Novocastrian

Perfect! Even down to the tyres.

<Perhaps it should be sinoptic in Canadalish?>

Lees147

I saw this and almost laughed but then i remembered what it was like when i was there....

clynnog

Based on your response about synoptic tyres etc etc, a snippet of your original posting on this subject makes me realize that you need to invest in some snow tyres and stop driving on closed roads (there is a reason that they are closed...I've travelled along Airport Road btwn Collingwood and Brampton and when the road is closed it usually means that there are serious whiteouts and you are in danger of going off the road or hitting an oncoming car or hit a car in front of you that has slowed down). If the road is closed, stay off it and don't expect the rest of us to give you any sympathy.

Grendel

Thanks everybody for the replies so far.

If we were looking to buy a 4WD vehicle when we get over to help us cope with the weather, are there any in particular that we should look for or avoid? I've looked at a few websites, but it's hard to know what's good or bad because the makes and models are so different to the UK.

We'd be looking to buy something that's maybe two or three years old. How much would be have to pay for something reliable? I know you get what you pay for, but it would help if we could have some sort of rough figure. In the UK I suppose I'd be prepared to spend around £10,000 - is that enough, or would we end up with something that's more than a few years old?

Our plan at present is for me to have a 4WD while my wife has a car - maybe a Chrysler Sebring or something similar (we drove one during a recce trip and fell in love with it). Is owning a car like that realistic in Ontario's weather? Or am I just being pessimistic?

dbd33

We have a four wheel drive, an old Land Cruiser, and an AWD, a Honda Element. The latter has a "just too late" mechanism which I think is worse than RWD; the car starts to slide, you catch it, sigh with relief, and then the other two wheels kick in sending you sideways again. I would avoid any automatic four wheel drive mechanism, also automatic gearboxes if possible - it's easier to control wheelspin with a clutch.

dbd33

I suppose it would be terribly Canadian of me to point out that Airport Road doesn't go from Brampton to Collingwood. You're probably thinking of CR124 or highway 10, or something.

clynnog

I hold my hand up...you are right....Airport Road ends in Stayner and not Collingwood...I was thinking of 10/124. I was a passenger and we were on 10/124 and came to a place where the road was closed (somewhere where there was a general store on the east side of the road full of people like us stuck for a few hours). We turned back to Brampton and gave up on skiing for the day.

If you're driving so far every day in winter conditions, why don't you get snow tyres and ease some of the stress.

Bill_S

For AWD, Subaru would be a decent choice. And of course a Chrysler Sebring would be fine. Millions of Canadians drive ordinary front-drive cars. If you have a place to store them, a set of good snow tires is a good idea.

dbd33

The usual point of closure of 124 has a Pete's Donuts on the west side and a Chinese restaurant on the east. It's be better to be stuck there than at the closure point for 10; that only has a curling rink. Sometimes they close 124 a little farther north, at Masonville, I expect you were there. We're just beyond that, a bit north and west.

I haven't bought snow tyres because they've never seemed important to me, maybe when I have one or more of everything else.

Lees147

Well to be honest I have heard from many people that if you drive manual or 'shift' as it's more commonly called then i have heard that snow tires increase the performance of the car no end but with automatic the car doesn't need as much traction. i've only been driving automatic in this country so i don't know how true this is.

burton bunch

Hi Grendel

THis is my first ever Canadian winter - even thought I had been coming out here for about 20 years before emigration

All in all the snow isnt as bad as I thought it would be and we have had snow in Southern ALberta from 3rd week of November until a couple of weeks ago (with some more forecast for overnight tonight).

I wont try to kid you that it doesnt get cold because if you choose to go out in -15 then yes it is cold

As long as you go out covered up you will be ok, the roads are no where near as bad as they are in the UK - if the UK had a 1/4 of what we had here the whole country would close down for sure !

If you are settling in a town then you shouldnt need any tyre chains - in fact I have never seen a car/truck with them on but I would advise for you to have an all wheel drive vehicle as this makes it so much easier for you to drive in the snow when you are not used to it.

As other people have said the roads are usually cleared and easily passible apart from sometimes the highways between places have taken a little longer to clear and caused problems for people passing.

From a UK Northerner who hated all snow and cold Canada is no where near as bad as I thought it would be - and seriously I was c$#ping myself about it

Good Luck

Gaynor
x

Grendel

That's great to hear.

Thanks a lot - everybody's replies have been very reassuring. Our snow here has stopped already, and I'm sure it will disappear in just a few minutes. Doesn't really count as snow, does it?

Oakvillian

I don't know who all these people are you've heard from, but they're all talking nonsense. The biggest advantage you gain from snow tires (search for any thread to which Iaink has contributed on the subject , or possibly even look at the wiki article on winter driving, it may quote a source) is that you get better traction under braking on iffy surfaces in cold weather. Nobody really cares a great deal if you spin your wheels a bit off the line at the traffic lights, but it makes a big difference to be able to stop before driving into the back of the car in front. The number of driven wheels or the type of transmission make no difference in these circumstances; winter tyres do.

Lees147

Like i said i drive automatic so it doesn't really affect me but if my wheels span everytime i tried to accelerate i can see why people might prefer to have snow tires.

I know it has added benefit for stopping but that's not there only advantage which is why i posted that point i didn't mention the braking aspect because it was already covered.

Basically i think if you have the money why not get something that will improve on your winter road experience?

dbd33

I don't know why you wouldn't need as much traction with an automatic, that's a strange idea. To clarify on the matter of wheelspin, you need this once you're stuck, not in normal driving. Bumping a stuck car out of the snow requires ferocious wheelspin and frequent switching between first and reverse; this is easy enough in a normal car but, in an automatic, tends to result in an expensive smell.