Driving in snow

[pmg]

Many years ago I was walking home from work on a day we’d had a heavy fall of snow. We lived at the top of a hill. At the bottom of the hill were lots of abandoned cars that had failed to make any progress up the hill. As I walked I noticed a single pair of tyre tracks going up the road and wondered what car had managed this. I carried on up the long steep hill and was gobsmacked to see the tracks turn into our drive and disappear into the garage! I couldn’t believe my wife had done this but she said “the car just did it”. It was a Saab 96.

Designed and mostly built in Sweden. They know all about driving in snow

In the 1st year after passing my test I did a sideways 4 wheel drift in snow round a bend on Compton Way Bolton dual carriage way in my father's SAAB 96, i combination of the free wheel they had and very narrow tyres 155 by 15 from memory

[Nuclear Nick]

Many years ago I was walking home from work on a day we’d had a heavy fall of snow. We lived at the top of a hill. At the bottom of the hill were lots of abandoned cars that had failed to make any progress up the hill. As I walked I noticed a single pair of tyre tracks going up the road and wondered what car had managed this. I carried on up the long steep hill and was gobsmacked to see the tracks turn into our drive and disappear into the garage! I couldn’t believe my wife had done this but she said “the car just did it”. It was a Saab 96.

Designed and mostly built in Sweden. They know all about driving in snow

In the 1st year after passing my test I did a sideways 4 wheel drift in snow round a bend on Compton Way Bolton dual carriage way in my father's SAAB 96, i combination of the free wheel they had and very narrow tyres 155 by 15 from memory

Yes, and I did an inadvertent sideways drift on packed snow in this 96 too. It was pretty much only the car’s design that saved me from crashing into parked cars at a scary 15mph!
And yes, large diameter narrow tyres had a lot to do with it but also the fact that the engine was mounted forward of the front driven wheels. The car did a peculiar jumping motion when scrabbling for grip under power and I think somehow this was designed in to enhance traction in snow.