I love driving in the snow.
I should: I’m Canadian, live in Canada, and still manage to get excited about buying winter tires. Why? On the face of it, winter is a terrible time for enthusiasts. Here, road salt will reduce all cars to brown dust. In the worst conditions, other drivers seem to become homicidal maniacs. And if your skill isn’t up to snuff, you’ll crash much sooner.
That said, there’s a lot of magic in winter driving. Pretty much everywhere it snows, each year Mother Nature will toss a moderate storm that leaves streets largely free from other motorists, leaving a pillow of virgin snow behind for leaving tire tracks in. The grip is lower, so even driving around normally leaves the impression of a vehicle that’s floaty, slide-y, and a bit out-of-control.
To drive quickly in the snow requires all of your skills, a gentle touch, and a lot of luck. But unlike most driving conditions, going more quickly doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have more fun. In my experience, flowing through a challenging series of turns at speed or completing a perfectly-executed 10 mph handbrake slide in an empty parking lot tend to trigger the same emotional response: “WHEEEEE”.
Are you looking forward to winter driving?
Image Sources: Porsche Photo by Jeff Zwart, wispresort.com, wordpress.com, panorama.it
