Evoque v Merc v Q5

And Audi Q3 is made by Seat in Spain...

(09-10-2011 02:44am)Spiderman Wrote:  Having owned an X5 I can testify that it's a terrible car in the snow, it fish tails without provocation and those of you that are making the jump to a LR product will be so very glad you did if we have another horrendous winter season....as it's been forecast to be

This is the very reason that got me thinking about changing my car. My X5 is frighteningly bad in the snow and ice, especially with two small children in the car. One year and much to my embarassment Mr Alibeau had to come to 'rescue' me and our girls in his RRS. At this point Mr AB suggested I switch to a RRS but the Evoque came along in the nick of time Fingers crossed it arrives before the snow does!

Ali

If not my current one will be for sale in Dec when my next one arrives

Land Rovers and Range Rovers do not hold an exemption from getting stuck in the snow so don't take the mick out of other brands for their lack of performance in snow and on slippery roads. ..................... it is just as easy to get one on road biased tyres stuck as any other car - what sorts out the good drivers from the less good is how they get unstuck and any preparations they may have taken before the winter like fitting winter tyres! If you don't believe me just do a search in D3/RRS and FFRR forums and you will see many members had some very scary moments in the snow because they were not prepared for it. It's a good reason for going on an LR Experience special training day. There is an X5 in the village where I live - it never got snowed in once last winter - the owner was running it on proper winter tyres instead of the 22" ULP tyres he runs on in the summer. It was he who had the last laugh when he pulled the local GP driving his Disco3 out of a snow drift. Friend of mine has a a high end Subaru WRX with 4WD, supposed to be a good car in the snow............... he puts his in his garage at the first sign of snow and takes to the roads in his Suzuki Jimny shod with ATR's for the winter

(09-10-2011 12:53pm)XFullFatTim Wrote:  Land Rovers and Range Rovers do not hold an exemption from getting stuck in the snow so don't take the mick out of other brands for their lack of performance in snow and on slippery roads. ..................... it is just as easy to get one on road biased tyres stuck as any other car - what sorts out the good drivers from the less good is how they get unstuck and any preparations they may have taken before the winter like fitting winter tyres! If you don't believe me just do a search in D3/RRS and FFRR forums and you will see many members had some very scary moments in the snow because they were not prepared for it. It's a good reason for going on an LR Experience special training day. There is an X5 in the village where I live - it never got snowed in once last winter - the owner was running it on proper winter tyres instead of the 22" ULP tyres he runs on in the summer. It was he who had the last laugh when he pulled the local GP driving his Disco3 out of a snow drift. Friend of mine has a a high end Subaru WRX with 4WD, supposed to be a good car in the snow............... he puts his in his garage at the first sign of snow and takes to the roads in his Suzuki Jimny shod with ATR's for the winter

We considered buying winter tyres for mine but at the time of the 'rescue' we were both running on standard 20" tyres...... Mr AB had no problems at all in the snow/ice and so didn't consider winter tyres for his RRS

I guess we will see how we get on this winter

Thanks for your reply Tim.

Ali

Tim

I live in the rural countryside atop a hill a mile or so off B class roads and I have never had any problems in the snow in any RR or LR vehicle I have owned in the last 30 years on it's standard tyres and that includes the horrendous winters we have endured over the last 2 years, it naturally helps that I am a very experienced & highly qualified driver who is well prepared for the trials that the winter season brings & that I drive accordingly, that's not to say there won't be a first time though!

However, I must applaud you for recommending winter tyres and the fitting of them to the Evoque as it's a different breed of LR product and its standard tyres are heavily road biased as that can only improve its ability come the wintertime, so I too would also highly recommend that anyone with this vehicle fits them as although it's a 4x4 please don't think that this means it will automatically get you anywhere come the snow and icy weather, it just means its 4 wheels will drive whatever tyres you have fitted and after the last couple of years appalling conditions, and another one forecast this year, it makes absolute sense to best prepare yourselves & fit winter tyres to this car to give you the best chance of getting to where you need safely!

I have zero experience in this area and so have always kept schtum on these threads. However, just interested to know, are you saying that the mud and snow tyres fitted as standard are effectively useless in the snow? Is that not somewhat of a misnomer, then?

(09-10-2011 02:41pm)SW6RR Wrote:  I have zero experience in this area and so have always kept schtum on these threads. However, just interested to know, are you saying that the mud and snow tyres fitted as standard are effectively useless in the snow? Is that not somewhat of a misnomer, then?

The Dynamic Evoque model are fitted with road tyres, they are not M&S rated at all so they will need winter tyres fitting if you want to be completely sure footed.

However, I believe the Standard wheels fitted to the Prestige and Pure models all have M&S tyres fitted and as these should be the same as those fitted to my wife's FL2 tyres they will be absolutely fine, BUT, if you have upgraded to 20" wheels best check they are rated M&S as I rather suspect they won't be and will be road based tyres just like the Dynamics and if this is the case then yes you'll need winter tyres if you want to be sure footed!

Standard fit tyres in the UK are usually referred to as Summer Tyres. M&S standard fit tyres are usually Summer Tyres which means they are designed to work best at temperatures above about 7Celsius. Winter tyres on the other hand are optimised for temperatures below 7Celsius.
Standard fit M&S tyres will give you better grip than standard tyres fitted to normal road going cars but will not be as effective in snow as M&S Winter rated tyres. In answer to the question standard M&S tyres are not effectively useless in snow and 8/10 will keep you going providing you drive with care and adjust your driving for the conditions but Winter M&S will probably keep you going 10/10. My FL2 on standard 17 inch Continental M&S tyres was fine last winter.

Always worth remembering that no matter what tyres you fit the amount of rubber in contact with the ground remains the same and if you have no grip on all four wheels even with Terrain Response, DSC, Traction Control, etc you might struggle to get going again. Having seen a LR doing an indicated 20 mph while not moving as all four wheels were spinning I know it's possible to get stuck. However, it was also possible to get unstuck by good driving technique. Go along to a LR Experience Day when the ground is suitably wet and muddy and they'll show you the techniques for keeping you out of trouble.

Having owned two freelander 2s both on 19s and 18s with the standard tyre I have never had a problem in the snow. Car park at work is on a hill and its always like a sheet of ice, so every year the freelander performs it's little party trick, stop half way and then pull away again with limited well spin. Always puts a big on my face. But as has been said they are not fool proof, it's always best to be well prepared.