Jimny snow performance

Keithy wrote: Jimny is fine in snow......it's all the other road users you have to get around.

That's a great video!

I agree with Helijohn. While the Jimny is very capable in deeper snow I would not say it's the ideal winter road car due to it's part time 4wd and nervous handling in 2wd. Permanent 4wd is always going to be a better, safer option. Something like a Dacia Duster on good tyres would be great, and has the same ground clearance as a Jimny so would be no less capable in deep stuff. Cheaper too.

Just had a chance to drive our Jimny in snow / ice and found it to be very capable in the Derbyshire moorland. I did have concerns as it has standard size summer road tyres fitted (205s), so just in case I had a set of snow socks in the back, but I did not need them.
I didn't find the handling was nervous in 2wd, infact on wet roads its like a go cart, advantage of road tyres??
I simply used the push button 4x4 selection as required and switched it off when not needed, so not having permanent 4x4 was no big deal for me.
I like it, but the snows melted so its back to 2wd till next year.

Busta wrote: I agree with Helijohn. Something like a Dacia Duster on good tyres would be great, and has the same ground clearance as a Jimny so would be no less capable in deep stuff. Cheaper too.

The Duster is one I considered before my Celerio but I have a narrow drive and the Duster is about the same width as a Vitara. In fact it reminds me of a large Ignis. If I had my time again I would have an Ignis or Swift rather than the Celerio but trouble is the Celerio is a really cheap to run car, very nippy blah blah blah - just not allgrip - so enter the Ignis!!
When it comes to the 'small' cars I think Suzuki have it all tied up.

I'm afraid I'm not with you both on this. The Jimny is a perfectly acceptable winter vehicle when fitted with suitable tyres and driven with a sense of decorum. I would further contend that if a suitably equipped Jimny is too much for some drivers then they are very likely to be having difficulty no matter what they are driving.

Lambert wrote: I'm afraid I'm not with you both on this.

That's a shame
However, my thrust is that if you want the vehicle mostly for snow then because we get so little of it and because we get other weathers I would always suggest a form of permanent 4x4 and failing that a front wheel drive. Then again I span my MG Metro and that was FWD.:blush:

I do agree about tyres and I have had loads of rear wheel vehicles that have coped with thick thick snow - one was a Ford Anglia back in the 1960's that went where others couldn't. Maybe it was the driver...meeeeeeee.... who was the key, maybe the clearance or maybe the tyres but I always had very wide wheels on my Ford Anglias (one was a van!) so they never cut through snow like a narrow tyre would...................go figure.
Also I would always recommend an automatic but that's not because of the weather. :laugh: The reason I say go auto partly applies to saying go permanent 4x4 of some type. The reason is I am a lazy driver and hate fiddling with sticks, buttons and God knows what else. Push and go is my motto here I think (might have to if we have some Chicago snow! lol).
I think the worst I had was my Cherokee where the 4x4 selector was in the passenger side.............oh wait, it might have been my short wheelbase Landy that was the worst.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: That was an absolutely awful ride but it did what I needed.