The best car for climbing a snowy hill is....

Johnny Utah

an Audi Allroad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zfKRdgoRo4

Well, lads, what do ye think?

-Corkie-

Subaru impreza STI?????.

johnos1984

Fiat Panda 4x4

Nice and light which is just what you want

Senna

If i need to go up any ski slopes i'll know what to use:D
In the meantime my €500 freelander is doing a great job.

Eric Cartman

thats fine, until the snow has rocks in it and the underside gets f*cked, ill keep my d-max until the world eliminates rocks

Tallon

You can still hit rocks in the D-max

Johnny Utah

Eric Cartman wrote: »

thats fine, until the snow has rocks in it and the underside gets f*cked, ill keep my d-max until the world eliminates rocks

Audi Allroad has a ground clearance of 208mm (8 in):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_A6_allroad_quattro


Isuzu D-Max has a ground clearance of 195mm:

http://irishcar.com/isudmaxfvjr.htm

listermint

Johnny Utah wrote: »

Audi Allroad has a ground clearance of 208mm (8 in):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_A6_allroad_quattro


Isuzu D-Max has a ground clearance of 195mm:

http://irishcar.com/isudmaxfvjr.htm

oh know he didnt,




he did

Cuddlesworth

Would tire choice and driving style not be a major factor in the effectiveness of going up the hill?

Matt Simis

Eric Cartman wrote: »

thats fine, until the snow has rocks in it and the underside gets f*cked, ill keep my d-max until the world eliminates rocks

Are you aware Allroad has 4 Suspension height options, max ground clearance without tuning (easy to do with VagCom) is a very high 208mm?

The ground clearance on a 2wd Dmax is 195, though from skimming online I think the 4WD one has a taller figure of 225mm (but also has more "bits" hanging underneath), if the 4x4 models in Ireland come with the High Ride Suspension package (do they?).
The Allroad has similar clearance as a Toyota 4x4 apparently, so no matter how its cut, it clearly is in the same ballpark as you consider acceptable.


Its also the only car (or was) that completed the Land Rover test course track. It also has low range gearing if spec'd and a bi-turbo engine sourced from the Audi S4. Unless you get the sucky TDI version.
Anyhow, its 4x4 credentials and name are indeed totally bonefide, extremely impressive as it can also lower itself lower than an Audi S6 for the motorway, unlike the big unwieldy 4x4 which pretty much remains WYSIWYG. And lets not forget it beat all the big 4x4s in that test at the very least.

J77

Audi allroad = awesome.

Wouldn't mind one parked outside now:rolleyes:

Eric Cartman

wasnt aware the allroad could go that high

and the last poster is correct , 225mm on the d-max, thats also with stock tyres and wheels , can be up to 300mm with the right tyres and wheels, and more if you change the diff and use a lift kit ,

Top Dog

Johnny Utah wrote: »

Well, lads, what do ye think?

I'll see your All-road ... and raise you an A6 Quattro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JctzAeMgylc

J77

Top Dog wrote: »

I'll see your All-road ... and raise you an A6 Quattro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JctzAeMgylc

That seems a little unbelievable!

peasant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crodbUBRcCg

that's the "making of " video

7 mm long spikes
The cable under the car is just a safety brake

Mycroft H

Eric Cartman wrote: »

wasnt aware the allroad could go that high

and the last poster is correct , 225mm on the d-max, thats also with stock tyres and wheels , can be up to 300mm with the right tyres and wheels, and more if you change the diff and use a lift kit ,

I like my defender with 314mm of standard ground clearance :pac:

Admittedly the Allroad is a serious piece of kit, but i prefer the volvo xc90




I see your A6 allroad and raise you a TDi discovery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTOkmCpLZ1k

teednab-el

Any BMW make or model in reverse

djimi

Not my Integra as I proved last winter... :mad:

Top Dog

J77 wrote: »

That seems a little unbelievable!

Impressive what studded winter tyres can manage

Tropheus

Well, I'm lucky enough to own an Allroad and was up North today. We had the kids booked into Santa' Cottage at the foot of the Mourne mountains east of Newry. We were up in Belfast for the day and driving back towards Dublin the satnav brought us off the main road before Banbridge and along the back roads.

It was tough going in heavy snow. The AR got us there and back with few problems. No matter how good your car is in bad conditions, the problem is that you could get stuck behind someone that isn't so well equiped.

When we left "santa's cottage", we headed towards Rosstrevor on backroads. We came to a very narrow section of road where two cars couldn't easily pass. A van got stuck just ahead of us at the bottom of a hill and had no chance of moving. The AR was able to reverse back up the hill, turn in a driveway, and head in the opposite direction towards Hilltown. From there we made it to Newry and home to Donabate.

