Getting Ready for Winter

I'm off on another one of those overseas sunshine breaks soon and when I get back to the good old UK will be darker in the day and colder.

It got me thinking, this car will never fit into my garage, so it will have to endure the winter elements, so what can I do to help.

Normally, I have a windscreen cover to help reduce the effect of frosts. Think the heated front screen will deal with that with ease.

Now, does anyone remember the paraffin sump heaters, they were round and looked like flying saucers. I used to have one, but don't see them anywhere now. However, in one the the big Garden Centres I've seen similar ones for sale but are called greenhouse heaters. I know the original heater had an anti spill device and some kind of wind protection to prevent being blown out.

What do you think, should I get one, or is there a safety issue?

Mine sat out in the all the weather last winter could throw at it without any cold weather precautions than my normally trusty Maplin solar panel trickle charger. When I got home in February it fired up first press of the starter button. It sat on the drive from mid November through to mid February with only a 30 mile round trip in the middle made by my brother just to keep things from seizing up

I'd leave the paraffin heater well alone. It'd create far too much condensation and possible dampness. Also an absolute fire hazard!

+1 on the paraffin heater.

My last three cars sat outside all year round over the previous 10 or more winters and never failed to start, no matter what the weather or temperature. Mind you, my last three were front wheel drive Audis with wide low profile tyres and getting started was not the problem - moving the was though - no traction whatsoever!!!

I'm sure the 4WD of my Evoque will be a huge improvement there and, with heated leather seats and a heated steering wheel, I'm not anticipating problems on the comfort front either.

+ another on the paraffin heater - if you can buy a tankful of diesel in mid/ late October before you go then it will be winter diesel with additives to prevent waxing
Also your car's cabin heater doesn't use engine heat unlike all the other Land Rovers so in theory ( in real life it isn't quite as fast as claimed) you get hot air out of the heater on start up.

Thanks for the advice.

The Evoque will look after itself then.

Best thing to do in winter is hose down the wheel arches and underside to wash salt off and do it regularly. Otherwise, the Evoque will be fine, Ibfeel certain.

Well I've just been outside to find the car frozen solid! In my greenhouse the max/min thermometer is showing -2c.
So looks like it's time to think about changing to winter tyres and to remember to turn the auto-on wipers back to manual on............................ this morning get in car, press the start button and first thing that happens is the wipers try to give a sweep of an iced up screen before I've even had a chance to press the fast defrost button on the dash...... yesterday here we had 35mm of rain so the roads will be like skating rinks too, I won't be going very far today as I expect there will be lots of holes in the hedgerows where execs on the way to work have tried off-roading their 3series and A4's.

Treat it to a decent wash/detail and put a good protective coat of polish on before winter sets in. ( there are plenty of recomendations on products to use on body/wheels and trim).

If you're in a place where you are likley to be getting in/out of the car a lot with snow/salt on your boots/shoes then a decent set of rubber mats is probably worth the investment. Last year i just bought a set of michelin mats that fitted ok and did the job fine.

+ 1 with Mark, regular hose down on the underside to remove salt residue

+1 on the parafin heater, not needed and far too much of a risk.

if you are going to be away for a number of months rather than weeks you might consider putting a few extra pounds in the tyres and putting the pressures back to normal when you return to help prevent the tyres forming flat spots were they have been in contact with the ground.