Cold Weather Testing

I was a little nervous this morning. There was snow overnight and the temperature was around -13C.  The Scion xB had lower profile Bridgestone Potenzas on it.  I wasn't sure how they would perform.  I am used to driving a RAV4 with winter tires.  The tires, along with the AWD, pretty much make the RAV unstoppable in the winter

So I brushed off the snow, scraped the ice and let it warm up a bit.

Much to my surprise (and delight), the xB performed much better than I thought.  The traction control wasn't nearly as busy as I thought it would be, but it definitely helped get maximum traction out of the Potenzas.


The torque of the motor proved valuable, as it allowed easy starts in second gear.  The xB tracked nicely on the snowy roads, without any major moments.

Heading through Pottageville, along the Lloydtown-Aurora Road.

If it were me buying this car I would take the stock steel rims and throw some winter tires on them.  Then head to the local tire shop and pick up some nice rims and summer tires.  The winter tires should help me avoid situations like this, and meeting York Region's finest under unpleasant circumstances:

Overall, a better experience than I thought this morning, and one that proved that this car could handle the white stuff.  The xB is definately a decent little winter car.