This is going to be our first winter with the new 2010 XF Premium, which has the standard 19" wheels with all-season radials. I know many owners of RWD cars tend to park them for Winter because of poor traction/control.

We do have an option of using our spare SUV during inclement weather, but would love to hear from folks who use the XF in wintry conditions. Many of our friends would not buy an XF because it is RWD, instead, they are buying Audi, BMW xi, and Mercedes AWD vehicles.

From my experience with a 1993 MB diesel RWD, tires make the most difference. I Would love to hear experiences with the Winter mode capability of the XF. Also, has anyone used snow radials in the winter and have you noticed a difference?

 

a rwd car with a set of snow tires will outperform an awd car with all-season tires.

you need to ask yourself questions here, how fast is the snow clean-up where you live

will you have to travel far and on highway or incline decline roads during actual snowfall

do you have minor snowfall > 2-4 inches per storm or major snowfall 4 inchs ad up.

if you dont travel much during the actual storm, and arent in hilly area's and where you live experiances light snowfall with quick clean up. youll be fine with what you have

if heavy snowfall, hilly area, traveling during snowfall, youll need a set of snow tires.

look around for jaguar 18" wheels wherever you can find them and mount aset of blizzak lm's on them for the winter

 

I drive my XF with the all seasons on until the snow starts to fly. Then I switch to a full set of Pirelli Sottozeros.

The issue is tire traction. There is no issue whatsoever about the rwd chassis. Even if you switch off the DSC entirely the XF is superb in winter (which is my experience with any car that is a good road car in the warm and dry).

The attraction to awd is quite dangerous for most drivers. The problem is that awd does not behave as predictably at the limit as fwd or rwd.

Basically, all passenger vehicles have four wheel brakes. The limit for all winter driving is braking, not accelerating. If you get stuck in winter with two wheel drive you should not be on the road because your tires are inadequate. Even if you succeed in getting going you will be unable to stop adequately. All wheel drive adds nothing except the ability to get unstuck when it is not safe to drive.

I drive an Audi S4 as well as my Jaguar. I have absolutely no preference for the one over the other in winter. The Jaguar actually handles better than the Audi anyway. The Audi is more fun to drive over the limits because I have explored the limitations of awd so I am ready to counter the crazy antics that occur when you push awd beyond the limits of traction. I have done the same with the XF with the DSC turned off entirely (press and hold the DSC button for 11 seconds or more) and it is dull by comparison because it handles so well.

The best setting for very slippery roads is to switch off the DSC to the first level of TRAC (just press the DSC button for a second) which reduces the effect of the DSC to allow some wheelspin. I also select the "winter" setting on the console which softens the shifts, starts off in second gear and slows the throttle response a little to make driving on the slippery stuff easier.

 

I have an S-Type but the concerns mentioned earlier appear applicable to both cars. I have found that the DSC and anti-lock systems work pretty well. As long as you are fairly prudent you should have no problems. In my particular area, the northern VA area, I found I had less problems than a number of AWD SUVs. Recommend that you do some experimenting in a parking lot to see what the car limits are.

Mike

 

I agree with StrateLoss. We live in east central Wisconsin and last winter we drove our XF S/C all winter on 18's with winter radials. It would be crazy to try to drive on the stock tires in winter. It was extremely surefooted with winter tires. I never felt insecure while driving in a snowstorm or otherwise. That being said we don't HAVE to drive it and don't have to get home on backroads. We have a 4x4 ('09 Silverado Crew) when we need it, but it usually sits in the driveway because the Jag is so much better in any weather.
This year we have a XFR and with the bigger brakes less than 20's will not fit. The only winter tires we can find for it will not be available until late December. It will have to sit from first snowfall until we can get the winter tires.

 

I've driven three 911's (all rwd) through 14 winters on winter tires and not had one single problem. As has been said by someone else above, I would choose to drive a rwd car on winter tires over an awd car on all seasons every single time.

Incidentally I just had 4 255x35 20" Sottozero's fitted at the TireRack. We discussed the stagger and my preference in winter is to have all 4 tires the same, so that's what I got.

 

RWD is fine 99% of the time. The only times you really need AWD is for deeper snow, hills, and if you have to get to work at any hour in the middle of the night when streets are unplowed (eg. some doctors). Otherwise RWD is fine. I plan on getting RWD with snow tires for my next car.

