Best intensive winter driving courses: improve your skills on snow and ice ~ station of gear

Prepare for hitting the road in bad weather with a winter driving course. We pick some of the best around the world

2015-11-27 10:46

If snow falls this winter, do you have the skills needed to combat the challenging icy roads? An intensive winter driving course could combat the fear of driving in such challenging conditions, making life that bit easier when the snow and ice arrive.

So why not embrace the cold weather this year with some of these exotic winter driving courses? They’ll not only boost your skills on snow and ice, but should also be lots of fun.

BMW Snow Drift Training

Price: 410 Euros (£303) (http://ift.tt/1pyfHwe)

Rear-drive cars can be lively in slippery conditions, so for this driving course, BMW uses its M4 and M6 coupés. The venue is Austria’s skiing resort of Solden, and expert tutors show you how to drift in the ice and snow. This well priced course will teach you all you need to know to get through the British winter.

• Winter driving tips

Ice Drive Sweden

Price: From £200 per day (http://ift.tt/1jngpvX)

Want a more comprehensive education? A frozen lake on the Norwegian border is the setting for Ice Drive Sweden’s ‘Drift Academy’. Available between January and March, this driving school has a varied fleet, ranging from rally bred Subarus to classic Volvos. Expert tuition and driving classes go hand-in-hand with snowmobile tours and a restaurant serving moose burgers, so there should be something for everyone.

Goodwood Extreme Weather Driving

Price: £69 (shop.goodwood.com)

Goodwood’s £69 Extreme Weather course doesn’t actually involve any snow driving – but it does give you plenty of time on a skidpan to learn how to control a car in low-grip situations. A range of BMWs and MINIs is on hand to closely match your own car’s handling characteristics, plus unlimited tea and coffee is included in the price.

Lapland Ice Driving

Price: From 1,000 Euros (£741) (http://ift.tt/1uRHQ6g)

With a huge fleet of powerful vehicles, plenty of qualified instructors and a vast 1,250-acre playground, Lapland Ice Driving is for serious pupils. Recommended by WTCC champ Yvan Muller, it puts you to the test in the likes of the Porsche Cayman on replicas of tracks such as the Nürburgring, all crafted out of the frozen lake. All this takes place at the motor industry’s favourite winter test bed – Arjeplog in Sweden, just 43 miles from the Arctic Circle.

Ice Driving

Price: From 1,350 CAD (£667) per day (www.icedriving.com)

For a more international adventure, Ice Driving offers a huge range of courses in places like Switzerland, Finland or Italy. Car availability and prices depend on location, with costs ranging from 1,350 Canadian dollars in Quebec to 4,500 Euros (£3,178) a day in Arjeplog, Sweden – although all the winter driving courses promise a varied curriculum aimed at improving skill and confidence on the ice.

Winter Special 2015

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Winter driving tips
Fact or fiction? 10 winter driving myths busted
Best SUVs and 4x4s to buy now
Best small 4x4s to buy now
Top 10 phone apps to keep your winter car woes at bay
The world’s coldest roads
How to jump-start your car

Tom Wiltshire

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