I’d imagine that measuring dicks whether it be minus 10 or minus 20 would be a pretty fruitless task at either temperature! 
Maoster.In the winter here it’s not just the temp that goes minus in my case. 
raymundo:
Nice picture of the red Sprinter in the winter scene with all the snow and trees Orys, better than the other red and white one on your avatar. How come on both of these pics you have gone off the road if you are such a good driver in adverse weather conditions?
Just wondering …
Stop wondering, start reading, I explained it all already.
Btw: if you look around on trucket, you will read on several occasions that, for example, if you drive a lot in London, small bumps and scratches are unavoidable. So believe or not, but if you drive a lot on the snow, mistakes happen as well. Unless you are trying to say that snow is different and all mistakes there are avoidable?
hutpik:
Hi all.Raymundo,if you read the posts you can see it’s not his fault.It’s bad vans,tyres,manufacturers,other people.idiots with sleds ‘in winter for gods sake’,lazy councils etc.Mike
Ah, somehow your sarcasm does not work, because incidentally it is true, altough a bit exaggerated in your version. You live in snowy country as well and I can bet you know how to drive in winter as well, so you don’t go to the ditch every 5 kms or so, as you plan well ahead and try to take all factors into considerations, am I right? So I guess the only situations for YOU that put you at risk will be also when something unexpected happens? Right or not?
Icee:
I don’t blame him on the Merc. It has one of the worst ASR systems developed to the world. It’s just plain right dangerous in the winer situations you would take like yeah what the MB thinks it’s time to have a crash or just go straight. Worst thing it’s no way to turn it of.
See? Obviously I am not making it up… It is my fault in that way, that I didn’t read the users manual before and I didn’t knew that it can switch on as it pleases, and I was driving with the assumption that if my rear goes to outside, I will be able to correct it as in every other RWD vehicle by usage of gas pedal and my steering wheel.
And, last but not least, I never said that I am great driver on snow. Taking on where you are and what your experience is, you are propably much better than I am. If you put aside your personal grudges for a second and instead of trying to ridicule me actually think about what I am really writing, and not what you try to imput me, you would propably agree with what I am saying - and what I am saying is that “I am not the best driver in the world, but I am much better on snow than average British driver and I think it’s silly that people who can’t drive on snow at all try to lecture me”. After all we all know that it’s not hard to become “better driver on snow than average British driver” so it’s hardly bragging about oneself 
Hi all.Orys,you are not better than the average british driver.You are not better than the average Polish driver.You are better than some drivers wherever and worse than others.
I was born in Colchester not Lappland so any winter experience i have has been developed over many years of driving.Here we just have better winter equipement and awareness.
Just because you come from a country with harsh winters doesn’t make you automatically a winter specialist.Years ago the eastern Europe standard of driving was atrocious,the only reason there were not more accidents was that the heaps they were driving didn’t go fast enough to have accidents.The standard in Eastern Europe has only improved recently due to better roads and the possibility for people there to buy better,safer cars.
By the way i first went to Poland in 1972 so have seen the changes over time.
hutpik:
Years ago the eastern Europe standard of driving was atrocious,the only reason there were not more accidents was that the heaps they were driving didn’t go fast enough to have accidents.
No but a BMW,Merc or a Jag would still hit an east euro heap that was being driven on the wrong side of the road at a closing speed of well over 100 mph. 
While the bit that orys needs to remember that it’s not all about the fun of controlling sideways lateral forces and oversteer on snow with a rear wheel drive car it’s also the issue of the fact that the vehicle will always want to go straight on in the direction it’s travelling in,at the same speed,when the front wheels,as well as the rear wheels,are on,or above,the limits of grip.Which translates into under steer on the entry to bends and massively increased stopping distances if something pulls out of a side road for example. 
But you’d only have learn’t that during a real British winter driving something like a Triumph 2.5 PI or a BMW 3.0 SI or a 2.8 Granada or a V12 Jag all of which combined all the issues of plenty of torque to produce plenty of power oversteer as required and a big heavy engine in front to produce equal amounts of understeer if you got the entry speed wrong and enough weight to increase those stopping distances even more if you were approaching a side road without the anticipation of some idiot being likely to turn out of it.
Unlike a Polski Fiat etc.
hutpik:
Just because you come from a country with harsh winters doesn’t make you automatically a winter specialist.