 

welcome james, feel free to visit the new member area and post up an appropriate introduction so all can welcome you. Hey, then we'll see you within 18 months with your newly preowned XF.

 

One reason I eschewed automatics for so long was that they cannot handle extreme winter conditions...until now. The latest DSC with the "winter" setting for the transmission basically eliminates traction problems. The system works as if the car has a limited slip differential AND traction control. Although my 2001 Audi S4 Quattro will climb steeper slippery hills than my XF the difference is not significant. Certainly, my XF with DSC will climb steeper hills than my fwd cars, all on full snow tires.

What I like most about Jaguar's XF DSC is that you have a two stage "off". Select TRAC and you get more wheelspin to optimize grip in snow. Select "Off" (depress the DSC button continuously for 11 seconds or more) and you can steer the car with your right foot to any drift angle you choose.

Totally brilliant chassis engineering.

 

I drive an XF Supercharged in Calgary, Alberta. I live outside the city so the car has to be able to handle rural roads, with the associated winter complications.

I use 20" summers and 18" winters. I don't subscribe to the theory that all-seasons are unusable in winter but it's a moot point as my understanding is that all seasons aren't available for this car.

Our back-up winter car is a Discovery which gets through everything of course but isn't needed unless the snow levels are so high that the XF physically can't get through the depth of snow. I haven't had that happen yet.

Interestingly, one of our neighbours had an Infiniti 45 but replaced it with a Yukon because "it couldn't get up the hill". He couldn't believe that the RWD Jag didn't have any problems getting in and out.

 

So you are from Calgary. I would avoid using the cruise control if I were you, especially at the moment!

All season tires are inadequate for our current conditions. I have the base model and made that decision at Lake Louise last October. The stock all seasons just don't stop you short enough.

I now have Pirelli Sottozeros and have no trouble whatsoever in this weather.

 

I agree that the XF with winter tyres has no difficulties in this weather. Coming in to work today it performed flawlessly in far from ideal conditions.

 

In these conditions I would hope the system shuts itself off if you have switched it on. Too risky!

 

Cruise shuts off automatically if the DSC activates due to wheel spin or other instability.

 

I have seen many reports ref snow tyres etc mainly US/Canada where I imagine they are needed regularly in winter time. In Uk most winters are not too harsh... until recently. I have an X type awd which last winter saw me through very well on icy roads with gentle use of accererator. I am tempted to move to 2008 XF of XJ which have no AWD but DSC and traction control. I dont need to make long journeys in bad weather but maybe up to 50 miles , and only when necessary. The xtype performs well but AWD models no longer made and my 03 plate is due for replacement. Will the XF/XJ perform well in snow/ice??
Any advice welcome.

 

The issue is temperature not snow. If the temperature gets below 40F summer tires, and even all season tires, begin to lose their ability to grip. If the temperature never goes below 40F for extended periods where you live then you're probably fine. My conclusion is that if an XFR with 500+ hp and snow tires can manage a Midwest winter where temperatures go down to -20F you should have no problems.

 

I had an X-Type 3.0 with a standard (manual) box & I agree that it was great on the snow. The only problem was that the chin spoiler (it was a Sport model) was so low that it would easily get caught in the snow. The XF that I now have is also good on the snow although perhaps not quite as `planted' as the X-Type's awd, and has a `Winter Driving' setting that the X-Type lacked. You have to be careful not to put the power down too fast but I would recommend the car in the winter.
Having said that, we have just endured a cold blast including a record daytime low of -36.5C (-33.7F) which made getting about on the roads challenging in anything but the Jag handled it without any problems.

 

Good tires and common sense are all you really need.

 

I too had a 3.0 X Type Sport with a 5 spd previous to buying my XF. There is just no comparison between the X Type and the XF in winter. However, the X Type is probably the best winter car ever built. the awd system in the X Type is superior to the quattro system on my Audi and to the analogous viscous coupling system on Subarus. The XF is extremely capable in the slippery stuff it is just that the X Type was pretty much unbeatable by any other awd street vehicle available. I used to enjoy out performing those SUVs in heavy snow. The X Type even had 6 inches of ground clearance!

For Scotland I think the XF will be suitable but if you get cold weather then snow tires (cold weather tires) would be essential to bring performance anywhere close to the X Type. Nokian WR would likely be the best choice as it is a true all weather tire with a winter tread and all season compounding suitable to Scotland's "mild" winter temperatures.