Q5 winter driving
 

I've had my 2011 for a few years now and have occasionally encountered snow. But, this year has been a bit heavy on the snow/ice driving. From my previous vehicle (Porsche 911), snow tires made a huge difference in snow performance. Apart from that, are there any other things that would improve the Q5's snow handling? For an AWD vehicle, would bags of salt in the back make any difference? Are there any settings that I should use when driving in snow or use a different gear than the tiptronic's regular Drive(D) mode? I typically will slide when stopping or pulling out into a turn from a stop and was wondering if anything but snow tires would help. Thanks.

It's all in the tires.

+1

Get your hands on a set of Nokian Hakka 7's and your car is set.

What they said...but slipping/sliding when you brake, then you are driving too fast for conditions.
Snows will help but really you need to slow a bit, and anticipate. AWD vehicles may accelerate faster than 2 wd vehicles in slippery conditions, but will not stop any shorter.
You cannot exceed the law of physics.

+1. the studded Hakka 7's are amazing!

This says it all

Thanks for confirming what I believed to be the case.

Salt bags or other weight over the rear axle added traction in RWD cars. In AWD cars adding weight would in theory improve traction, but with what this car already weighs, who would want to keep adding more?

Gen-you-whine snow tires. On their own wheels.

If you really want to feel the difference, wait for a storm to come in, then compare how the "4 season" tires feel vs the snow tires. You'll get religion on the spot.

I would turn the off road option on. A lot more control that way. You have to know what to do when the car skids ( make it skid yourself) though. Don't be surprised that the cars skids when you hit the brake, try not to brake in the middle of a turn ;).