Another vote here for using a set of winter tires on my XF. After reading a number of comments here on the forum about the advantages of winter tires (and looking at that Tire Rack logo constantly), I decided to purchase a second set of wheels and winter tires about a year ago. I went with a reasonably priced 7 spoke 18" wheel and the Bridestone Blizzak tires, with TPMS and balancing. I mounted the wheels and tires and just waited for it to snow, and waited and waited. As most will recall, the northeast was pretty much snow free last winter, but the one 5 to 6 inch snow we got, I raced to my local supermarket parking lot before they had a chance to plow it. I tried to make the XF spin out but could not do it. Maybe there will be more snow this year - the Bridestones are on the XF now, so I'm ready. One extra benefit of having the second set of wheels and tires, it gives you a good opportunity to wash and clean the wheels when they are off the vehicle.

 

. . . it should be "Bridgestone" . . . one misspelling is excusable, two is, well, I'm an idiot.

 

Not true. I don't care how good your diving skills are, doesn't mean a thing if you don't have good traction.

 

IMO, the XF is simply not a winter car. You would be better off buying another vehicle for the winter.

 

You are wrong!!! My advice is to go seek knowledge and talk to a tire specialist. Rubber isn't just rubber. There's a difference between a summer, winter, and all-season tires.

 

XF makes a fine winter car. I also have a SAAB and an Audi S4. The XF is the least capable of the three but still fine, with winter tires.

Spinning out is very easy with the DSC. switched fully off: eleven seconds on the DSC button and watch out.

Spelling errors can be fixed using Edit. I use an iPad which continually "corrects" my spelling incorrectly. I edit a lot!

Diving skills is a common Apple auto-correction error. Apple engineers must like swimming.

 

Is that a fact or an opinion?

Really? Where did you get your engineering degree?



Looks good to me....

 

Not necessarily. On a cambered curved road on fresh wet snow you can slide up and off, or down and off, unless you have really good tyres or exactly the right speed. Seing is believing

One guy generally considered a safe and prudent driver by all of us guys did the latter on all season tyres.

 

The V12 XJ-S is not considered a good winter car. I used one year round for a few years. With the best snow tyres I could find it was OK. With summers I got stuck on even the slightest incline, I tried it out for fun one year.

The XF in winter mode on snow tyres can cope with most everything. It takes an AWD on snow tyres to better it significantly.

 

A degree or engineering background is not required, however, common sense is. Unfortunately, not everyone has it.

It's common knowledge to not drive a high-performance car in the winter time. Most people that have a high-performance vehicle understands that, and have a second car for the reason being. Therefore my XF SC stays in the garage all winter.

But the fact that the XF not being a good winter car is kind of a secondary issue. The primary concern(and my #1 reason as to why the XF is not a good winter car) is why would one want to drive such a beautiful car in the winter time anyway?

 

I drive anything in winter. High performance or not. Winter tires are essential to get the best out of a car in winter. A good road car that handles well on dry road should handle well on snow and ice. This is one reason I do not consider BMW to handle well.

Horsepower does not adversely affect winter performance. My Audi biturbo chipped S4 has plenty of grunt and is an absolute hoot in winter, on four snow tires.

And just BTW, where I live it gets cold enough for winter tires in October and doesn't warm up enough until May to warrant taking them off. Ditto the expected snow season, October to May. That's why it is important to realize that the XF is a satisfactory winter car, on snow tires.

 

We all have our preferences.
I paid all the money that i did, to enjoy my car. What's the point of having a nice car if you aren't going to use it.
Parking a beautiful car in a garage isn't enjoying.

That's like going out buying pair of new shoes and saying let me wear the old ones cause the new ones will get worn out. Why buy them then?

I have a question for you though. Why drive a beautiful car in a summer?

 

Wow! So just because you put winter tires on it that makes it suitable for ice and snow? Look, winter tires only going to help so much. When you have a lot of torque on the rear, with high horsepower, it doesn't matter if u have winter tires. You are going to spin out!!! For example, A high-end corvette sits low and it's a high performance vehicle. One would have to be a complete dummy to drive that thing in the winter. So no, you cannot drive anything in the winter just because you put snow tires on it.

