cheap winter car options

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stevo55
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cheap winter car options

Post by stevo55 » Mon Nov 19, 2018 7:35 pm

ok so this isn't an RS/S specific topic but figured this is a good place to get some decent opinions.
Currently still have the M3 Competition (fantastic but can be handful in the wet etc) and as we know we had a lucky year for weather so i got to enjoy it for longer! Now that its on the downward spiral am thinking of getting a winter car. I could stick winter tyres on the M (which apparently does make a big difference but its still 450 hp through the back wheels) and risk damage etc (plus winter tyres are coming in at around £1250!) or get a separate car just for the crappy months. Doesn't need to be anything gucci/quick but needs to be AWD and reliable. Budget is probably not more than £4k ish. Candidates so far are:

1. VW Toureg
2. Volvo XC90
3. BMW X5
4. Jeep Cherokee
5. Audi Allroad


The Audi looks pretty good-Jeep and VW I have both driven in snow and they handled very well. A6 Allroad was a suggestion and I've looked at a few and the prices aren't half bad. Yes they will all be over 100k miles but I'm counting on Audi reliability here. Anyone had one and can verify please? Also if anyone can think of anything else then please sound up. Has to be AWD and perform well in winter conditions. Also not too expensive otherwise it starts to make no financial sense.
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Fatneck73
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by Fatneck73 » Mon Nov 19, 2018 7:50 pm

Shogun?

HYFR
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by HYFR » Mon Nov 19, 2018 9:19 pm

Drive the BMW


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MikeFish
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by MikeFish » Mon Nov 19, 2018 11:08 pm

Yeah winter tyres are cheaper than all those options you listed. You can probably pick up some secondhand ones from a forum, gotta be worth a go first and if you don't get on with it sell the tyres on and get a winter car next year.

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skirs6
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by skirs6 » Mon Nov 19, 2018 11:16 pm

Ford Focus with winters happy days. Well it’s my tip carand an estate. Keeping the RS3 nice for the better weather 👍

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V!per
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by V!per » Tue Nov 20, 2018 10:11 am

Winter tyres will give you more than a 4x4 - unless it's 4x4 on winter tyres

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FaisalJ
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by FaisalJ » Tue Nov 20, 2018 10:12 am

The problem with buying something like an XC90 is that you then have to drive an XC90.

Winter tyres I reckon!

What sizes/brand cost £1250? Seems steep


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stevo55
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by stevo55 » Tue Nov 20, 2018 10:55 am

Thanks for the input so far guys, I should have expanded as its a JV with both me and my other half (she drives an M2 and is worried about driving it in the cold and ice).
Tyres I was looking at Conti or Michelin Alpins which seem to be the recommended brands for performance cars. New all four come to around £1200 which really surprised me. The M3 Comp Pack runs on 20's with rear slightly larger than front (285 to 265) so they come in pretty expensive. MP4S would come in at around £900 so there is a difference. Looked on Ebay and whilst there are some almost new ones there that are a lot cheaper they have been repaired (via a dealer) so I'm hesitant to pay for them. As we know the rubber is the only thing that keeps us on the road so it's a wee bit important!
Maths wise (I know this has failed me before) its around £2500 for both cars on decent tyres as opposed to £3-4k for a half decent winter vehicle that we wouldn't mind if it dings into curbs etc. That balances things out more price wise and we'll both go halves. Plus its less wear and tear and mileage on the Beemers through the winter.
I'm veering towards a 4 x 4 however Allroad also seems to perform well. I hear you about the XC90 though.......'school run special' has been mentioned a few times but its basically to get us to work and back and be able to drive instead of having the car just dig in as my old M cars of old did. Having said that I never had winter tyres!
On that how much difference would winter tyres on a 4 x 4 make?. It would be another consideration because if I then had to shell out extra for great big 4 x 4 tyres it starts getting out of budget...
2015 C7 RS6 Misano Red Performance Plus and unicorn miles
2012 Land Rover Defender XS Utility Full Tweaked Spectre conversion
2018 B9 RS5 coupe. Milltek Non-Res Exhaust. now gone
2017 BMW M3 Comp Pack.
2015 A45 AMG.Overrated POS.
2016 C7 RS6 Panther black.
2009 C6 RS6 phantom black saloon. Milltek
2012 BMW M135i 3 door. MP brakes and AC Schnitzer springs. JB4 tuning box
2006 BMW Z4M Roadster.
2004 Alpina Roadster.
2001 BMW 330 ci convertible.
1994 E34 M5 Saloon

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Ian_C
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by Ian_C » Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:01 am

Winter tyres first, four wheel drive second



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atayHQYqA3g

One of the best comparison videos I've seen in a while. Although it doesn't mention at the point the car on winter tyres has stopped from 30mph, the car on summer tyres sails past still doing 20-25mph with its ABS going click click click....

