wmgilligan

I just purchased a 2014 GLK 350 (not 4matic).

We love the car - and got is specifically for some road trips we're planning.
However - since its rear wheel drive, does anyone know how it handles in snow (we live in Florida). I grew up in Pennsylvania so driving in snow is not a concern, but I have been told that in general, Mercedes are not good in snow.
It has the 20" M+S tires, but do not have the 4matic.

b

emtskibum

I have the 14 250 which has 4matic so not a good comparison for you. but drove through the teeth of last weekends storm in the north east and didn't have one issue. It was a tank.

fcch

I have the 4matic too.


Just remember that M+S tire are NOT winter tires. I really wish the tire makers would change the indication to mud only.


Below 5 degrees cel, all season tires are not as effective.


That said, the GLK is a pretty heavy car, so it doesn't get sucked into drifts as easily as others. It'll understeer in corners so watch you approaches.


Snow accumulates on the left side of the windshield because of the design. I have also de-activated the auto-folding mirrors for the winter as they seem to get ice buikt up inside and make an awful noise when they want to unfold.


I take the climate control off of auto as it doesn't send that much warm air to the windshield. I put it on manual to all three (windshield, cabin and feet) and pump up the volume of air one notch.


Other than that the GLK seems like an excellent winter vehicule. Like I said, I have the 4matic 250, 17 inch Nokian 7 studded tires too.


Happy motoring.

fabbrisd1

On GLK RWD - you will be OK/fine - since you have Mercedes RWD traction control - much better than a RWD car since you have higher center-of-gravity... for either RWD or 4matic - in the event you get stuck in snow/ice and are in the situation you need the wheels to spin to get out - then you "disarm" traction control for that specific situation

Mort

I find ours (4 matic) pulls into ruts in the snow and I need to back off the gas to get it pulling straight again as a lot of reverse lock does not seem to do the trick and it just keeps plowing ahead. Other than that it has been good in all the dry (non packing) snow and lately ice we are having. It is annoying the way it suddenly pulls hard to one side and will not correct with steering input and light throttle. You should see the ruts it leaves in our driveway, which I do not clean right down with the snow blower to avoid blowing gravel all over the place. My 2003 Siverado is much better at holding a course even when traction is an issue and the snow base keeps breaking up under the weight of the vehicle.

mjhawkins2346

I had an old RWD only Mercedes which I recall was fine in snow as long as I didn't try and climb steeper hills and took it easy. Went through several NJ winters with few problems - except for this one neighborhood hill that bedeviled me. That was without snow tires only All Season too. You should be fine if you're careful and keep your speeds reasonable and avoid ice.

NYCGLK

None of this makes any sense.

-higher center of gravity has nothing to do with traction (weight distribution does).
-in order to get out of snow, you DON'T want you wheels to spin, which is what traction control is for - to stop wheels from spinning by applying breaks to spinning wheels.
-what's the difference between AWD and RWD traction control?

NYCGLK

20 inch pirellis do ok on snow packed road at 40mph or less. At 60mph the car starts to wonder too much. They are definitely not as good as snow tires. Just don't get stuck in deep snow with RWD or hit gas too hard.

fabbrisd1

In "normal" snow driving - correct rear traction control for RWD does give you more "straight ahead control" - however, if you get stuck in snow, then at those times yes you may want to spin the wheels since in those situation higher tire RPM might give you that added bit of traction to get you out of that particular situation... on higher center of gravity, well frankly put we are not talking snowmobiles here .. a decent compact SUV will drive in the snow when decent compact sedans are immobilized... I hope that makes "sense" to you..

NYCGLK

no, it doesn't.

Spinning wheels is exactly what keeps the car stuck. Traction control applies brake to the spinning wheel to gain traction.

Higher clearance and AWD helps SUVs in deep snow, not higher center of gravity if that's what you mean.

107123210

I agree that spinning wheel almost never will get you unstuck. Only perhaps if ice is thing and you can get down to pavement.

But braking spinning wheel doesn't help either when car is stationary. I believe the traction control only works when car is under way.

On our 98 E320, we can turn ASR on or off. Turning it off would allow the wheels to spin without braking, but I never saw that do any good. Nor does the ASR for that matter, when car is not moving. It's not Positraction.

The GLK is very sure footed in the snow and ice we get in our long driveway, compared with our other RWD Benzes.