E320 in the snow
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Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 365
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From: Richmond, VA
2013 E350
E320 in the snow
Yesterday, my normal 1 hour drive to work turned into a 2+ hour drive in the snow. Despite plenty of warning, the extreme cold (by New Jersey standards) must have made it difficult to clear the roads since all of the roads were mostly packed or lightly packed snow. The commute was made more difficult by a large number of overly cautious drivers.
The ESP light flashed a number of times during the ride, but the car never felt out of control or unstable.
At one point during my drive, I have to climb a fairly steep hill (near Johnson's Dodge on Rt 46). The driver in front of me panicked and slowed down quickly to less than 15 mph. They had front wheel drive and were able to continue. I, on the otherhand could not continue. The ESP light was on solid and I could not get the car to move. After a moment of panic (and thoughts of my wife saying "I told you so!", I shut off the ESP. Now I was able to slowly spin the wheels and get the car moving. It took only a moment for the car to pick up speed and I was able to continue my drive. Once I was sure I was not going to have any other problems I clicked the ESP back on and finished my drive to work.
All in all, I found the car to be pretty good in the snow and ice.
The ESP light flashed a number of times during the ride, but the car never felt out of control or unstable.
At one point during my drive, I have to climb a fairly steep hill (near Johnson's Dodge on Rt 46). The driver in front of me panicked and slowed down quickly to less than 15 mph. They had front wheel drive and were able to continue. I, on the otherhand could not continue. The ESP light was on solid and I could not get the car to move. After a moment of panic (and thoughts of my wife saying "I told you so!", I shut off the ESP. Now I was able to slowly spin the wheels and get the car moving. It took only a moment for the car to pick up speed and I was able to continue my drive. Once I was sure I was not going to have any other problems I clicked the ESP back on and finished my drive to work.
All in all, I found the car to be pretty good in the snow and ice.
Super Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 957
Likes: 1
was '03 E320 - now - '04 S4
I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the E went in the snow myself.
Normally I don't care much for the traction control - it's way too intrusive - but it worked well in the recent snow/ice that we had here.
Normally I don't care much for the traction control - it's way too intrusive - but it worked well in the recent snow/ice that we had here.
Almost a Member!
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 48
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From: Massachusetts
Snow tires are a must. I put on Dunlop Winter Sport M2's on my E320 (not 4matic) and let me tell you it's been a really well behaved car in the snow. Here in Central Mass. we've had our fair share of snow and I've had no problems even driving down my steep driveway.
