bob m

Well, we had about 4" of snow (geniuses at Weather Bureau predicting a dusting to an inch) and very low temps, which made for very slippery conditions. With new Blizzaks on both the A4 and my wife's 10 year old Outback, driving around town, the Subaru seemed to traction better. Not at all scientific and it was only a mile or less - over the same streets a few minutes apart, but the Outback seemed more sure footed - perhaps being a heavier car was the reason and nothing at all with the drive systems. Again, not scientific and very much by the seat of my pants. Never drove a BMW in snow, but oddly enough about 10 years ago I had a LEXUS RX 350 SUV and it has a "snow" button which I only used once or twice and as I remember that added a lot of security to that highway trip on pretty slippery packed snow. Again - maybe the heavier weight added to the stability?
Thoughts?

On another note, maybe I'm feeling my age, but I don't get the drivers speeding around in the snow, waaaaaay too dangerous - and careless for my comfort.

Tom Gilkeson

Took mine out for the first time in the snow (South Carolina) and I thought it performed quite well.

acruxksa

Trust me when I tell you, it's the driver that makes all the difference, not the vehicle.
That being said, the A4 is more than sufficient for most winter tasks.

I've been driving in Alaska for 30+ years with everything from a 76 2wd dodge D100 custom (first vehicle, bought it myself in high school for $500 and drove it for 3 yrs) to an A4 with snow tires and an 84 jeep with mud tires ( most challenging vehicle I've ever driven in the winter ). All are different, but it's incumbent upon the driver to know the weaknesses of their vehicle and adjust accordingly.

Basically, if you get in a wreck it's your fault, not the cars. They're just tools in our lives and have no control over any situation.

Winters up here are 5-6 months long, so it's not like I don't know what I'm talking about.

Eric5273

The Subaru has more ground clearance which can be a factor if there is more snow than just a light dusting. Snow tends to get clogged behind the front and rear tires and cars with more ground clearance aren't affected by this as much.

Transporter208

I can't speak for Subaru or BMW for winter driving but Quattro hasn't ever let me down when it comes to snow driving. Happy Winter!

anyc

This was my first time driving in the snow also and I am amazed at how well the car handles

bob m

I hear you about the driver being the most important factor, but I would add - after driving cars with and without snow tires on, there is a considerable difference in traction having a good set of snows on the car.
This story is almost folklore I have heard and read it so many times from so many people - "I was driving on the (snowy/icy) highway and a 4x4 zoomed passed me by and a mile down the road I saw that 4x4 off the road (in a ditch/hit a tree/light pole/ etc.)" Having said that, yesterday when I was driving home, I saw a driver in (I think) a Jeep make a right turn too quickly and almost skidded right into the car stopped at the light.
But I also noticed, as another poster mentioned that snow had really caked up behind each of my 4 wheels - and that was only after a couple of miles is local city driving. I always wonderred how that affects maneuverability?

HyperS4

True story, in 04 I had an A4 fitted with blizzaks. During a huge snow storm I was out playing. Saw a stuck accord and I literally pushed them out with the Audi. I have never gotten stuck once with an Audi and I've only used all seasons since.

Many_audis

I think the lightness you feel is the lighter slow speed assisted steering wheel of the Audi. Not the car's ability to handle snow. It designed to be super light during slower speeds.

Also don't worry about the snow in the wheel wells as long as your wheels are spinning you are creating friction and heat and melt the snow. And as the suspension moves up and you'll always have enough clearance.
If the snow is deep enough you'll probably get high centered and stuck before the wheels stop spinning because of the snow packed wheel wells.

VM

Yup. The thing is, many people think AWD is the solution for all winter challenges. The reality is that AWD will help you move forward... but won't help you slow down or steer, which, if anything, makes an AWD car more dangerous than a RWD car that never gets moving.

But automakers make money from AWD. They don't make money from winter tires except a teeny little bit on rims... (and then dealers, of course, make money on the labour associated with winter tire swaps/storage/etc if you do that through them) so there's little incentive to flat out go out there and say 'AWD on our stock all-seasons is likely more dangerous for winter.'

The other thing to keep in mind is that I don't think most automakers pick all-season tires based on winter performance. I'm sure there are lots of all-season tires that are better performers in winter than what automakers spec out as OE, but the automakers figure that if you care at all about winter traction you'll just get a set of winter tires anyways.