Right, that's it. I'm a FAN. Officially.
Woke up this morning to nearly an inch of snow. Pristine whiteness in the street outside. That much snow in my drive would have had the Bridgestones (and whatever-the-hell was on the Pug GTi-6 as well) spinning merrily. I have to go about a quarter of a mile before I meet anything that's been gritted. Again, I'd have been slithering all over the place. It would have been a toss-up whether I'd have put the AutoSocks on, to be honest, and that takes time and effort.
I just drove out. No fuss, no muss. No drama. No sign of the EPS yellow warning coming on.
Even once I got the the gritted part, it wasn't plain sailing by any means, but the Icebears took it in their stride. Even the tricky part where you have to stop on quite a steep hill as you join the main road, and it's a prime spot for getting stuck in the snow, no problemo.
I even overtook several vehicles going too damn slow on the main road, crossing the snowy ridges between the tyre tracks to do it, and no loss of traction at all. (Maybe that isn't too clever though, pride could come before a fall on that one, I may not make a habit of it.)
My only moment of slither was something I did deliberately. I took the corner turning into the driveway to the estate where I work a bit too fast, and sure enough the back end (the summer Bridgestones are still on the hind hooves) skidded out sideways. So now I know. Careful on that one. But once I was straight again, no problem. The estate roads weren't gritted of course, but I just drove right over it all.
This is my definition of a massive success.
And in fact, I needed new front tyres anyway. If I'd just let the garage put normal boots on the car last Tuesday, I'd have been a raving idiot.
Rolfe.