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With all of the safety control systems, the Smart handles better in the snow than my Vue. The only time I haven't driven it yet whas when we got a foot of snow and the Smart didn't have enough clearance.
I drive my smart everyday, rain, snow, sunshine, it doesn't matter. So far it has handled all the weather Indiana can throw at it. Just be careful, and use your brain when driving, and you'll be fine. Only thing I have noticed so far is that the front spoiler sits really low, I have pushed snow several times with it. But I have not gotten stuck, it always motors through.
I drive my smart everyday, rain, snow, sunshine, it doesn't matter. So far it has handled all the weather Indiana can throw at it. Just be careful, and use your brain when driving, and you'll be fine. Only thing I have noticed so far is that the front spoiler sits really low, I have pushed snow several times with it. But I have not gotten stuck, it always motors through.
That has happened numerous times this year for me also!
We drove our smart the first big snow day last year and it juuussst made it up our hill, which had not been plowed. Considered getting snow tires, then glanced at the Trooper, which had been sitting, ignored for most of 8 months and decided that it could carry the load on the bad days.
Through the winter, so far, we've almost used up that tank of $4.29 gas we put in last April. Still drive the smart every day the roads are passable without 4wd.
We drove it a couple of times last month in light snow (maybe 2") and it slid around a bit but overall handled it fine. But the last time out, it slid down the driveway and was largely uncontrollable. The asphalt was dry and cold before it started to snow, and we arrived home with about 2-3" of new, untracked snow on the ground. Our driveway goes downhill-it rises up about a foot in the first 10 feet from the street, and then drops a bit over 15 feet over the next 75 feet. We got home and stopped briefly at the top of the hill, and then I decided to put the car close to the house as it was supposed to snow 18-20". Just giving it the tiniest bit of gas, the car went straight to the bottom of the drive with the brake pedal to the floor. The anti-lock cycled bravely, but the cold all season tires just couldn't get a any grip.
In fairness to the smart, both our Passat and Mini have Continental winter tires, and will go up and down the driveway effortlessly in 4-6" of snow.
Got into a very embarrassing and somewhat dangerous situation with them on snowy roads and it was then that I decided to quite fooling around and get serious with a good set of Winter snow tires.
Just today I put on LM-18 Blizzaks all around and I am glad I did it. The Conti's, althought rated M&S, are really only Summer tires and that is when they will go back on the car...in late April sometime in this area of the country anyway.....
I have 175's all around. (square 4)
The Blizzak's are incredible, in my parking lot...people need help getting in and out of spaces as they get stuck. I have NEVER been stuck, and just keep moving forward.
Today
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