Don't buy the Mini EV if you need to drive in snow.

We had a 93 (I think) Northstar Seville. It had traction control that could not be turned off. It was backed into the driveway before a snow (NY by the ocean). Snow turned to ice, and it could not get over the ice. Was immobile until the ice melted. That is when turning the traction control off works.

I had an Astra, took it out with Yokohama Winter Sports. Came to a speed bump under about 5" of fresh CO powder. Needed a head start, and no traction control to get over the speed bump. Was on the highway after that, and there was no way I was going to turn the traction control off.

My wife has had XC90s since 08. We put xIce on the first one, and I swapped the wheel/tire set every Halloween, Mother's day. Two years ago we put Goodyear all seasons on the car in September. It snowed a few weeks later, and I suggested we run the all seasons since they were new and she isn't driving into the mountains. After the first snow of about 3" she said she didn't like how it braked for a stop sign. That weekend I put the one season old Goodyear winters (got a great deal on them so we switched from xIce). Two days later it snowed and she said she felt the difference. She also autocrossed our 944 S2 when she was pregnant, so she knows what she is feeling, and she isn't blonde.

Conclusion - use the right tool for the job.

 

I just wanted to state again how wrong this is. We just received over 12 inches of snow in Rochester, NY and I was able to go out and drop off a package and get food. Major streets had been plowed but side roads and parking lots were poor. At the drive thru, the person behind me got stuck but I was fine. My street must have gotten plowed early this morning but not since and it has been snowing all day. It was a little slow coming in but I managed to get into my driveway. I did not use reduced regeneration or traction off at any point.

Granted I did replace my summer tires with winter tires.

 

We just got dumped on (relative) with about 4” of snow. Fresh snow and packed snow with winter tires, the mini felt like it was driving on pavement… (almost). Only the slush was a bit slidey. Easily one of the best cars I’ve ever driven in snowy weather. Though that could be also due to this being the first time I’ve driven with winter tires (needless to say we will be getting a set of winters for our Fit to replace its AS tires…)


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People who have never tried winter tires in snow have no idea what a huge--and satisfying--difference they make. The safety--and fun--they provide easily compensates for the price and inconvenience of seasonal switching IMHO.

 

Even with winter tires your car may slide on black ice. Those who have freeze/thaw winters may choose a different winter tire over extreme cold movie-set snow.

Blizzak tires usually have less aggressive sipes (those weird mini zig zag lines) than other winter tires and have less traction on ice. However, it's pretty good on slushy roads! Tires like Nokian R3 or Hakkapeliitta studded tires have an almost unbearable road noise for EVs.

 

For those interested, studded tires are only marginally better than modern studless winter tires in a select few conditions (black ice near freezing). In all other conditions they are generally worse. Studs also wear rapidly (especially with modern shorter/weaker studs) which rather quickly eliminates their advantage.

https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/551.1.pdf

 

Seriously though. Before this, I always thought, “ eh, all seasons haven’t failed me too bad so far, right? Maybe a bit slippy up slopes and some minor sliding here and there, but it’s snow, you know?” Then I tried snow tires. Ho-Lee-crap.

(I am somewhat hopeful though that the winter tires last more than 3 seasons though!)


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My Hakkapeliitta R3 studless tires are very quiet. I don't notice any more noise than from my summer tires.

 

I think it was because of the run-flat version of the Hakka 8/9 studs on my other cars. The R3 SUV is still a bit noisy on dry payment.

 

I take it a step forward. I would hate to take my nice new shiny SE out in nasty weather experiencing salt, debris, poor drivers, dings, dents, high centering on snow drifts, getting pushed around by snow plows ... let it have its sporty summer tires and enjoy the go cart handling in suitable weather as thats what it likes. Its not bad in nasty weather. But there is nothing like a higher road clearance stronger 4WD vehicle with snow rated tires to provide driver satisfaction (with much lower stress and significantly more safety). And then there are plenty of opportunities to pull vehicles out of ditches and snow banks, especially those with owners that think FWD vehicles equipped with Hakkapeliitta R3 tires can do anything . The right kind of 4WD is fun on the beach or driving to those out of the way hiking trails. Nothing like having a second vehicle optimized for nasties, I am not going back. I did seasonal tire change overs when I was younger but seasonal vehicle change overs is so much easier with fewer compromises. In fact, in my case, changeovers can be daily with no sweat. But that is just me.... I think the SE has too many traction compromises to be a good/safe snow/ice vehicle. You may get by on well maintained city streets or highways. Putting snow tires on it is like putting lipstick on a pig. ...

 

From my experience, its more often the overconfident 4x4s in the ditch with their bald all seasons...

It's also been amusing to drive up to a remote trailhead in my Miata (and now my SE) and park among a bunch of lifted Jeeps who thought they needed their high clearance and 4x4 to get there

Ultimately, safety in winter is about tires and knowing your vehicle. 4x4, AWD, FWD, RWD are all four wheel stop and two wheel steer which in my opinion are more important than going (unless you are going off somewhere very remote).