No. But it gives me much more experience in driving in harsh winters than someone who comes from the country when there aren’t proper winters for years.That’s why average Polish or Swedish driver will be better on snow than average British or Spanish driver. It simply comes with the amount of time you drove on snow, nothing else. I am not saying that there aren’t any British drivers who are better on snow than I am - of course there are. But you can safely bet, that there will be much more British drivers who are worse than me on the snow. And in case of Sweden it will be exactly opposite.
Years ago the eastern Europe standard of driving was atrocious,the only reason there were not more accidents was that the heaps they were driving didn’t go fast enough to have accidents.
You are wrong here, of course there were slow cars around, but your Reliant Robins and other crap bangers weren’t exactly the daemons of speed either.
Actually I believe that driving standards in communist Poland were much, much higher than now - not much people had driving licenses, and not many of them were able to afford a car. So if they did, they were taking care of their cars as good as they could, sometimes to absurd degree. I knew the guy who was keeping his Skoda Rapid on the carpet in his garage and was changing shoes when entering the garage and then, again, when getting to the car. His skoda was a teenager and he still had original plastic cover on the back seats.
There wasn’t much accidents as the amount of traffic was very slow. There were barely any cars: just to give you an example: when I was a kid our Trabant was one of the four cars in the whole street. Today, despite that many people have build garages and driveways and park their cars inside their properties, you can hardly find a parking space. In 1990 that all has changed, suddenly we have huge influx of western cars, driven by the drivers who never drove anything before and all that on the road system that was unable to copy with that amount of traffic.
So the standard of driving became appaling. See, if you are British, you were around cars from your youngest age: your dad was driving, your mom was driving, and your grandparents were driving too. You were sitting in the back seat and observing, it was your dad who taught you to drive etc. You were just growing up inhalling that driving culture. There was nothing like that in Poland, in 1990 suddenly you got milions of people on the road, who were the first generation ever in their families to owe a car, and they weren’t started from the small ones, as it has place in UK where young people rarely can afford to drive anything bigger than 1.0 saxo due to cost of insurance. So instantly you had your roads filled with 20 years old BMW’s and other powerful cars. That was a disaster.
Now it changes, and every time I go to Poland I am impressed by the improvement in culture etc. But there is still lots to be desired.
On the other hand 1990 was the survival of the fittest. So I would say than while culture and respect to the law is terrible, the technical skills of the Polish drivers aren’t that bad.
Carryfast: yeah, whatever. Britain is ultimate place to learn Winter Driving. British cars are the best in the world. It is impossible to loose grip in Polish Fiat as it has not enough power.
I am going to agree to everything he says, and somebody call the mental hospital to tell them we got him here!
hutpik:
Don’t compare Abisko with other parts of Norrbotten,as you should be aware there are quite large temperature variations over the whole of Norrbotten both daytime and at nights.Here in KattÃ¥n i can have a 10 to 15 degree difference between here and Gällivare which is only 90kms and it’s not necessarily colder as you go north as you are well aware with your experience.If i say it was -22c here then it was,this is not a ■■■■ measuring contest to see who is coldest.Mike
Not really a ■■■■ measuring. Quite tired of the snow now. Just that I never seen any cold hole between Töre and Gällivare. Good to now there is one so I don’t stop there
Came 10-15cm of snow on Lofoten when i was loading yesterday. Between Lödinge backen och Tjeldsund Bro it was a hell to drive and I how thought the spring was on it’s way. 
Orsy: Why do I see so many PL, LT … revving the truck like hell when they are stuck if they have just some sort of experience.
I don’t think you can plan anymore for seasons.About a month ago it was above zero here then it dropped back to -20c again.The days are warmer now but the nights can still go quite low.Today was about 0c but now it’s -14c.
I took a truck to Denmark 2 weeks ago for renovation and it was colder in Malmo than here,and it was snowing,very strange.
Where are you loading for.I do the odd trip in the winter as second driver to Tromsö and Hammerfest and load fish from the north for an old Dutch friend who comes up here.
orys:
Surprised as I am that we oddly agree on something, I am fully aware that the lack of driving skills come with that you haven’t had a proper winters recently. Being from WrocÅ‚aw myself, where for several years in the row we barely had any snow (which was very strange anomaly), I also noticed that it was enough for young people to grow up and become a drivers who never drove on snow, and also for some others to abandon the idea of having proper tires fitted to their cars…But of course you won’t be yourself if you won’t blame immigrants for something and here is where you fail: I go to bet that even migrants from countries as south as Slovenia or Bulgaria are more experienced in driving in snow then Britons. So let’s leave the nationality issue aside, at least this time, please
What I was shocked was not that people cannot drive - it is understandable why, and I prefer them to be overcareful than reckless - but with that they had balls to lecture ME, who was propably the only driver within few miles who does know a bit about how to drive in winter… Is as if they thought “if I cannot go faster than 15 mph, nobody can” and considering everyone driving faster as “crazy”.
