BMW’s M Snow and Ice driving experience
A day spent driving sideways in a spectacular environment is as good as it gets for passionate petrolheads.
Luxury
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I’ve always subscribed to the theory that it’s better to enjoy cool experiences than to own cool things.
Having travelled to every continent but Antarctica but never spent more than a couple of hundred bucks on a nice watch, I subscribe to the notion that it’s better to have photos and memories than something that sits in a drawer.
My personal car isn’t worth much, but I have spent roughly triple its purchase price on racing tyres, replacement brakes and entry fees to go to Bathurst and beyond in search of priceless memories.
And I’ll never forget how it felt to nail a third-gear power slide in a snarling BMW M3, then step out of the car to take in one of the most amazing views offered anywhere on the planet.
Seriously, look at it.
A once-in-a-lifetime day driving sideways on ice in New Zealand resonates with my values, even if it is anything but cheap.
BMW’s events team hosts an M Snow and Ice Experience near Queenstown in winter.
Open to anyone who loves driving – not only BMW customers – the experience offers an opportunity to take control of the brand’s latest performance cars in driving paradise.
Priced from $4450 with bus transfers and no accommodation, or $6500 with helicopter transfers and two nights at a resort, there’s no denying this is a premium experience.
Then again, I’d argue it represents much better value than the $7500 BMW M3 customers spend on optional extras such as exterior carbon fibre trim or sportier seats on a car that already costs about $195,000 drive-away.
The M3 is the hero of the day.
Available in classic sedan trim or as a five-door “touring” wagon, BMW’s performance car staple is a modern classic.
Recent tweaks to the model bumped power to 390kW and added all-wheel-drive as standard, which lowers its claimed 0-100kmh time to 3.5 seconds.
Purists can still order the car with a traditional manual transmission and rear-wheel-drive, though it doesn’t make a lot of sense to do so.
Particularly when the all-wheel-drive automatic model becomes two-wheel-drive with a tap of its touchscreen.
BMW coaches run us through the basics of driver posture before discussing a few points of vehicle dynamics such as how to use weight transfer to manage understeer, oversteer and four-wheel-drifting on slippery surfaces.
Our small group of participants involves a broad range of talent spanning from experienced drift and rally drivers to people who have never turned off traction control to attempt a skid.
The day starts with basic activities to help drivers get a sense for the grip offered by winter-spec Bridgestones on snow and ice. We do acceleration and braking tests, side-by-side drag races, and snaking slalom runs, discovering traction to rival conventional performance tyres on wet tarmac.
Which means you need to be quite delicate with throttle inputs.
Everything you do in the car feels exaggerated on the slick surface, where an awkward dollop of power can send the car spiralling out of control.
We all spin out at one point or another, but by then end of the day, our skills all improve to the point where a power slide feels second nature. Confidence is high as we start attempting Scandinavian flicks that initiate a slide by turning the opposite direction to a corner, performing lurid skids above the cloud line in what feels like God’s own drifting paradise.
It’s brilliant.
The experience offers something to challenge drivers of all experience levels, delivering memories that won’t easily be forgotten.
This year’s ice driving season is almost over, but the experience will be back soon. Folks lucky enough to afford a new M3 should say no to carbon fibre mirror covers and book a slot, while the rest of us can dream of using the experience to turbocharge a New Zealand holiday and add more moments to the memory bank.
Originally published as BMW’s M Snow and Ice driving experience
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