The salt thing is another story. I'm fortunate enough that Oregon doesn't use salt and it's very dry here in the summer so rust isn't a huge concern.

 

When you have a Mini and a Civic (holdover car until we get longer range EVs we like in the US) the Mini is fantastic for the snow. I've had 4WD and AWD in the snow with big cumbersome SUVs and the little cars are my favorite in snow. Like above the over confident SUV owners tend to be held up far more than little cars like mine. It's warming up and the snow is melting off my car today. Where I went, the lot wasn't plowed at all.

 

Winter tires are like religion. Some of us believe in them, and some of us don't. It's probably pointless to try and convert one side to the other. I know which camp I'm in - winter tires work for me - and those of you who believe in the other camp can do what you want - as long as you're not doing it where I am.

 

I'm sure you'd agree a MINI Cooper SE is safer and more mobile in the winter with winter tires. I've been driving FWD hatchbacks since my 1975 VW Rabbit and have never had a winter accident or gotten stuck, thanks to winter tires. However, I've never owned an SUV so I don't know how many fewer accidents I would have had or if I would have gotten stuck less often had I gone big.

Whether a pig is safer with lipstick I'll leave for a later discussion.

 

AWD helps you go, but it doesn't help you stop. Snow tires plus the low center of gravity and regenerative braking make the SE an excellent and safe winter vehicle.

 

I think it's fair to say the Cooper SE is not an overlanding vehicle but a very capable winter vehicle in the hands of a capable driver with winter tires.

Some of us in various European countries cannot public land wild camp as that is illegal! The Dutch can't even legally camp on private property!

 

I have already submitted some of my thoughts in this discussion.
Winter tires are not just about some aggressive tread pattern - there is a matter of the tread compound as well. Winter rubber is generally softer to provide better grip on bare and wet roads at temperatures below 5°C or about 40°F. People who run their winter tires late into the spring will find that they will wear prematurely.
All Season tires may as well be wooden at low temperatures. They will last longer but at low temperatures, braking distances are extended and cornering grip is reduced.
Performance summer tires tend to be stickier so long as the road temperatures are high enough. At very low temperatures, they are worse than A/S tires.
While studded winter tires are somewhat better on icy surfaces, the can actually increase braking distances on dry pavement. There are also jurisdictions that prohibit studded tires due to the wear they are believed to inflict on paved surfaces.
I live in Ontario. We have summers with temperatures that reach well into the mid 30°C (90°F) and winters that get down to the low -40°Cs (-40°F). Road surfaces in full sun,of course, can get much higher. There is also regional differences in the road materials. We have very little concrete surfaced roads. Most of our roads are paved (oh and yeah we have lots of dirt/gravel surfaces mostly in rural areas).
I have been driving for some 50 years - year round. For many years I drove over 50,000 MILES per year. I have owned a lot of cars - Toyotas, Mazdas, BMW, Volvo, VW, Infiniti, MINI, Triumph and Honda. I have also been stuck with a Ford and a GM company supplied car for a couple or years. Most were rear wheel drive and some front wheel. None were 4WD.

By far, the 2002 MINI Cooper S and now the 2022 MINI Cooper SE are the HANDS DOWN THE BEST winter cars I have ever owned.

Every car I’ve owned have run winter tires (including run flats) with the switch over always happening when roads were consistently at target temperatures I mentioned earlier. For summers, I have used all season tires, performance and run flats from various makers. The grippiest I have ever used were Pirelli Euforia run flats @$400 a tire (they were only good for 18k miles - barely 2 summers)

The truth about tires is EVERY tire design targets its intended use and that goes for roads cars as well as the track.
In Formula 1, teams get to choose between 3 dry tires (soft, medium or hard) and of course 2 wet tires (Full Wets or Intermediates). All work best at distinct track temperatures or in the case of a wet race, dependant on the amount of water on the track.



Signed
Mike Wazowski
Using Frank’s iPad Inside EVs

 

My experience with the R3 (195/55R16 91R XL) is different than yours. On dry pavement, they are significantly louder than the stock summer tires (both 16" and 17" Hankooks) and the 17" Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season 4 tires.

The 195/55 R16 87W Hankook Ventus Prime 3 is rated at 67dB for noise, while the 195/55 R16 91R XL Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 is rated at 72dB, per EU tyre labels. Since sound energy doubles every 3 dB, it seems consistent to me that the Nokian should be notably louder than the Hankook.

I just double-checked to confirm they were mounted in the correct orientation, since they have a directional tread pattern. Maybe I have a different spec than you?

 

The original poster was was having problems with his "bland new blizark tires" so it looks like nobody is having problems with X-Ice, Hakkapeliitta R3, or Euforia RFT.

Maybe it's just as simple as the Blizzak WS90s being mounted backwards opposite of the rotation -> label?

 

I have Blizzaks on mine, but sadly no snow to test them on.