And I am not claiming to be one of these guys who can save his arse from even the worse situation like that guy I just saw on Facebook: youtube.com/watch?v=Q6_G4uoB … r_embedded, in other words - I am not a scandinavian rally champion, but I dare to say I have enough experience in winter driving and trust to myself and my car to be able to judge what I can do safely…
Did I just read that correctly?
Youre the only driver within a few miles that knows how to drive in winter yet your earlier post said you got nervous because of someone behind you and spun your car out of control… The mind boggles :-/
orys:
hutpik:
Just because you come from a country with harsh winters doesn’t make you automatically a winter specialist.No. But it gives me much more experience in driving in harsh winters than someone who comes from the country when there aren’t proper winters for years.That’s why average Polish or Swedish driver will be better on snow than average British or Spanish driver. It simply comes with the amount of time you drove on snow if you are British, you were around cars from your youngest age: your dad was driving, your mom was driving, and your grandparents were driving too. You were sitting in the back seat and observing, it was your dad who taught you to drive etc. You were just growing up inhalling that driving culture. There was nothing like that in Poland, in 1990 suddenly you got milions of people on the road, who were the first generation ever in their families to owe a car, and they weren’t started from the small ones, as it has place in UK where young people rarely can afford to drive anything bigger than 1.0 saxo due to cost of insurance. So instantly you had your roads filled with 20 years old BMW’s and other powerful cars. That was a disaster.
Now it changes, and every time I go to Poland I am impressed by the improvement in culture etc. But there is still lots to be desired.
On the other hand 1990 was the survival of the fittest. So I would say than while culture and respect to the law is terrible, the technical skills of the Polish drivers aren’t that bad.
Carryfast: yeah, whatever. Britain is ultimate place to learn Winter Driving. British cars are the best in the world. It is impossible to loose grip in Polish Fiat as it has not enough power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a-aSLXqeaM
Polish drivers v British drivers 
youtube.com/watch?feature=pl … Co_A4dctAM
Trust me driving something with the combination of the weight and torque of an old school XJ,even in the wet,let alone in the snow and ice of a typical 1980’s British winter,will teach you more about balancing entry speeds,understeer and power oversteer and braking distances,than driving a light torqueless Polski Fiat in a Polish winter will. 
youtube.com/watch?v=PmwFca0eHts 2.07
Having said that the idea of forcing young British drivers into Micras and Corsas,( which unlike the 1970’s at least,is a relatively recent thing ),when they actually need to be learning how to handle the combination of power and weight,at as early an age as possible,is actually dumbing down their driving skills.That’s ssuming they’ve got any to start with which is another issue.
Carryfast:
orys:
hutpik:
Just because you come from a country with harsh winters doesn’t make you automatically a winter specialist.No. But it gives me much more experience in driving in harsh winters than someone who comes from the country when there aren’t proper winters for years.That’s why average Polish or Swedish driver will be better on snow than average British or Spanish driver. It simply comes with the amount of time you drove on snow if you are British, you were around cars from your youngest age: your dad was driving, your mom was driving, and your grandparents were driving too. You were sitting in the back seat and observing, it was your dad who taught you to drive etc. You were just growing up inhalling that driving culture. There was nothing like that in Poland, in 1990 suddenly you got milions of people on the road, who were the first generation ever in their families to owe a car, and they weren’t started from the small ones, as it has place in UK where young people rarely can afford to drive anything bigger than 1.0 saxo due to cost of insurance. So instantly you had your roads filled with 20 years old BMW’s and other powerful cars. That was a disaster.
Now it changes, and every time I go to Poland I am impressed by the improvement in culture etc. But there is still lots to be desired.
On the other hand 1990 was the survival of the fittest. So I would say than while culture and respect to the law is terrible, the technical skills of the Polish drivers aren’t that bad.