A few heart in the mouth moments, but we made it home. The AR was great going up hill, but try stopping 2.5 tonnes of metal going downhill on a icey stretch. Not for the faint hearted;)

Rockery Woman

Its beautiful, it really is magnificent!

Audi Allroad

I want one - how much do they cost???:o now if I could win the Lotto.....

The Real B-man

-Corkie- wrote: »

Subaru impreza STI?????.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTDNLUzjkpg

tossy

Rockery Woman wrote: »

Its beautiful, it really is magnificent!

Audi Allroad

I want one - how much do they cost???:o now if I could win the Lotto.....

Audi all roads fo for very little money esp the 2.5 TDI version just make sure it has FSH as the suspension can give trouble.

Personally i found my A4 quttro avant with winter tyres handled any hill i could find over the weekend quite easily.

MarkoC

My Audi S4 Quattro yesterday morning :cool:

Basicly the car has summer tires which are called for no reason as "all season" tyres lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TMmNKHcVDQ

homer90

peasant wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crodbUBRcCg

that's the "making of " video

7 mm long spikes
The cable under the car is just a safety brake

Gary ITR

djimi wrote: »

Not my Integra as I proved last winter... :mad:

No issues with mine so far *touches wood*

And lol Cartman ya got ownd

Matt Simis

MarkoC wrote: »

My Audi S4 Quattro yesterday morning :cool:
Basically the car has summer tires which are called for no reason as "all season" tyres lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TMmNKHcVDQ

Its kinda like you have some control, but how did it come to a stop?
I seriously need to finish painting the wheels and get my S8 plus Winters back on the road.

homer90 wrote: »

How so?

Tropheus

tossy wrote: »

Audi all roads fo for very little money esp the 2.5 TDI version just make sure it has FSH as the suspension can give trouble.

Personally i found my A4 quttro avant with winter tyres handled any hill i could find over the weekend quite easily.

My AR is a 03 that I've had from new. It now has 150k miles on it. They are cheap to buy secondhand, but as has been said, can be expensive to maintain. The air suspension is a weak point. Dealer prices for parts and labour are very high, but you can get replacement OEM quality parts a lot cheaper. Air spings are around €300 (around €500 from a dealer) each and the air compressor is €500 (over €1k from a dealer, I believe). I've replaced both front air springs at this stage and my compressor is on the way out:mad:.

Another thing to be considered is fuel economy (or lack fo it). It's a heavy car and not a modern eco diesel so don't expect much more than 30 mpg for mixed driving and closer to 27 if you do a lot of city driving.

Tabnabs

In with the obligatory Octavia response. :pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abxawR_kQpE

MarkoC

Matt Simis wrote: »

Its kinda like you have some control, but how did it come to a stop?

On this vid i accelerated up hill, up there i slowed down of course.
No i wouldnt go mad and sideways with these tyres. Just tested the tyres, road conditions and quattro abilities :cool:
Made also a video about braking downhill: I turned off the ABS (have this option on my car) as i feel more comfortable without it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhq_r4OkHLk

Pivot Eoin

A dodgy grey Alfa 146 with a broken 3rd gear!

Slogger Jogger

I live up a hill which has a very icy stretch leading up to it. Was considering leaving car in village and walking the hill home. Drove it steady instead and slid into the estate for a neat parking spot at the house. Thumbs up to the Skoda Octavia 4x4. It might be a chearer version of the audi but it does the biz and never slid once today.

unkel

Johnny Utah wrote: »

an Audi Allroad

Maybe cos, as the commentator remarked, it has more power and torque than any of the other cars in the test?

peasant

Time for another Syncro video? ...sure it is !

Watch those 70 (yes only 70) turbo diesel horses pull the heavy van 415 meters up a ski slope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfcRRQPBWqo

That event was won by another Syncro (490 meters) but that one had a 1.9 TDi

Eric Cartman

unkel wrote: »

Maybe cos, as the commentator remarked, it has more power and torque than any of the other cars in the test?

i noticed there was no amazon or defender there anyway....

JJJJNR

What you need is one of these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3MiwCSuB0Y

Matt Simis

unkel wrote: »

Maybe cos, as the commentator remarked, it has more power and torque than any of the other cars in the test?

You cannot hold being equipped with a good engine against it now can you?

ianobrien

Now for something a little bit left field.

Why not try a Motorsport Specification Ford RS200? Thanks to the motorsport gearbox, they had the option for the driver to select the front/rear torque split. All you have to do is stick it in 50/50 split and with the LSD's front and rear, each wheel will be getting 25% of the power all the time.

Now watch that climb....

As an aside benefit, if you could redirect the exhaust, the heat could melt the snow.....

Johnny Utah

They're quite affordable now too:


http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2233390.htm


Serious bit of kit for the money!