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TC In the snow?


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Equipped with snow tires the TC is very capable in snow. Better than any FWD passenger car. Well balanced and almost impossible to get stuck if driven with common sense.

Coming from a region with at least 4 to 5 months of permanent snow per annum.

Edit: are you planning to replace the Element with the TC? Element is probably the only vehicle I have a strong urge for.

Edited by mrtn
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Equipped with snow tires the TC is very capable in snow. Better than any FWD passenger car. Well balanced and almost impossible to get stuck if driven with common sense.

Coming from a region with at least 4 to 5 months of permanent snow per annum.

Edit: are you planning to replace the Element with the TC? Element is probably the only vehicle I have a strong urge for.

Im in the sewer and drain cleaning business and use my Element as a work truck. Its in great shape and since my family is growing I was planning on letting the wife use it and get myself a TC.

The TC seems to be the better choice due to having more room in the back for more tools and parts. But I need to get around and make $ in the snow.

So, you're telling me with a good set of tires it should have no problem getting around in a few inches of snow?

Thanks for the reply and info.

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So, you're telling me with a good set of tires it should have no problem getting around in a few inches of snow?

With winter tires (not All-seasons) it goes like a bulldozer, pushing a snow bank in front of it. 8" of fresh snow is no problem.

Edited by mrtn
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I just made a demo for you. This is old snow in my back yard. Deeper than TC clearance. I didn't reverse out of it, made a full turn just for the fun of it. Got stuck because there was a hardened mole pile That caught the subframe.

oh_snow_0.jpg

oh_snow_1.jpg

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Funny, I would've thought otherwise given how mine acts on muddy construction sites! Might be partially the tires, tho. Haven't had much snow here this year. I imagine the diesel is a bit heavier than the 2 liter we get here in the states, too- I'd bet that helps! Wish they'd offer a diesel option here. Another question- do they salt roads in EU like they do over here? Here in MD they spread salt if it might snow! Just wondering how well the TC's hold up rust-wise. I've noticed that Sprinters around here seem to rust pretty quickly.

Dave

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Yes they do salt the roads. It's been too cold for a month for salt to have any effect so when possible they use some kind of liquid which eats its way through ice as well as through metal.

But yes, you are correct, it's all about tires, especially in mud, which has totally different characteristics from snow because it's sticky. Even offroad tires for muddy conditions are different from other offroad tires. The tread blocks have to be very wide apart for it to self clean. The tires I have on the TC are actually very mild winter tires more suitable for Central European conditions than ours here.

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2012 TC with Hankook W409 Snow Tires. I have been driving winter roads for over 50 years. Many kinds of cars and trucks both with and with out snow tires.This TC is right up there with the best of them,and, ahead of all of them at backing down a snowy hill.Most vehicles will have the front end try to swing around and put you cross wide or into the ditch. This TC holds straight and the flat sides and large mirrors let you see the tracks you made on the way up and allow easy aiming.The traction control takes some getting used to. I use second gear.Traction on icy roads is very good. Better than all but the 4 wheel drive van I had. Our snowy hill had 8" of loose wet snow this year. It took 7 tries to get to my drive way. Each time you claw a bit farther up the hill as you plow a path for the tires.That makes 6 times I had to back down. It made it each time and I did not have to swerve at all. Big thumbs up !

Edited by hollowwood
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Just wondering how well the TC's hold up rust-wise.

I don't have any significant rust in these 6 years. There is one rust spot where the rear bumper touches the sheet metal, I think it's bent a bit from a minor bump or smth. I don't have splash guards so one of the door sills has lost paint in a square inch area. It's been like that since and it hasn't started to rust.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just put the first 1000 on mine. I live at 7500 feet elevation and have to go on a daily base into the valley, 6000 feet.

The first 4 miles are very steep and naturally when it snows quiet interesting. I am used to drive a Volvo XC, which is a tank.

I use just run of the mill Big O Snow tires. The Transit does rather well for a 2 weel drive. One thing I had to get used to is the anty wheel spin, controlled throught the brakes, it makes the vehicle jerk around a little.

Not anything wild, but if you come from a 4 wheel drive, something to get used to.

When it really gets beastly with the weather, I just chain up, takes 5 minutes per wheel.

Overall I am satisfied how it handles snow.

I like very much the automatic, it has great breaking, shift in 2 or 1 or just out of OT, which is nice on steep slik roads

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  • 4 years later...

In the owners manual I have on page 155 it says under the heading  Cold Weather Operations

 That the functional operations of some components could be affected  below -13 F or -25 C .

Quite cryptic if you ask me

 

Edited by G B L
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