I get laughed at by many of my friends for having a spare set of wheels on the S8 with winter tyres.
So, today (and yesterday) we were in London babysitting, having driven there on Sunday in t'Volvo.
I headed home at lunchtime (to avoid evening traffic jams), SWMBO to follow at teatime by tube, me collecting her about 3 miles from home at the "outer limits" of the tube network.
Mid-afternoon it started snowing at home, quite heavily. It was raining in London. But we got a big "dump".
So I moved t'Volvo (4WD but summer tyres) out of the way of the Audi, just in case I needed it. Swept a couple of inches of snow off the S8 roof while I was outside.
A bit later I swept another 3" or so off when I heard from SWMBO that she was on her way. Then headed, early (just in case) for the station.
Local roads had about 6" of snow on by now, no problem. Did I say we're in the Chilterns, so hilly as well.
Got near the station and what traffic there was slowed to a crawl. So I dived down some side roads and got as close as I could, about half a mile. Ahead was gridlock, so I parked in a block of flats where a family friend lives. A 5-minute journey took me half an hour and I stopped short.
SWMBOs tube got just past the next station down the line and ground to a halt. Eventually (another half hour added) it somehow got through and she walked through the snow to find me. Whole area still gridlocked, but I had an escape route.
Down the side roads again, totally empty, 30mph (the limit) no problem, car completely stable and driving normally. Just took precautions at blind corners in case something was coming or stranded.
Joined a bigger road that had the occasional vehicle crawling along. Still less than 10 minutes to get the 3 miles back home again.
Not sure where the snow hit, but looking at a traffic map there seemed to be a band of gridlock across North London from High Wycombe to about Epping.
It's clearing now except out here NW of London in The Chilterns where the roads are still a mess.
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2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions and extended leather. Ski hatch retrofit. Aftermarket reversing camera. DVB-T and XCarlink now removed as redundant.
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation".
(Even rarer than a D2 S8!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one!
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. Agate Grey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, Tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course.
(internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon. Added Auto-dim mirror, Leather seats, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!
