S-Type remarkebly good in snow!

[V88Dicky]

Hi folks. We've had snow on the ground here in the NorthEast since Wednesday, and I'd just like to say how good the Jag has been so far.
It's the wife's car and initially she was terrified of driving it in the snow, mostly due to some select assholes at her work, giving it the old 'ooh, that'll be awful in the snow 'cos its rear wheel drive etc etc'.
Anyway, the first drive out in the snow proved the car to be very good, with minimal slippage and the t/c cutting in very seldomly. Now I must admit, it has got newish tyres with plenty of tread, but they are only summer tyres as far as I can tell.
My daily hack Fiesta by comparison, is like a new born deer, wobbling and slipping all over! The naysayers have been very quiet at work as the wife gets there on time and unflustered.

Anyone else coping easily in the snow with their RWD Jaguar?

[V88Dicky]

John D9395 said:

I drive an S type, and after the last lot of snow we had, I very quickly decided it was the worst car I have ever driven in the snow.

I am guessing you did all your driving on the flat if you found it so good?

Put the S Type on an upward slope, and you will be lucky to reach the top, going down hill, due to the weight & the wide tyres, it's like a sledge with no steering!

Best solution in the snow is to leave it in the garage!

Plenty of slopes, both up and down. Just saying it seems better than some cars I've seen lately. It will happily crawl along in drive, when several fwd superminis I witnessed, just sat there with their wheels spinning, and that was on a level surface!

Its probably all the junk my missus keeps in the boot!

[V88Dicky]

^^^WHS^^^


Its all about the tyres folks.

I've fitted winter tyres to my daily work hack and it's completely changed the characteristics of the car. I can reverse up and off a snowy driveway without any problems at all, which is just as well 'cos I'm fed up of scraping it clear of snow.

Oh and by the way, the missus has managed to get into work (30 mile round trip) every day for over a week in her S-Type V8S without getting stuck, unlike some of her work colleagues in their BMWs/Audis/MINIs/what have you.

(A set of snow socks are kept in the boot just in case)

Edited by V88Dicky on Friday 3rd December 09:08

[V88Dicky]

CHJ said:

V88Dicky said:

^^^WHS^^^


Its all about the tyres folks.

I've fitted winter tyres to my daily work hack and it's completely changed the characteristics of the car. I can reverse up and off a snowy driveway without any problems at all, which is just as well 'cos I'm fed up of scraping it clear of snow.

Oh and by the way, the missus has managed to get into work (30 mile round trip) every day for over a week in her S-Type V8S without getting stuck, unlike some of her work colleagues in their BMWs/Audis/MINIs/what have you.

(A set of snow socks are kept in the boot just in case)

Edited by V88Dicky on Friday 3rd December 09:08

Might be worth a try, as the Vredesteins poor cold weather traction is hopeless. Looking at the tyres available (255/40/18) they are quite expensive (although better than having an accident). Do you think it would be okay to have the winter tyres on the rear only? Its the traction getting going in a straightline that I'm having a problem with.

Can't see a problem having them on the driven wheels only, that's the set up I've got on the Fiesta, and it's working fine.

[V88Dicky]

cardigankid said:

I have been using my S-Type a bit more in the current cold spell. bearing in mind it has just had 4 new tyres (not bad after 30,000 miles) and I am not taking it anywhere stupid, it has performed surprisingly well.

I think the car's weight helps, but it really is very good. BMW's used to be shocking in even a light frost, because they were RWD and light. The Jag is heavier. I also think that the stability control is particularly good at sorting out little issues before they become big skids.

Don't forget, the S-Type has the battery in the boot, as well as the spare wheel, a fuse box and other assorted ancillaries. My mate's 320d has runflats and hasn't even got a spare wheel well!