yup, winter tires go on next weekend, and we hardly get any snow...

My X5 had dunlop sports and it was terrible in snow, got new yokohama's and had them siped and last winter I could tell the difference, plus they were Taller tires by 1",and 1" less width, so also good for snow!

now try real winter tires with the proper cold weather compound and you will see an even bigger difference!

Hankook All-Seasons:

So far so good, not too concerened that the are all seasons since if there is about 2in+ i use chains on all 4 (Why four? AWD +DSC) if power is xfered, i want to be sure max traction can be gained...

I only had one situation when I took a sharp turn @ 25mph (1 inch of slush: no chains) and almost lost the X, thankfully DSC helped me recover. I had a smelly seat, and put chains on for saftey :D

Overall: This car can't do everything, but for what it can do, its good at!

DSC doesn't apply brake to slow you down. ABS does, if you have your foot hard on the brake. DSC stabilizes the vehicle when necessary, by applying individual brakes, which is something a driver can't do. I am comfortable steering out of skids when necessary, and I can do so with DSC on. I still find that DSC adds stability on slippery roads.

To the nay sayers perhaps it is your tires that are lousy. I have dedicated snows. My X plows through everything like a hot knife through butter. No complaints. We see plenty of snow/ice here in New England and lots of hills too.

I stated it earlier, the X5 with snows is one of the best SUV's in snow you may ever find. You need to learn to trust it! :thumbup:

dking, part of the problem that everyone doesn't talk about is the ambient temperature. the winter tire compounds are softer for better traction.

you will have better traction in all situations with dedicated winter tires, including with chains. below 47F these tires really pay for themselves.

My trusty steed
 

On every vehicle I've ever owned, I've always found a big parking lot and learned what the vehicle could and could not do. Whether doing donuts or some serious moves, it's always helped my understand the dynamics of the car/suv/truck. At least it works for me.:iagree:

I was surprised how good my X5 was in a deep snow. Last winter I tried to get to our summer house. There was fresh snow, depth varying from ankle high to knee high and X5 pushed through without too much struggle. Although there was a patch of snow up to X5 headlights which finally stopped me. I was able to reverse out of it and managed to kick snow around to get it a bit lower. More speed and over we went. Overall I was very impressed as was a Cherokee owner sitting next to me! :thumbup:

Few years ago I owned a ZJ Grand Cherokee which was much worse in snow, although it had much worse tires as an excuse. I can confirm that good tires make a big difference in winter driving.