I didn't read everyone's post. But i have been driving a 2005 A4 in the snow for the past week. Between the ESP and AWD.... its a beast in the snow. Better than my AWD jeep

 

I took my AWD TRailblazer SS in an empty deserted parking lot with my 5 year old. Told him we had to practice driving in the snow. That was really fun. Had about 4 inches of untouched snow.

My first year with AWD and other than RWD fishtail tendencies under power, they will go where the front wheels point. Awesome.

 

Now that I've had some time with the quattro and snows, I can say it's an awesome combination. The only thing I've noticed, maybe because it's the only thing the snows haven't completely corrected, is the occasional tendency at slow/parking lot speed, for the car to quit reacting to the wheel during sharper turns, and plow straight ahead. It has to be that really heavy slimy almost slushy dense stuff, that can be hard to walk on without falling anyway.

 

I had my first experience with the quattro in the snow just this past weekend. I couldnt wait for the first snow where i could try it out and this time i wasnt disappointed. It made me glad i bought an Audi. I was passing all kinds of fwd and rwd cars off on the sides of the roads and some really bad accidents too. I was cautious, of course, but it was still very reassuring knowing i was driving passed all of them without a problem.

 

I had my little bit of fun last week with the second big snow in Chicago. It's definitely fun, but I really hate the No Seasons (Heh, like the name? Patent pending ) Anyway, back does slide out in corners if you give it some gas, and it WILL catch you by surprise if you give it more gas due to overconfidence.
My point is this though, in comparison, my previous front wheel audi, diesel, with 205 -17's winter tires definitely accelerated faster and gripped much better than my quattro with the stupid 235 18's pirelli p6's brand new no seasons. Now when I say gripped, don't get confused, it still understeered like a FWD will at speed in the corner, but just the quick little turn of the wheel with winter tires was so much sharper, even on a FWD. and in a straight line it was also much much better than the quattro. And this is all due to tires. I'd love to buy winter tires, now but having the wheel & tire package seems kinda pointless to spend so much money on tires, when I'm covered for 4 years. Doesn't seem like this winter is gonna be too bad here, either. Only had two snow days so far, and everything is cleaned by the next morning.
If you can afford it, or have a choice, most DEFINITELY buy winters and summers separately, rather then cheap out on no seasons. The no seasons are just that - not soft enough for the winter, not hard enough for the summer. In the long run, you're not spending any more money either, cause the two sets will last you twice as long as one set of no seasons. That's just my two cents.

 

I've survived a few winters with the all seasons, and quattro. Getting through the snow was never a problem. The big reason I bought the winters, was the fact that the weight of these cars 4000 lbs, (heavy for its class), and the wide 235 all seasons combined to make the car stop terrible in the slick. Even when the tires were almost new. Now it stops almost scary fast compared to before. Even just a few feet can mean the difference between going on with your trip, or having to go buy a new Audi.

 

Dude, Pirelli P6 4-Seasons are utter crap. The first thing I did after hydroplaning on the PA Turnpike was swap them out for Continental Extreme Contact DWS - an all season tire that actually has some grip in wet and snow, and decent performace in the dry to boot. You simply cannot compare those crap Pirelli OEMs with a decent all-season tire... and with Quattro, all you really need is a decent all-season tire for good winter performance. I've walked up mountain passes through blizzards in Colorado, past struggling SUVs with my all-seasons on the Avant, no problem.

 

aah, see, I didn't know that. And I was making all these bad generalizations about all seasons. Yeah, all the cars I've been driving in the states have been vw's an audi's, and they all come with the exact same stupid pirelli tires. And I know pirellis in general are really good tires, I guess it's just this model, which is crap. I can also feel the stupid friction when I turn the wheels at low speeds, like pulling out of a parking spot, it just sounds and feels weird. Thanks for the heads up, I'll try to replace them. The good thing is my wheel and tire package still covers any wheels or tires I buy on my own. Bad thing is I have to make the initial investment in new tires. Anyone wanna trade rubber?

 

Not sure I understand what you mean about your wheel and tire package... so they are paid for?

Anyways, check out tirerack.com and read the reviews for the A/S tires there, there are also many tire threads on Audizine, etc. I like the Conti Extreme Contact DWS for their traction but some people think the sidewall is too soft. For my 18's I like the combination of handling and ride comfort, people on 17's seem to have more issues with the sidewall flex.

Hell if your tires and wheels are paid for I would definitely get a seperate set of snow tires/wheels.

 

I agree that the Pirelli's don't have the greatest grip, but my Jetta with the 205/55/16's and all seasons was also bad in the snow, and those tires were rated as decent in the snow. My only concern with the Continental, all seasons, is that they have had a past history of sidewall failures. the walls would bubble. There actually is a possible class action in the works because of it if I remember right. After my experience though, I will never go back to all seasons in the winter. The difference is night and day.