THE weather has turned nasty, and the ice, snow, and sleet has arrived. When planning a journey in this poor weather, we should allow extra time for our journey and use only roads more likely to be cleared and gritted. Before setting off, take time to de-ice the car fully, clearing all windows and waiting until the windscreen is fully demisted.
If there is snow on the car clear it before moving off and if it’s not your own car, familiarise yourself with the lights, wipers, and heater controls. Make sure you wear comfortable dry shoes, so your feet won't slip on the pedals and always check you have at least a quarter of a tank of fuel before setting off, just in case. In slippery conditions, move off in second gear to avoid wheel-spin and when you brake do so very gently. When driving uphill, leave plenty of room between you and the car in front, keep a constant speed and try to avoid changing gear on the hill. Driving downhill, slow down and use a low gear, try to avoid braking and leave more than enough room between you and the car in front, remembering that stopping distances increase tenfold in icy and wintry conditions.
Make sure your car is fit for winter by replacing worn or damaged wiper blades, using a suitable additive in your screen wash to reduce the chance of it freezing, making sure all your lights are working and the lenses are clean, and checking your tyres have at least 3mm of tread. Perhaps think about getting winter or all-season tyres priced from around £50. Throughout the winter car batteries must work much harder thanks to greater use of lights, heating fans, wipers and so on. To help prevent the chance of a flat battery, turn off all your lights, heated rear window, wipers and so on before starting the engine to lighten the load.
In your coolant system you need a 50-50 mix of antifreeze and water to protect your engine from freezing, if you are in doubt about your antifreeze, get it checked or use a simple home tester kit – costing less than £10 and easy to use. And finally, to keep you safe in the event of an emergency, always carry in your car, an ice scraper, de-icer, a torch, first aid kit, fully charged mobile phone, some warm clothes, shoes and socks, waterproofs, high-vis jacket, snacks, jump leads and a warning triangle. Safe motoring.
LEAF WINS AGAIN
THE 2023 DrivingElectric Awards recognise the best hybrid and electric cars you can buy right now. The judges consider factors such as overall value for money, performance, and practicality when making their decisions. Worthy of note in this year’s awards was the Nissan LEAF, which continues to be recognised as an outstanding vehicle of choice in the used car market.
It was awarded ‘Best Used Small Electric Car’. This is the fourth consecutive year LEAF has been recognised, emphasising its significance in both the new and used market. Nissan introduced LEAF over ten years ago and it is now in its third generation and has sold 605,000 cars globally. With a 5-star EURO NCAP rating and up to 239 miles range, it is a popular choice for families and continues to help drive the electric vehicle market. Previous accolades for the LEAF include wins in the Best Used Electric Car category in the 2022 Carbuyer Awards, the 2021 What Car? Awards, the 2021 Electrifying.com Awards, the 2020 DrivingElectric Awards, the 2020 What Car? Awards and the 2019 DrivingElectric Awards.
Some of the other 2023 award winners include, Car of the Year: MG ZS EV; Best Urban Electric Car: Fiat 500; Best Value Electric Car: MG ZS EV; Best Family Electric Car: Skoda Enyaq iV; Best Luxury Electric Car: BMW iX; Best Long-Distance Electric Car: Hyundai Ioniq 5; Best Electric Company Car: Tesla Model 3; Best Electric Performance Car: Porsche Taycan; joint winners in Best Small Electric Van were: Citroen e-Berlingo, Peugeot e-Partner, Toyota Proace City Electric and Vauxhall Combo-e; joint winners in the Best Medium Electric Van were: Citroen e-Dispatch, Peugeot e-Expert, Toyota Proace Electric and Vauxhall Vivaro-e; Best Large Electric Van winner was: Fiat E-Ducato; Best Plug-In Hybrid Company Car: Mercedes C-Class; Best Plug-In Hybrid Family Car: Skoda Octavia iV estate; Best Small Hybrid Car: Renault Captur E-TECH; Best Family Hybrid Car: Hyundai Tucson; and Best Used Hybrid Car: the Toyota Prius Mk4.