Carryfast: yeah, whatever. Britain is ultimate place to learn Winter Driving. British cars are the best in the world. It is impossible to loose grip in Polish Fiat as it has not enough power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a-aSLXqeaMPolish drivers v British drivers
youtube.com/watch?feature=pl … Co_A4dctAM
Trust me driving something with the combination of the weight and torque of an old school XJ,even in the wet,let alone in the snow and ice of a typical 1980’s British winter,will teach you more about balancing entry speeds,understeer and power oversteer and braking distances,than driving a light torqueless Polski Fiat in a Polish winter will.
youtube.com/watch?v=PmwFca0eHts 2.07
Having said that the idea of forcing young British drivers into Micras and Corsas,( which unlike the 1970’s at least,is a relatively recent thing ),when they actually need to be learning how to handle the combination of power and weight,at as early an age as possible,is actually dumbing down their driving skills.That’s ssuming they’ve got any to start with which is another issue.
Polski Fiat was ■■■■■■ up by the Polish. They put the engine of the old Fiat 1500 into the body of the Fiat 125. The original engine (1600cc DOHC was much powerful in the Fiat. BUT: On the icy, snowy roads the power doesn’t really matter… And, do you like or not; In Europe, the UK has the highest number of bad drivers . I’ m talking about car drivers, of course.
hutpik:
I don’t think you can plan anymore for seasons.About a month ago it was above zero here then it dropped back to -20c again.The days are warmer now but the nights can still go quite low.Today was about 0c but now it’s -14c.
I took a truck to Denmark 2 weeks ago for renovation and it was colder in Malmo than here,and it was snowing,very strange.
Where are you loading for.I do the odd trip in the winter as second driver to Tromsö and Hammerfest and load fish from the north for an old Dutch friend who comes up here.
This week I was to Melbu, last week to
Husöy,
maps.google.se/maps?q=69.543639, … 1&t=m&z=14
the hill up from that place really is something to talk about, over 600hp and 2nd, maybe 3rd is what it what it can pull in fully loaded. Chains is required if you so much as see the snow
Not mine
youtube.com/watch?v=7ZckxSu2OkQ
Coincidence,i used to tip regularly on Senja at Vangsvik with glass for Pilkington for my last company before i moved up here and used to load fish round Lofoten for Ships Sped,a Norwegian firm based in Holland after we had run up to Bardufoss from Oslo for the NATO base.And many many years ago for the infamous Sties.
Orys,
In the event that you want a bit of nostalgia from your younger days I have still got at Ipswich the Trabant I bought in Wolgast after a drunken day out with the ships agent, you can have it cheap and it’s not at all rusty.
Who can remember the miles upon miles of Polish motors loaded to the floor with old cars queueing to go thru the border at Frankfurt de Oder and other crossings, 27 hours it took me once to clear into Poland thanks to them 
Quite agree with how crap the big BMW’s are on snow. I have a 530D and I find that if I flick over to manual and use the highest gear possible a bit more traction is there.
hutpik:
Coincidence,i used to tip regularly on Senja at Vangsvik with glass for Pilkington for my last company before i moved up here and used to load fish round Lofoten for Ships Sped,a Norwegian firm based in Holland after we had run up to Bardufoss from Oslo for the NATO base.And many many years ago for the infamous Sties.
Senja, a place they could put a dynamite in and blow up. No, that’s rude but it’s an hell of a place to drive at in the winter. Take a wrong choice of road or even a wrong turn and you may need a helicopter to get away.
Cheggy:
Did I just read that correctly?Youre the only driver within a few miles that knows how to drive in winter yet your earlier post said you got nervous because of someone behind you and spun your car out of control… The mind boggles :-/
Obviously you did not read it correctly. I did not spun my car out of control. I drifted slightly, because I wasn’t paying attention to the road ahead. The other driver hit the kerb while trying to keep up with me.
Carryfast:
Polish drivers v British drivers
I got a feeling that your choice of movies was not fair. Let’s try to balance it back:
youtube.com/watch?v=MbtVTSxRA6M ← Polish driver on Ice
youtube.com/watch?v=qZ2hhjEVEE4 ← British driver on ice
Trust me driving something with the combination of the weight and torque of an old school XJ,even in the wet,let alone in the snow and ice of a typical 1980’s British winter,will teach you more about balancing entry speeds,understeer and power oversteer and braking distances,than driving a light torqueless Polski Fiat in a Polish winter will.
It is true, that old school XJ is a great car to drive. I had a pleasure to get it for the spin on a wet cobbles once and it was really fun… And much, much easier to handle than my FSO 125p. It’s just a brilliant car, it does perfectly what you want it to do, what cannot be said about FSO. Of course it’s easier to handle, but it has much more power, so I don’t think that is a good pair to compare the two. It’s a completely different class of the vehicle. I think FSO 125p could be compared to cars like Morris Marina etc, as this is roughly the same shelf on the market, and then superiority of British motor industry would not be so drastically visible.