A VW Toe-rag, Volvo XC90 or BMW X5 will be horrific in the snow with their gigantic low-profile summer tyres.

Buy a banger? My B5 A4 2.8 quattro came with factory 16s, and I ran it with two sets of Avus 17s (scruffy sets can be had for about 100 quid now), a matching set of summer tyres, and a matching set of winter tyres. Bought the car for 1000 quid, sold it for 1000 quid four years later, and I still have the winters, they are on my B7 now for a few months whilst the 18s it came with are off the car for refurb

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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by Eddie555 » Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:26 am

In Feb/March this year, whilst I was waiting for my new Q7 to arrive, I’d bought an 2007 A3 Tdi as a run around. It snowed quite bad ,if you remember, and I was totally shocked how well the little banger got up and down hills and just ploughed through the snow as easy any 4x4 I’ve owned. I drove it around for 3 months and sold it for £300 more than I paid for it. Ps and it had Kwik fit budget specials on it which were as good as new.
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Ian_C
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by Ian_C » Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:53 am

Eddie555 wrote:
Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:26 am
In Feb/March this year, whilst I was waiting for my new Q7 to arrive, I’d bought an 2007 A3 Tdi as a run around. It snowed quite bad ,if you remember, and I was totally shocked how well the little banger got up and down hills and just ploughed through the snow as easy any 4x4 I’ve owned. I drove it around for 3 months and sold it for £300 more than I paid for it. Ps and it had Kwik fit budget specials on it which were as good as new.
Your mate not running it now? I thought you bought it for him to use it after your Q7 turned up
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Eddie555
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by Eddie555 » Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:08 pm

Ian_C wrote:
Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:53 am
Eddie555 wrote:
Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:26 am
In Feb/March this year, whilst I was waiting for my new Q7 to arrive, I’d bought an 2007 A3 Tdi as a run around. It snowed quite bad ,if you remember, and I was totally shocked how well the little banger got up and down hills and just ploughed through the snow as easy any 4x4 I’ve owned. I drove it around for 3 months and sold it for £300 more than I paid for it. Ps and it had Kwik fit budget specials on it which were as good as new.
Your mate not running it now? I thought you bought it for him to use it after your Q7 turned up
Nah. He decided not to have it. But he knew someone that wanted it so I sold it to his mate. It’s still going strong and the new owner has never had such a nice car. He loves it and polish’s it weekly.
Current ride’s
Q7 Floret Silver Black Edition On 22’s (2018)
Renault Clio 172 Cup. (Babe the track pig)

Previous rides
SQ5 Glacier white( 2016 65reg)
RS6 avant C7 Daytona Grey 2015 facelift. The one I waved goodbye to!!
2013: Q7 3.0 tdi s/line plus ibis white (13reg)
2012: S5 cabriolet glacier white (62 reg)
2011: RS4 saloon B7. Avus (57 reg)

k5vmc
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by k5vmc » Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:23 pm

I had my M4 during the winter time was ace fun but i had the shogun as a daily

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Weiß-sechs
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by Weiß-sechs » Tue Nov 20, 2018 3:49 pm

Ian_C wrote:
Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:01 am
Winter tyres first, four wheel drive second
Buy a banger?
^^^This. My trusty old C4 S6 is virtually unstoppable on winter tyres. One of my fave tests of how capable she is in snow is to stop halfway up a very steep, snow and slush covered road, release the hand brake to free roll backwards a metre or so and then power up the hill from a rolling (backward) start...great fun :kissmyrings:

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Shoppinit
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Re: cheap winter car options

Post by Shoppinit » Tue Nov 20, 2018 3:59 pm

Ian_C wrote:
Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:01 am
A VW Toe-rag, Volvo XC90 or BMW X5 will be horrific in the snow with their gigantic low-profile summer tyres.
Yeah, my XC90 was great fun in the snow with summer tyres, but I couldn't recommend it as a practical form of getting around. The AWD helps you get going where other cars get stranded, but the stopping distance and handling is no better than a 2WD. With winter tyres it would be a completely different story.

As others have said, winter tyres before 4x4.
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