AMS: Best Handling in Snow Cars 2010

[cawimmer430]

Every year AMS brings together ten random cars with AWD and compares them to one another. The results of this years test are as follows:


1st place: Audi S4 93 points
Fast, stable, great traction and great handling on the snow.

2nd place: Mercedes E350 CDI 4Matic 87 points
Not the fastest on the snow, but great controllable handling, braking and traction. The only diesel car in this comparison.

3rd place: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR 86 points
The Lancer EVO MR is easy to drive and control on the snow. Stability and traction are excellent. Only the poor performance of the brakes ensures a 3rd place finish.

4th place: BMW X1 x-Drive 2.8i 80 points
The X1 drives very neutral on snow. It's agile and offers great traction. Nevertheless, the weak points are braking and handling on snow.

5th place: BMW X6 M 79 points
The X6 M has good traction ratings. With the ESP turned off, the 2.4 ton behemoth sinks into the snow and getting back on track becomes difficult.

6th place: Opel Insignia 2.8 V6 Turbo OPC 76 points
The rear of the Insignia begins to brake out even at slow acceleration (without ESP). The handling on snow isn't good.

7th place: Subaru Outback 3.6 R Exclusive 73 points
The Outback performs decently in almost all regards. Traction, handling and stability are good. Nevertheless, it doesn't excel in any particular field.

8th place: Nissan GT-R Black Edition 72 points
The GT-R demands a lot of concentration and skill to be controlled on snow. It does the job reasonably well but is outclassed by others in this comparison test.

9th place: Mercedes GLK350 4Matic Offroad-Paket 71 points
The GLK has a tendency to understeer which limits its driving fun. The ESP can be switched off, yet automatically intervenes when the sensors detect a dangerous situation.

10th place: Porsche 997 Turbo 65 points
The Turbo has the best braking abilities in this test. That's it. It remains an extremely difficult car to control on the snow in terms of handling and stability.


The Scans

http://img18.imageshack.us/i/amswinter04.jpg/ http://img191.imageshack.us/i/amswinter05.jpg/

 

[siko]

Surprised to see the Subaru that far behind, I though they were one of the AWD handling kings... guess times have changed.

 

[Sunny]

Hmmm, cars with big fat tires like 911 TT and GTR did badly, and ones with thinner tires like S4, X1, E did good? Coincidence? I think not.

 

[bum-man]

Yeah just like putting wider tires on a car in ideal weather makes them handle better...who would have thought? Lets see how brilliant a GTR, 911, or X6 can handle with bicycle tires.

 

[klier]

Weird test. S4 vs 335xi PP please next time. We'll see quattro vs xDrive better that way...

 

[chonkoa]

Lighter vehicles are on top of the list except for the BMWs.
The Porsche and the GTR might be suffering from low ground clearance or poor tyre selection- who knows.

 

[ateekt]

Weird gathering, interesting cars & surprising results!

 

[Sunny]

Yeah just like putting wider tires on a car in ideal weather makes them handle better...who would have thought? Lets see how brilliant a GTR, 911, or X6 can handle with bicycle tires.

A S4 or X1 or the E350CDI is not going handle like GTR or Turbo in dry weather even if you put fat ass tires. But put the same narrow winter tires on a GTR or 911TT as the rest and they will probably handle as well in snow.