Having said that the idea of forcing young British drivers into Micras and Corsas,( which unlike the 1970’s at least,is a relatively recent thing ),when they actually need to be learning how to handle the combination of power and weight,at as early an age as possible,is actually dumbing down their driving skills.That’s ssuming they’ve got any to start with which is another issue.
Yeas, let’s put all these boy racers into V8 monsters, that for sure will improve safety.
Dennisthemenace:
Polski Fiat was [zb] up by the Polish. They put the engine of the old Fiat 1500 into the body of the Fiat 125. The original engine (1600cc DOHC was much powerful in the Fiat.
Actually you are not quite right. It wasn’t just the engine from Fiat 1300 (1500 engine was at the begining the luxury), it was the whole mechanical bits. In fact it was just body of Fiat 125 put on the frame from Fiat 1300 - the only mechanical thing from Fiat 125 was braking system.
BUT: On the icy, snowy roads the power doesn’t really matter… And, do you like or not; In Europe, the UK has the highest number of bad drivers . I’ m talking about car drivers, of course.
Exactly. The power even of 650 cc Fiat 126p that I drove before I got my own 125p was enough to have fun in winter. And while Britain might have some bad car drivers, in my opinion is one of the countries with the higher road culture, and that also matters.
raymundo:
Orys,
In the event that you want a bit of nostalgia from your younger days I have still got at Ipswich the Trabant I bought in Wolgast after a drunken day out with the ships agent, you can have it cheap and it’s not at all rusty.
I would love to, but since I am just at the finish of my studies and have to get back to work and pay off my debts, buying Trabants is not really my financial priority at the moment 
. It’s a shame. But if you are really looking to sell it, I have a friend who runs a club of Trabant enthusiast and can put you two in touch.
orys:
Carryfast:
Polish drivers v British driversI got a feeling that your choice of movies was not fair. Let’s try to balance it back:
youtube.com/watch?v=MbtVTSxRA6M ← Polish driver on Ice
youtube.com/watch?v=qZ2hhjEVEE4 ← British driver on iceTrust me driving something with the combination of the weight and torque of an old school XJ,even in the wet,let alone in the snow and ice of a typical 1980’s British winter,will teach you more about balancing entry speeds,understeer and power oversteer and braking distances,than driving a light torqueless Polski Fiat in a Polish winter will.
It is true, that old school XJ is a great car to drive. I had a pleasure to get it for the spin on a wet cobbles once and it was really fun… And much, much easier to handle than my FSO 125p. It’s just a brilliant car, it does perfectly what you want it to do, what cannot be said about FSO. Of course it’s easier to handle, but it has much more power, so I don’t think that is a good pair to compare the two. It’s a completely different class of the vehicle. I think FSO 125p could be compared to cars like Morris Marina etc, as this is roughly the same shelf on the market, and then superiority of British motor industry would not be so drastically visible.
Having said that the idea of forcing young British drivers into Micras and Corsas,( which unlike the 1970’s at least,is a relatively recent thing ),when they actually need to be learning how to handle the combination of power and weight,at as early an age as possible,is actually dumbing down their driving skills.That’s ssuming they’ve got any to start with which is another issue.
Yeas, let’s put all these boy racers into V8 monsters, that for sure will improve safety.
Dennisthemenace:
Polski Fiat was [zb] up by the Polish. They put the engine of the old Fiat 1500 into the body of the Fiat 125. The original engine (1600cc DOHC was much powerful in the Fiat.Actually you are not quite right. It wasn’t just the engine from Fiat 1300 (1500 engine was at the begining the luxury), it was the whole mechanical bits. In fact it was just body of Fiat 125 put on the frame from Fiat 1300 - the only mechanical thing from Fiat 125 was braking system.
BUT: On the icy, snowy roads the power doesn’t really matter… And, do you like or not; In Europe, the UK has the highest number of bad drivers . I’ m talking about car drivers, of course.
Exactly. The power even of 650 cc Fiat 126p that I drove before I got my own 125p was enough to have fun in winter. And while Britain might have some bad car drivers, in my opinion is one of the countries with the higher road culture, and that also matters.
