[JDS]

No - East Midlands. I used to live in the USA for 14 years, in various climates that included the snow and cold of Michigan and Ohio through to the rain and occasional ice of Alabama through to the blazing heat of Arizona.

After owning a rear wheel drive only 335i, my most scary moment was nothing to do with snow. It was summer performance rubber on wet, cold highway and facing the opposite direction. I switched to winters after that and have never looked back. I have since had them on all my cars including the last two F80 M3s.

One of the biggest under-appreciated benefits of winter tyres is not their performance in snow - it is when the summer rubber compound goes so hard below 7 deg C it no longer provides adequate traction. When this gets down further, rear wheel drive cars can become dangerous, even in experienced hands. In addition, the performance of winter tyres in the rain is unbelievable if you haven't tried it.

I will never go back after the experience I had. Well worth it IMHO.