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Had to try it out, and 'twas better than I expected!
Surprisingly, the Aero on Michelin Primacy tires was better than my last car, a '99 Accord EX V6 on OE Michelin MXV4+ Energy tires "M+S".
I must clarify, though, that on the Accord, those MXV4+ Energy tires were AWFUL in the snow, and I have no idea how Michelin can claim that those are M+S! Upon acceleration in the snow, that Accord's front tires would slip and the nose would slide SIDEWAYS, something I've never experienced in any other FWD car! Maybe it's something to do with the Accord (too nose-heavy?) and not the MXV4+ tires.
Anyhow, back to the SAAB!
If you live in an area which doesn't get much snow, and the road crews are good with clearing the roads, you can probably never get snow tires and be fine. The car was pretty stable on plowed roads, and was actually okay in a parking lot with about an inch of snow on the ground!
Problem is, areas with little snow (say, south of Washington, DC) usually do not have good snow removal... Even DC has really poor snow removal...
So, in a pinch, if you really HAD to drive in a *little bit* of snow on the Primacys, you'd manage, but if your locale gets more than an inch or two of the white stuff, get snow tires, or Pilot Sport A/S tires at least.
For sure, the car is much more manageable than most other cars on summer-only, ultra-sport tires.
Some interesting points:
* SAAB tuned the Bosch ESP system EXTREMELY well! It doesn't impede forward progress as much, as, say, BMW's version in the 3- or 5-series. I'm guessing that BMW's version has to be more agressive with brake application and engine cut-out due to their more tail-happy RWD.
* ESP works in reverse! Keep this in mind if you have to reverse in deep snow, you should disable it first. I almost pulled into a parking lot with deep snow, and stopped halfway in... Gunned it in reverse, and the ESP fought with me... I then disabled it, and was able to back out just fine. Phew.
* I heard my SID make a new sound! While doing some admittedly foolish hand-brake U-turns in an empty parking lot, it made a "ding-dong" doorbell-like sound, as in, "HELLO, YOU DING-DONG--what the heck are you doing??" :-)
* Kudos to the SAAB engineers who gave us the slow throttle tip-in and nicely progressive clutch. I was actually able to coax the car up an icy driveway on the Primacy tires! Wow!
I'm putting the Gislaveds on tomorrow night... will write about them when I have more seat time driving on those. TXG, how are yours so far?
Jason
posted by 24.46.48...
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