W124 220 in the winter?
Discussion
No, no you won't. I've driven a Volvo 740 and 318 Is through some our harshest recent winters and can only re-iterate the point that any car is fine if you keep going, drive sympathetically and don't do anything stupid. The W124 is heavy and the 220 version is pretty low powered both of which will work to your advantage. Torquier cars spin their wheels more readily. I found the work turbodiesels to be much worse than my old bangers.
All this stuff about 4x4s is not necessary. We live in Britain where it's never that bad. I drove along country lanes where the snow was up to the sump (felt the car lift up a few times) and just kept going. Grin and bear it.
All this stuff about 4x4s is not necessary. We live in Britain where it's never that bad. I drove along country lanes where the snow was up to the sump (felt the car lift up a few times) and just kept going. Grin and bear it.
I managed 3 Scottish winters in a W211 220 estate with silly wide wheels with low profile tyres, didn't crash, didn't get stuck anywhere that a shovel couldn't get me out of, didn't get stranded and die of hypothermia 
Put a shovel and a couple of bags of sand in the boot, its the UK, not Russia
ETA I say sand in the boot instead of cement as if you get stuck on ice/hard packed snow, you can open the bags of sand, spread a couple of shovelfuls around the rear wheels, and off you go
Put a shovel and a couple of bags of sand in the boot, its the UK, not Russia
ETA I say sand in the boot instead of cement as if you get stuck on ice/hard packed snow, you can open the bags of sand, spread a couple of shovelfuls around the rear wheels, and off you go
My W124 200TE was a bit hairy on icy roads - I would suggest winter tyres are worth looking into. Even sauntering along at steady speeds on some fresh snow I found the back end just twitch away several times.. was certainly a trial by fire for RWD in snow and ice.
On the plus side, the empty work car park with a fresh layer of snow was quite substantial entertainment
On the plus side, the empty work car park with a fresh layer of snow was quite substantial entertainment
Chicane-UK said:
My W124 200TE was a bit hairy on icy roads - I would suggest winter tyres are worth looking into. Even sauntering along at steady speeds on some fresh snow I found the back end just twitch away several times.. was certainly a trial by fire for RWD in snow and ice.
On the plus side, the empty work car park with a fresh layer of snow was quite substantial entertainment
On the plus side, the empty work car park with a fresh layer of snow was quite substantial entertainment
nobrakes said:
Just get good Tyres , it's an auto, or would I be struggling? I'm sure millions of Germans did fine in them. Stick a couple of bags of cement in the boot ?
Winter tyres (see your owsners handbook for correct size) & ballast in the boot, as you have suggested - about 80kg seemed to work for me. And the auto is switcable, as no doubt you know. Happy winter! Some w124s and some w201s will have ASD, an electronically controlled diff that can lock up to as much as 100% only below ~26mph. I don't suppose you have that? I wonder what this is like in the snow? Presumably more locking = more grip, or is it not that simple? Presumably it also means more accidental drifting? Fun sometimes, but not always.
I tried testing it on video once, results were inconclusive:
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8945178...
I tried testing it on video once, results were inconclusive:
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8945178...
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