Leon in the snow

Ryan leckenby

Active Member
Jan 2, 2019
19
10
What does everyone think of Leon’s in the snow ?

I got stuck the other day when I got caught up in the snow .

Does anyone have winter tyres or can recommend any decent tyres ?
 

Snowman

Active Member
Mar 16, 2014
306
24
What does everyone think of Leon’s in the snow ?

I got stuck the other day when I got caught up in the snow .

Does anyone have winter tyres or can recommend any decent tyres ?
What Leon do you have?
I currently have a Leon X-perience 4drive and i love the car in the snow.
We got like 20cm of snow during the night so i enjoyed an early drive in the morning with my car :)

edit: Ofc im using winter tires.
 
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Ryan leckenby

Active Member
Jan 2, 2019
19
10
I’ve got a 2014 Leon 5dr 2.0 184

It’s terrible in the snow I had to leave it at My friends for 2 days as I got stuck on a bank , luckily someone gave me a push and got me going but I had to leave it .

Currently got Bridgestone tyres on the front and Pirelli’s on the front waiting for them to wear down to match all 4 .
 

Big Col

Active Member
Nov 5, 2013
626
89
North Ayrshire
It's no better or worse than any other car on big fat summer tyres in the snow.

For years I've been saying I'm going to try a set of winter tyres but I never get round to it. I struggle by on my summer tyres when we get some snow. I nearly got stuck on Tuesday night so that started the 'right i really need to get some winter tyres' thoughts again.
 

Ryan leckenby

Active Member
Jan 2, 2019
19
10
Yeah same I’ve got stuck on Friday night and last time t snowed i rolled into a Kurb going about 10mph.

I’m looking to see if there’s any alloys about and keep a spare set with winter tyres on .
 

Jaco2k

AWD FTW
Mar 11, 2018
1,037
633
Tampere, Finland
www.youtube.com
No car with Summer tires will be better than any other car with Winter tires.
Obviously, a 4drive with Winter tires is better than a FWD with Winter tires, but a FWD with Winter tires is better than a 4drive with Winter tires.

This is not so common more south, but at least in the Nordics cars have 2 sets of wheels: one for Summer and one for Winter.
Even by law, you cannot drive with Summer tires in Winter.
 

Jaco2k

AWD FTW
Mar 11, 2018
1,037
633
Tampere, Finland
www.youtube.com
Just to add.... There is a snow storm in here and so far we got around 20cm of snow - am I glad for the 4drive now!
Last year with the Octavia, in similar conditions, I could not leave the parking lot
 

trebor

Active Member
Dec 13, 2014
231
29
Worcester
I have used winter tyres for several years.
Last year we had 5-6 inches of snow and I feared the Cupra would still be a handful, however it was brilliant. Through fresh 6 inch deep snow it breezed it’s way through, on slushy snow and early morning semi frozen snow it moved around as any car will but it felt really well balanced and was really quite easy to get around.

Wheels and winter tyres for sale in the For Sale section as I’ve decided to further test my winter driving skills and have bought a BMW!
 

martin j.

Active Member
Feb 11, 2007
1,996
889
Fife
When it snows too much for the car I just walk, benefits of not working at last. Leon is no worse than anything we’ve had although I think diesels work better due to being able to trundle along on tickover better, no wheelspin better traction.
 

black_sheep

Active Member
Mar 10, 2013
1,256
585
A word of caution regarding winter tyres - they generally have enough grip to pull you into deep snow / snow drift, but insufficient grip to pull you out if you bottom out the car... This is particularly bad for sporty models with low ground clearance, as the plastic under-pan protection/aerodynamic devices turn the car into a sledge.

A friend of mine told me about this obviously... And it took me 20 mins for me to dig the car out! As shortcuts go, to beat the
queuing traffic, this was not my finest hour.
 

eltawater

Full and wholesome member
May 1, 2008
305
45
Michelin crossclimates here, and before that falken eurowinters / avon ice touring st for years.

Also have some carpet offcuts and tubs of rocksalt in the boot.

Rescued a few fellow drivers in the past :)
 

SteA

Active Member
Jan 12, 2016
226
61
Shrewsbury
I used to run winter tyres every year, haven’t bothered recently, but should probably think about it again as for the first time in many years we don’t have a Quattro in the family. I do however have snow socks in each of our cars, which work really well as long as there is a decent amount of snow. I also use the snow socks to help other drivers who are stuck. Just don’t drive quickly or on snow free surfaces :)
 

ozzrahog

Active Member
Jun 24, 2018
151
66
Michelin crossclimates here, and before that falken eurowinters / avon ice touring st for years.

Also have some carpet offcuts and tubs of rocksalt in the boot.

Rescued a few fellow drivers in the past :)
How are the cross climates in the snow, reviews suggest theyay be lacking in the snow?
 

eltawater

Full and wholesome member
May 1, 2008
305
45
I should add that my cupra has been wearing crossclimates on 18 wheels since dec 2017 and so has been through 3 snow events now. Been through a front pair since then but never been bothered to change back to my 19" summers.
 

AndrewJB

Friend to SEAT UK & Cupra Racing
Aug 16, 2007
11,211
484
Maranello
My old MK2 Leon Cupra R stage 2+ and MK3 Leon Cupra 280 Stage 2 were both pretty good in the snow both running Michelin Supersport (summer tyres).

I work shifts so I'm either going to work or coming back from work at approx 6am when the roads were untreated and quite thick with snow. Never got "stuck" just a few spin ups here and there.

Didn't brave the Porsche in the snow this year, used the MK2 Golf TDI instead.
 
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