Josh Wardell’s MINI Cooper S

We have had such a warm start to winter I been growing more and more anxious for snow. Not only for skiing, but of course as a test for my new snow tires. To say the least, they passed with flying colors.

It started snowing hard around 6am, and when heading into work not a single road had been plowed, sanded, or salted. The highway with its large hill was impossible for some cars, it had several inches of packed snow and slush and was very slick. The side roads were no better. Yet during my whole morning commute my DSC light did not even blink once! I often fire the DSC even on dry roads. I was very impressed with my new Nokians. At slow speeds, they made this crunching sound, almost like going over gravel, like they were just munching the snow and showing it who’s boss. But the worst was yet to come…

It snowed harder and harder all day, often a complete white out when peering out the windows from work. The storm finally stopped at 3. Unlike others who headed home early, I decided to wait till my normal time to give the most time for the roads to be taken care of. I walked out to the parking lot to find this:

The snow had bastardized my MINI into looking like a white SUV! It took over 30 minutes for me to fully clean it of (PLEASE people remember to clear snow off your roof!). I had to help another person as well, who was stuck despite the maintenance people with the plow unable to push her car out; I walked over with my collapsable shovel (don’t leave home without it!), shoveled out behind her car, and she was on her way.

Here was another test of the Hakkapeliitta 2s. Previously, any more than 3 inches of unplowed snow would bottom out my MINI and it would be stuck like a beached whale. Thanks to the new tires’ amazing snow traction, it ripped through 6-7 inches of snow without batting an eyelash. I was surprised to find that the roads were still mostly untouched. The highways were still coated with snow, and traffic was barely inching along. I had promised fellow MINI motorer Ivan that I would attend our holiday gathering of the National Motorists Association and I wasn’t letting these undrivable conditions stop me. Unfortunately after several hours, most did not show up, however the hotel lounge was abnormally packed because so many people were stranded there.

The trip home at 9am was unworldly. 128/95 was still packed snow. There were abandoned cars left and right. Accidents every quarter mile. Several SUVs were even stuck. Yet there was my MINI, zipping by all those stuck gas-guzzling 4x4s like it was a sunny day. Even at 60mph, I could make those normally frightening lane changes, without a hint of slipping.

I had been wondering if I should have saved a little money and gone with cheaper snow tires, I was very happy with the Michelin Pilot Alpins on my last car, and was eyeing the Pirelli Winter Carving for the MINI as previously mentioned. But I’m now very happy I went the extra mile and went with the Nokian Hakkapeliitta 2s. They truly are a cut above any other snow tire, and when the snow threatens, they are worth every penny.