Orys I think you’ve missed my point.I’m not saying that you ‘need’ loads of power on ice and snow but using something that’s underpowered ( like Volvo did with the 140 series ) is just an admission that you’re not up to being able to control something that’s overpowered for the conditions by using correct throttle and steering inputs.
However I don’t get your comments concerning the old XJ being ‘easier’ to handle than the Polski Fiat in slippery conditions assuming that both are being driven anywhere near to their limits in the wet or on snow. 
As I’ve said physics ( and experience ) tells me that the Jag,like any other heavy,torquey,rear wheel drive car,would bite a lot worse, firstly with understeer and then oversteer if you don’t get your co ordination of entry speed,steering inputs and throttle control right and/or make allowances for the increased stopping distances on slippery surfaces considering the heavy engine in front and the almost 2 tonnes in weight and the amount of torque ( power ) at low engine speeds.So I’m guessing that your run on wet cobbles wasn’t exactly the same thing as a quick run over the St Bernard in wet weather let alone the snow of a 1980’s British winter.
As for the Polish driver just drifting/power sliding a unit that’s not exactly the same thing as doing the same with an almost 40 foot long and over 30 tonnes loaded fire truck admittedly,but more sensibly,off the public highway.
As for your support of young drivers being put into light,small engined,( very ) low powered,front wheel drive cars, you’re saying that spending years learning all their basic driving skills in a Corsa etc is a valuable contribution to road safety,when they trade the thing in for a BMW M5 or an AMG Merc etc etc when they eventually reach an age where the insurance company will insure them to drive one.
As for ‘British’ ( Western ) car culture the fact is there’s loads of different levels and types of it.Ironically in some cases it’s closer to the old Polish/East European one of relatively low powered,cheap cars,than the German one which you’ll find at places like the Nurburgring or in the right weather conditions and at the right times of day on the remaining unlimited stretches of autobahn.Or the American one which you’ll find at the local drag race track either here or in the States.
raymundo:
Quite agree with how crap the big BMW’s are on snow. I have a 530D and I find that if I flick over to manual and use the highest gear possible a bit more traction is there.
Carryfast:
Orys I think you’ve missed my point.I’m not saying that you ‘need’ loads of power on ice and snow but using something that’s underpowered ( like Volvo did with the 140 series ) is just an admission that you’re not up to being able to control something that’s overpowered for the conditions by using correct throttle and steering inputs.
Of course you did not think about that the reason why Eastern European weren’t all driving Jaguar’s XJ was not related to their driving skills, but simply to availablility of Jaguar’s XJ and similar cars for average Eastern European driver?
“Yeah, I could buy myself Jaguar XJ, but I think I am unable to drive it, as it requires superior British driving skills, so I go to Polmozbyt and sign up with my booklet for a Polonez, if I am lucky and if I will keep paying regularly, I will get one in 20 years”
However I don’t get your comments concerning the old XJ being ‘easier’ to handle than the Polski Fiat in slippery conditions assuming that both are being driven anywhere near to their limits in the wet or on snow.
It’s simple. To drive the same bent with the speed of 80km/h, if you drive Jaguar it will be like crusing around the supermarket car park, while if you drive Fiat 125p, you will be at the edge already. That’s why I said that you can’t really compare the two.
[/quote]
So I’m guessing that your run on wet cobbles wasn’t exactly the same thing as a quick run over the St Bernard in wet weather let alone the snow of a 1980’s British winter.
No, of course. Jaguar XJ, as it goes over the Channel La Manche, bends the laws of physics and becomes easy to drive. It’s only in Britain where it is demanding, as to keep superious British drivers from boredom
As for your support of young drivers being put into light,small engined,( very ) low powered,front wheel drive cars, you’re saying that spending years learning all their basic driving skills in a Corsa etc is a valuable contribution to road safety,when they trade the thing in for a BMW M5 or an AMG Merc etc etc when they eventually reach an age where the insurance company will insure them to drive one.
Maybe you haven’t noticed, but driving is not only about handling powerful cars in extreme conditions. I would say that it’s one of the highest level of that skill. For begginer, It is about many other things like keeping safe distance, stopping on the pedestrian crossing to let grandmas cross the street, maneuvring in tight parking spaces and many, many other things. All that things are much easier to learn if you drive a car that don’t jump forward with a roarr on engine on the slightest touch of acceleration pedal.
You’re all talking bull stein now I’m going to bed! 8 tonne Humber on a 1 tonne braking system AKA " the pig " drive one of them round west Belfast ! 
stick that in your pope and smoke it! driving on the snow