 

This makes me question your age...I mean, WTF would you drive a beautiful and expensive car in the winter time? Have you ever heard of taking good care of something? Would you drive a Bently GT in the winter time? If the answer is yes, then I'll say you are probably about 18 years old. 1st of all, no car looks good in the winter time. All cars are dirty! No car stays clean. And why get all the salt on there? Why chance it that someone will slide into you?

Storing your car for the winter is called taking good care of your car. Keeping the salt off the paint and in mint condition. Just kind of common sense dude.

 

Actually you can drive just about anything in the winter. I had a heavily modded 3rd gen Rx-7...., didn't even have fancy traction control...Pirelli snows and it worked very very well. Was like a tractor...would go anywhere and was a blast to drive in the snow.

BMW 335i....couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding with the summers on....throw on Blizzaks.....and it would go just about anywhere....and that is without an LSD...so effectively 1 wheel drive and it would push snow with the front dam.

The question of whether you want to expose a particular car to the snow and salt or if you will be comfortable is another question. In northern climates many an enthusiast would rather have a fun car and drive it all year than not be able to have it because of the need for two vehicles.

The fundamental question is whether you need snows to get by in the winter. If I was somewhere that snow covered roads were a once or twice a season thing...I would be ok with all seasons. When you are dealing with slush and snow covered roads frequently then it is a no brainer to me to put snows on.

 

Don't compare a mass produced XF with a Bently. These are not the same. The XF is a well featured and well designed but pretty commonly built vehicle. It is above average transportation but certainly not an exotic. Drive the damn things....parked or otherwise, like all common mass produced cars it is depreciating like a rock.

Porsche commonly sends letters to customers in the north encouraging them to drive the cars in the winter. They are heavily corrosion proofed, well engineered and in AWD form very good in the snow. They are also common and mass produced and also not too special to DRIVE. Bently, Ferrari, etc etc....Park em but don't confuse our cars with exotics.

All of that said, I respect a decision to baby a vehicle and take good care....but snow is not going to hurt a well cared for car.

 

I have two "C's" for you.

1. Call down!
2. Comprehend!!

Never did I compare the two. I was giving an example on a level that maybe he could grasp. Got it? Good! Now back in the position!!!!

 

now I'm just perplexed

 

Lots of flak flying

I have some cars that are not used in winter (e.g. XJ12C) and some that are (XF and Jensen FF) The FF is too much fun to run in winter so I accept that it is due for some welding now. If I had a Continental with AWD I would certainly run it during the winter. The XF is. The deciding factors are fun and comfort. With the notable exception of the lady who got buried in her Ferrari (a 500 Superamerica IIRC) you cannot take them with you so why not enjoy them to the full? They were manufactured to be used, not stored. If you want to have some fun in an XF switch off the DSC and run it like any old rear wheel drive, four wheel drifts and all. With due consideration for other road users it can be fun without being a nuisance.

But snow tyres are a must

 

Hard to believe but in some parts of the World winter driving is normal. Where I live it is so normal we must be prepared for winter for at least 8 months of every year.

Almost all modern cars are severely winter tested, in northern Ontario or Sweden usually. Jaguars certainly are. This is to ensure they can be driven normally in severe winter conditions.

As for parking a Bentley all winter, why pray tell did VW equip the Bentley with awd? For rain? Also, why spend all that engineering talent rustproofing the cars if they are intended to be garage queens? Finally, other idiots on the road are dealt with by superior driving skills, superior insurance and a good lawyer. Oh yes, and a full set of the proper tires: snow tires in winter. If you don't wish to fit them I agree, don't drive in winter. That means don't drive anything in winter. Failing to equip your vehicle with winter tires in winter puts you in the class of drivers we are trying to avoid being hit by.

The XF is a very ordinary car, they build thousands of them. If yours gets written off, even in winter, Jaguar can have another one on your doorstep probably within days.