Well today was definitely an experience! On the flat the car handled very well. The ease at which the engine maintains a low speed and (I'm assuming) the weight of the car meant that I could carry on driving consistently and slowly while I could see others in front of me spin their wheels.
Where it got interesting was the relatively steep hill very close to my house. There's a 90 degree turn (T junction) at the bottom so I couldn't take a run up, but the car made it about 3/4 of the way up before getting stuck. The remaining 20 yards needed some zigzagging left and right to go on the snow instead of the pre-driven tracks.
The 90 degree at the top was a challenge, as I effectively needed to under steer for the corner to allow the car to slide down while turning.
Some difference to be aware of (coming from a manual, I don't know how automatics deal with snow)
Being very light footed on the accelerator is a good replacement for trying to pull away in 2nd
When on a hill, if the wheels spin and the car doesn't move, it seems to stop trying until you apply more power. It's difficult to make it continuously spin the wheels
Traction control is a very weird sensation when stationary. Not sure whether I would have been better with it disabled
Putting the car in reverse is preferable to putting it in neutral and rolling back
I didn't use auto hold, but the parking brake (handbrake) was useful the way it auto releases
Well today was definitely an experience! On the flat the car handled very well. The ease at which the engine maintains a low speed and (I'm assuming) the weight of the car meant that I could carry on driving consistently and slowly while I could see others in front of me spin their wheels.
Where it got interesting was the relatively steep hill very close to my house. There's a 90 degree turn (T junction) at the bottom so I couldn't take a run up, but the car made it about 3/4 of the way up before getting stuck. The remaining 20 yards needed some zigzagging left and right to go on the snow instead of the pre-driven tracks.
The 90 degree at the top was a challenge, as I effectively needed to under steer for the corner to allow the car to slide down while turning.
Some difference to be aware of (coming from a manual, I don't know how automatics deal with snow)
Being very light footed on the accelerator is a good replacement for trying to pull away in 2nd
When on a hill, if the wheels spin and the car doesn't move, it seems to stop trying until you apply more power. It's difficult to make it continuously spin the wheels
Traction control is a very weird sensation when stationary. Not sure whether I would have been better with it disabled
Putting the car in reverse is preferable to putting it in neutral and rolling back
I didn't use auto hold, but the parking brake (handbrake) was useful the way it auto releases
Dissable traction control is better, however due to the wide tyres if they are summer tyres they are poor on snow. Was exactly the same with the LEAF, fit winter tyres and they transform the car and could go anywhere, with summer tyres once filled with snow slush they will fail to grip on tarmac when reversing up a slope.
Well today was definitely an experience! On the flat the car handled very well. The ease at which the engine maintains a low speed and (I'm assuming) the weight of the car meant that I could carry on driving consistently and slowly while I could see others in front of me spin their wheels.
Where it got interesting was the relatively steep hill very close to my house. There's a 90 degree turn (T junction) at the bottom so I couldn't take a run up, but the car made it about 3/4 of the way up before getting stuck. The remaining 20 yards needed some zigzagging left and right to go on the snow instead of the pre-driven tracks.
The 90 degree at the top was a challenge, as I effectively needed to under steer for the corner to allow the car to slide down while turning.
Some difference to be aware of (coming from a manual, I don't know how automatics deal with snow)
Being very light footed on the accelerator is a good replacement for trying to pull away in 2nd
When on a hill, if the wheels spin and the car doesn't move, it seems to stop trying until you apply more power. It's difficult to make it continuously spin the wheels
Traction control is a very weird sensation when stationary. Not sure whether I would have been better with it disabled
Putting the car in reverse is preferable to putting it in neutral and rolling back
I didn't use auto hold, but the parking brake (handbrake) was useful the way it auto releases
Snow not yet, but I found black ice with the Michelin Primacy 3s to be quite an experience!
Having lightly touched the brakes when descending slightly on a frozen surface, the combination of the heavy vehicle and the ABS apparently not dealing with the conditions resulted in a good 10m slide. I was surprised in that special way that makes you stop and say some words.
There is good news; the slide was dead straight with no veer, it did stop (eventually) with wheels locked, and the hazard lights automatically triggered, and there was no damage.
I know ABS on all cars struggles with black ice, but I was caught out by the eNiro and subsequently dropped my road speed by about 30-40%. Please don't make my mistake.
I know someone in the hills that put Michelin Cross Climates on his leaf and was happy with them.
I think others have used them on the Niro...
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