Snow, glorious snow :-)

[George Harris]

The Audi 4 wheel drive with locking diffs impressed me today. I live in
Ontario which is finally getting a winter much like what we used to get
before El Nineo (sp?) and Global warming. Last night we got a bit of
freezing rain and then an eight inch dump with drifting in spots over a
foot. I know, not a real test.

But I wanted to make sure that we could get in and out without calling
for the snow plow, so I went out to try the Audi in the drive. First
though, I had to move my son's Pontiac Vibe out of the way. Yes I could
move it, but had to take a couple of runs at it to get it far enough out
of the way to move the Audi. On the other hand, I locked both diffs on
the Audi and just drove out of it's parking spot, down the driveway, out
onto the road through the mound of snow thoughtfully placed there by the
township plow, back in and out a couple of times turning through drifts
at the top end of the driveway. Didn't have to take a second run at any
point nor did the wheels spin.  I am Pleased :-)

On Friday I went out with a neighbour to gather wood with his tractor.
We first put chains on the driving wheels, then proceeded out into the
field where we got stuck 3 times and got half a load of wood :-( Just as
a sort of benchmark, I went back to get the Audi, put into full lock,
then drove around the field. Once again, didn't have to stop or take a
second run at any point. I will admit, that I did avoid the one spot
where we got the tractor stuck in 2 feet of snow, but the tractor got
stuck in other places where it was only 6 inches deep, and it has a lot
more clearance than the Audi.

As far as I'm concerned, being able to get in and out today makes the
4wd with differential lock well worth it. BTW I talked to my brother who
got his mighty Dodge Ram with 4wd drive stuck in his driveway :-)

Cheers to all.
George