Hi,

I am buying a house in Aberdeenshire and as I live in the Midlands now I hardly ever see snow. I am not scared of a bit of snow on the roads but how bad does it get up there and will I regret no 4wd come winter?

Thinking of a V70 AWD or Forester (got too big dogs I need to cart around).


Cheers,
Chinnybloke

4wd will be an advantage that's for sure but the most important thing you could buy are decent winter tyres. Better traction is no good unless its allied with proper grip for cornering and braking....

Never seen much snow ?
You're in for a fookin' shock mate ! :D:D:D:D

4wd pointless during the spring/summer months but it can get pretty bad up here during the winter, although I've managed to negotiate the notorius A9 from the wilds of Gairloch to Edinburgh in a humble 2wd during some pretty bad spells, so I would have to say that it's not really needed.
If you have far to travel for work, then perhaps it would swing in favour of getting a 4x4, but I'm sure you'd miss those lie-ins instead of going to work ! ;)

There are (or used to be) loads of Scoobyneters from the Aberdeen area, so you should get lots of advice.

I lived in the area for over 20 years and winters vary a great deal but you can occasionally get caught out. Ignoring the higher passes like the Cairn'o mount, Cock Bridge>Tomintoul etc, regular A and B roads in the NE might get blocked once or twice a year but rarely more than that.

Almost nobody bothers with winter tyres though but this is probably due to ignorance of the benefits that they offer.

I live in Switzerland now and everyone uses them out here from mid November to mid April.

Apparently, below 7deg C, all-season or summer tyres will require 25% more braking distance, even in the dry!

If it gets much colder, your 'summer' tyres will freeze a bit like an ice hocky puck with hilarious consequences, as you can imagine. ;)

Therefore, a decent set of winter tyres should see you through in any 2WD car.

4WD without winter tyres can give a false sense of security and ABS systems are easily confused when there is no grip due to the wrong tyres for the weather.

Depends really where your house is situated, if its in a village/town or right beside a main road and you'll be fine with a fwd car. My '98 Impreza Turbo in the last five years of living out in Aberdeenshire has never seen me stuck.

(I'm now in Aberdeen and I had more hassle in town with slippy roads than when I was in Banchory!)

We are buying a house about 6 miles outside Turriff. I can't wait.

I like the Scottish system of house buying. Annoying when you lose out sometimes but I think it is great compared to down here. We've only been successful on the 4th attempt. On the other 3 houses we bid exactly the same as another top bidder but they were chosen, outbid by £250, second by more than £10k on the third house, even though we were £10k clear of 3rd place! On this one we offered a lot over as soon as it came to the market to stop it going to a closing date.

I reckon I'll still go down 4WD route just in case.

Cheers,
Chinnybloke

I'm in the Borders, and even though we get less snow here I'm still going to get a Defender in the next 6 months. It'll be handy for pottering about the roads around here (don't do much motorway driving these days), will fit 2-3 mountain-bikes in the back (we'll get a 110) and will also be handy if we do get a decent bit of snow (2 years ago Peebles was cut off for 3 days with 4-5ft of snow. :eek: :D).

It'll also be fun to take up some mountains off-roading. :D

I wouldn't say you actually needed 4wd in Aberdeen winters, but it's nice to have, although it uses slightly more fuel.
You can drift it round corners as well....
You know you want to!

Get the Forrester anyway:) They're better than you'd give em credit for, with decent tyres they're even pretty good at off roading.

A mate from work lives 3 miles north of Turriff, he has been off a few days each year as he couldn't (or didn't want to :) ) make it out of his house. If your house is on one of the single track roads up there then you may have trouble as they will be last to be cleared.

If you are travelling into Aberdeen for work then I don't envy you it is a bugger of a road in the winter.

As Miles says, the city seems to be worse, I couldn't use my old BMW for a week in the centre of Aberdeen! and I get to play with 40 ton trucks in the industrial estate on permanently ungritted roads!

Anyhow, as to your question, it sounds like where your going it might be a good idea for the 4x4 if you need to get about at the worst of winter.

Duncan...

A forester is a tesco trolley not a 4x4, if one whell gets damp you get stuck :D