|
I've had some nice four wheel drifts in my Focus. In middle bend the car will understeer if the throttle is applied hard, but if it is pushed in smoothly it just tracks right around the corner. Its kind of a wierd sensation. The car is fairly tall and feels like it is leaning way over, but it never lifts a tire off (ala VW Golf) and keeps up its grip even with my factory Firestones (grip/wear rating 300 = hockey pucks) on it.
When our weather gets bad my FWD just motors on. I have had a Dodge Dakota and Ford Ranger pickup and they were much more challenging to drive in the wet and snow than my Focus. My Focus handles better than my 1990 CRX Si by a huge margin, even when I had sticky Dunlops on it.
In the last two weeks I have had to drive in the snow and ice for 12 of those days. I have found that if the car loses front traction to let it coast and straighten the wheel up. The tires start rolling instead of sliding and control comes back. The obviously stupid things should be avoided at all costs. Hitting the brakes while on a bridge or changing lanes on a bridge are definitely inviting disaster. I also stop using 1st gear when it gets slick. The car pulls away from 2nd gear no problem and it reduces the torque at the wheel.
|