What are they like in the snow?

[shep532]

Hi everyone ........... a new boy here!

I am on the verge of purchasing a 2006 3.0Tdi A8 SE.

I live in a rural area and if it snows I am prone to being snowed in. I have to select 4wd on my current Isuzu pickup just to get off my street and down to the main road.

I had an E class Merc which wouldn't even get to the end of the street never mind to the main road. My wifes front drive Fiat sometimes gets down to the road but won't come back up. The biggest problem is my actual stree has quite a camber to it and most cars end up sliding down the camber as they go along the stree.

So - how much extra grip can I expect from the quattro transmission system on the A8? Will it go where a conventional car won't? How do they cope with the slippy stuff?

I'm not expecting it to be as capable as my Isuzu .......... and wouldn't expect it to handle deep snow ......... so what will it do?

(Oh by the way it's on 20" rims and big daft tyres!)

Pete

[towcestervag]

Audi are probably the only 4wd thats as capable as a subaru

[sbuk73]

I have now owned and experienced 3 different quattros namely 2 x A4's and now the current A8 Quattro TDI 3.0 and from my experiences on the previous 2 cars and also this one is that as long as you drive the car sensibly in the snow it will tackle most terrain fairly well - where most other cars especially mercedes seem to struggle. Leave the traction control ON and let the car make its own way up or down the hill and it should ride through it fine. I am running 19" 225/40 tyres currently and in this recent snow patch most of my tyres were on minimum tread patterns ... and we still managed to survive the ice and snow ok.

[john14335]

I have an 04 3.0 TDI - it is amazingly capable in the snow + ice. My house is in the country on top of a steep hill, where the roads aren't gritted, the A8 was the only car capable of getting to my house every single day - my wife's Mini Clubman Cooper D spent 2 weeks parked up outside my house this winter when the A8 simply shrugged the conditions off.

Like the comments above tho, it's best to let the car do the work - traction control on + light throttle, quattro + traction control do the rest.

[shep532]

Thanks for the help guys.

The car I was looking at has now sold so I'm still looking.

Pete

[SNELL739]

Hi everyone ........... a new boy here!

I am on the verge of purchasing a 2006 3.0Tdi A8 SE.

I live in a rural area and if it snows I am prone to being snowed in. I have to select 4wd on my current Isuzu pickup just to get off my street and down to the main road.

I had an E class Merc which wouldn't even get to the end of the street never mind to the main road. My wifes front drive Fiat sometimes gets down to the road but won't come back up. The biggest problem is my actual stree has quite a camber to it and most cars end up sliding down the camber as they go along the stree.

So - how much extra grip can I expect from the quattro transmission system on the A8? Will it go where a conventional car won't? How do they cope with the slippy stuff?

I'm not expecting it to be as capable as my Isuzu .......... and wouldn't expect it to handle deep snow ......... so what will it do?

(Oh by the way it's on 20" rims and big daft tyres!)

Pete

hi Pete welcome,

I've got a 4.2 Quattro, on 18" wheels with snow tyres and its superb in the snow. Great traction in my view. Can't comment on 20" rims though, hope this helps

[Micha_elD]

I have a 4.2 with 20" wheels, and all you need to do is raise the suspension, take it easy and it goes almost anywhere.

Thing to remember though is that 4WD only really helps when accelerating, it doesn't affect braking, and cornering is about the same. Several 4x4 drivers round here thought they could drive like they do when its dry - right up to the point where they went into the ditch.

I did find a big, empty, snowy car park to play with the A8, and whereas my TVR wags its tail and does donuts for fun, the A8 thinks thats all a bit juvenile and won't play. Even with traction control turned off, the stability system still operates, so if it detects a slide, it applies the brakes to one or two wheels to bring them back into line. Its such a serious, Germanic car.

Conclusion, if you want to get somewhere in the snow, take an A8, if you want to drive for an hour or two with a grin on your face, and not actually get anywhere, take a TVR.

[devine_nathan]

Its great for going

useless for stopping specially on the PS2

as i found out showing someone how well it accelerated, it didnt stop so well