THE snow flakes were more like bullets as they raked my forehead but this was the only way to test how you can stay out of trouble when ice turns roads into a skating rink. A new device could make the biggest difference to winter driving, a dedicated ice-driving setting that neuters the transmission, making it sewing-machine smooth for conditions where jerkiness can mean a loss of control.
The road to Gstaad from Geneva is pure Cresta Run. Aboard Maserati’s brawny Quattroporte saloon, the going is slow. Coated in glistening ice, lined with snow walls bearing the remnants of broken bumpers, the mountain road focuses the mind. But the Maserati is a push-button supercar that works a bit like a washing machine: for such an icy road, I selected the equivalent of “delicates”, a button showing a picture of a skidding car. Sure enough, the ice setting ignores my brutish actions and decides for itself how the car will be driven. Even if I stamp on the accelerator, the power arrives slowly. If I try to rev the engine, it refuses.
To really feel how it works, though, Maserati threw me the keys of the new, two-door Spyder and sent me in the direction of a permafrost-hard airfield. The mission was to drive at around 40mph, then brake hard and steer between some cones. Foot to the floor, the Maserati traction control feathered the throttle to maximise power to the ice track. Then, I yanked on the anchors and prepared for bobsled mode. But the pulsating anti-lock braking kept the Spyder sweet and straight.
The impressive bit was when it remained completely under control as I tweaked the wheel to avoid the cones. It might as well have been tarmac, not ice, beneath the tyres. Forget four-wheel drive if you are thinking of changing your car to tackle the conditions we have seen lately: next time the ice sets hard outside your house, it’s down with the soft-top and on with the skidding car button.
ICEBOUND CHECKLIST
Advertisement
DO
Make sure windscreens and mirrors are clean
Load up with blanket, big coat and hat, Thermos of tea and sandwiches if going on long journey
Take fully-charged mobile phone
Brake gently and early
Advertisement
Push pedal, release and push again to prevent skidding
DON’T
Chuck boiling water on icy windscreen
Buy de-icer
Accelerate or steer hard
Advertisement
Rush — getting there safe and late is better than the alternative