I just got my smart tonight. We have snow on the ground and packed snow on the streets. It did great. I tried to fishtail and the stability control kicks in. The traction control works alot in the snow but so far no problems, other than I could not get up my friends drive which is very steep and snow packed. However, they also said friends with minivans could not get up the drive either. I have the tires it came with. I don't think it will do great with several inches on the ground. My other vehicle is an expedition, so let it snow!
I just got my smart tonight. We have snow on the ground and packed snow on the streets. It did great. I tried to fishtail and the stability control kicks in. The traction control works alot in the snow but so far no problems, other than I could not get up my friends drive which is very steep and snow packed. However, they also said friends with minivans could not get up the drive either. I have the tires it came with. I don't think it will do great with several inches on the ground. My other vehicle is an expedition, so let it snow!
still have stock tires and today we had a light snow, maybe an inch or two. Had no problem - even on off camber turn that my AMG slides when there is a hint of snow. We'll see what it's like when we get a dump ... .
Has anyone put snow tires on? If so what did you use?
I live in wisconsin also and I need to drive I- 94 for 22miles to and from work. My main concern is how it handles in the snow even when it's snowing like heck and 6-8 inches on the ground. I won't have another vehicle to switch off with so this is an important issue with me.
I drove my new Passion back from Detroit to Grand Rapids, Michigan [3 hour drive] last night in a snow storm and it held the road fine. I was passing quite a few people on the freeway and running between 55 and 70 MPH. The weather was cold (teens) and snowing with some patches of slush.
Took the car our today into some large snow covered lots and found how easily I could break traction. With the stock tires it does very well but it will slide. If I really wanted better traction I would buy winter tires (not sure if you can even get our sizes in Blizzak) but the stock tires will do for me.
West Michigan averages about 80" snow annually plus some sub ZERO temps. Michigan does not allow chains and uses a lot of salt (which doesn't work when very cold). We always have to be careful of glare ice but don't get too much of it. (I think Seattle was worse for ice since people would not expect it and early morning rain would obscure it.)
I've been driving my Passion in the Chicago snow, sleet, ice, and rain. It drives very well except when trying to get out of a parallel parking space where there is packed snow, but then almost everyone is having this same difficulty. I purchased a narrow metal shovel for digging drain lines to chip away the packed snow and ice from in front and in back of the tires. This helps me get going pretty quickly on packed snow! The shovel handle is relatively short so that I can tuck the blade of the shovel behind the seat, and it fits nicely in the cargo area.
Beware of frozen windshield washer fluid! The dealer must have filled mine up with green water because it froze solid - with the heated seat on and the front and rear wipers on I attempted to "wash" the windshield not knowing that the fluid was frozen. The front and rear wipers and the heated seats all blew out at the same time. A quick trip to the dealer corrected the problem and they filled the bottle with appropriate washer fluid this time so no more problems.
I've been driving my Passion in the Chicago snow, sleet, ice, and rain. It drives very well except when trying to get out of a parallel parking space where there is packed snow, but then almost everyone is having this same difficulty. I purchased a narrow metal shovel for digging drain lines to chip away the packed snow and ice from in front and in back of the tires. This helps me get going pretty quickly on packed snow! The shovel handle is relatively short so that I can tuck the blade of the shovel behind the seat, and it fits nicely in the cargo area.
Beware of frozen windshield washer fluid! The dealer must have filled mine up with green water because it froze solid - with the heated seat on and the front and rear wipers on I attempted to "wash" the windshield not knowing that the fluid was frozen. The front and rear wipers and the heated seats all blew out at the same time. A quick trip to the dealer corrected the problem and they filled the bottle with appropriate washer fluid this time so no more problems.
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