
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