You won't have any corrosion problems if you just take five minutes a week to go to the local car wash and clean off the sand and salt, especially under the chassis. The XF was designed to be driven in the winter. Tlhat's what the "W" means on the automatic transmission. The owners manual explains how to drive in the winter, not just " in a pinch", but for the whole winter. Maybe thats why my XF has heated seats, mirrors and washer fluid. I sure can't use that stuff in the summer.

 

I've got about 100# in the trunk and pretty worn rear stock Conti's.

During this winter of the second greatest snowfall on record for the Akron/Canton Ohio area, I've gotten caught out twice in the Xfire and I wish I hadn't.

I was greatly surprised by how well the traction control can keep me in a straight line while accelerating in snow, though stopping ability was horrible.

The first outing was a few weeks ago. After waiting over an hour in a parking lot for rush hour traffic to curtail, I was heading towards a pretty busy intersection (crawling like a snail) and noticed a couple of vehicles stopped in the middle of the road. What I thought was the outline of a Mercedes turned out to be another Xfire spun around in the middle of the intersection. Two drivers were at the curb and must have been waiting for help. It must have been just a fender bender. I couldn't see any obvious damage to either vehicle.

I would love to see what 18'' all around snow tires can do on this car. It got me home both times but it was a very harrowing experience. I'll either have all around snow tires next year or it will be parked until spring.

 

Tires came in the same sizes as the original tires. Mounted these on my original Crossfire rims. Tires are speed rated and they make big claims about dry performance. Not sure if I believe the claims but will find out soon enough.

 

I put Nokian WR's on my stock wheels and they're awesome. No need for added weight in the back. Nokian makes the only all-season tire with the severe service rating. With $1000 in rubber, i didn't want to throw them away after 12,000 miles. With the daily commute at 70 miles and my girlfriend in Chicago (I'm in Kalamazoo), I would have made quick work of strict snow tires. Worth every penny.