If I looked at a weather report more often, I wouldn’t be surprised like I was this morning by the fairly heavy snowfall. What the hotel?!? Where did THAT come from? The good news was that a gorgeous 2013 Mauritius blue Land Rover LR2 was sitting in the driveway under that igloo of snow. The LR2 is like is a veritable snow mobile in evil weather. No such thing as a snow day when you own a Land Rover. All I had to do was get it out from under its blanket of white.
Speaking of snowmobiling, that’s exactly what my husband was up to in northern Michigan, so it was up to me to perform the morning chores that he usually handles, the most important of which is to start my car while I’m flying through the house. Not that he ever clears the snow from it properly.
I’m a stickler for proper snow removal before I ever leave the driveway, and this morning was no exception. (In fact, I think I’ll videotape a formal You Auto Know segment on how to do that as soon as I’m done writing this.) I put on every piece of serious winter gear I owned, trudged out to the igloo with the snow brush, and had at it, front to back and top to bottom.
Maybe it was those five years of driving a cab that trained me to totally clear the windshield, to clean the wiper blades, and to unclog the wiper fluid nozzles. Because there was no doubt I was going to be needing those wipers and that fluid as soon as I hit the road.
You also need to get the snow off the hood so it doesn’t trash your clean windshield in the first block, and by then, you might as well do the head and tail lamps and the side mirrors.
If you don’t want to be the douche bag on the freeway whose top hat of snow comes flying off to smash into the car behind, you’ll also take the time to get that snow removed.
By then, you’ll be so warm you’ll do the next right thing naturally, which is to take off that giant winter coat before you get behind the wheel. Your seatbelt will fit, and you’ll have better control of the wheel.
But really, all I want to say is this: the LR2 has the three essential elements of my perfect winter car. 1. Terrain Response System. You can choose your traction level with a push of a button between normal, snow, mud, and sand. It works like crazy.
2. Heated seats. In this case, they’re part of a $1,000 option that includes a heated front windshield, heated washer jets, and my essential number three…
3. Heated steering wheel. I could just weep from the excessive luxury of it. Mercedes-Benz just whispered that it’s working on a heated armrest. I should live so long. Bring it!