I just got back from another 2800 mile trip. For those who aren't used to riding the bleeding edge of traction, I can tell you that this car is a pretty darned good performer on ice.

I had to drive on frozen slush in the dark in a mildly heavy snowfall with all that swirling vortex in the lights, etc, for about 100 miles the morning we left at 6 AM. Not much fun - could manage about 45 mph safely - still fishtailed it a couple times. I watched a poor girl lose her grip in front of me and roll her car into the right ditch, but she looked ok - saw her scramble out of her driver's window and stand up.

On the way back, there was snow from the fields blowing across warm interstate and glazing the road with patches of black ice. Kinda unnerving at 80 mph, but manageable at 50. Only about 40 miles of it this time, but dark again, and several cars in the ditches. Again, I watched a guy lose it in front of me - fishtailed over to the right shoulder, caught it and swung wildly sideways back across the lanes - almost caught it again at the left shoulder but failed and dumped into the median in a spray of snow.

Both times, the Q was fine. I've driven in packed snow and ice most of my life, so I have an inherent feel for the four tires and how they're connecting to the road. The Q gives good feedback and recovers well. I driven on pure shiny ice with it, complete with fishtailing (moderate - I know how to keep that to a minimum), and every time it's come back into alignment with a nice firm little snap when I let off the throttle.

Most of you talk about the car in terms of skid pad type performance since you're used to bare pavement, but you can learn a lot about a suspension by the way it behaves on packed snow and ice. Around my part of the country, all teenagers spend some time flying across empty parking lots sideways, in every combination of steering and throttle they can discover. The Q45 is pretty darned good for a RWD. The rear will come out, of course, but so far it hasn't swung past the point of no return, and I've had some fairly close calls, including one last year at 70 mph on 2 inches of Kentucky slush, on an outside curve, between a guardrail and a semi trailer drifting into my lane, blinded by the tire spray of said semi, when it decided to fishtail on me. But I'm here to tell the story. Snapped back into place and let me accelerate enough to get past.

So far, so good.

I thought the Q was fantastic with second-gear start and awful with first-gear start. Thats no surprise. Its a lot better than most RWD cars in the snow, thats for sure.

Definitely... The deciding factor is the tires you chose to run.....

My 99 with weight in the back, TCS on, and 225/50 17 bridgestones does ok. Sometimes it's takes a minute to get moving but overall it's ok.

elwesso wrote:The deciding factor is the tires you chose to run.....

A M E N

I'm driving on Michelin Pilot XGT H4s and I bet they're not the best for snow and ice - too hard for best adhesion.

Any RWD is annoying in town in winter, and usually recoverable without much risk, 'cause you're not trying to do 70 mph. I'm talking about general suspension balance and sensitivity at highway speed. The Q45 is quite well-behaved in that regard. What impresses me most is it's ability to maintain a skewed stance and drift politely back towards alignment. That has little to do with tires, in my experience, not that I'm arguing - just praising the suspension, itself. Nicely designed.

I rarely drive the Q off the freeway, so I'm all about its behavior at cruising speed. I understand it as an entirely different animal than many of you.

I agree. I have hydroplaned in 3" of water at 75 MPH, and the car seemed to stay straight, under control, and recovered nicely. I think it has a lot ot do with the weight and relatively low center of gravity. I am not sure what the front/rear bias is, but the suspension seems to be very balalnced. Tokiko blues, rear stabilizer bar and the front strut tower brace helps a bit too.