Before safely setting off on your long-awaited skiing holiday, you should first make your ŠKODA fit for winter, which means, among other things, switching to winter tyres with sufficient tread, topping up the anti-freeze in the radiator and windscreen washer fluid and having the battery checked – in short, the standard winter programme recommended for every driver as the cold season approaches. A comprehensive winter health check as well as a battery test can be performed by any ŠKODA dealer.
Proper loading is also important: skis or snowboards and thick winter clothing for the whole family take up a lot of space in the car. The ŠKODA KODIAQ, SUPERB COMBI and OCTAVIA COMBI are ideally equipped for this. They all offer the largest boot capacity in their class and, on request, special ski bags for loading through the middle of the rear seats to stow the ‘slats’ cleanly and safely. If all three seats in the back are occupied, skis and snowboards can be stored on special ski and snowboard racks, which are available as ŠKODA Genuine Accessories. All of these accessories have been specifically designed and tested for ŠKODA vehicles, making them a perfect fit.
Roof boxes are even more convenient and offer up to 380 litres of additional storage space. They can hold a large part of your holiday luggage, making it possible to avoid folding down the rear seat and giving passengers more space and increased comfort. The roof boxes are lockable, aerodynamically optimised and available in black, silver and white.
Roof boxes have yet another advantage: after a long day on the slopes, you can store at least some of the clothes that have become sweaty or damp during the day. In the vehicle interior, these could steam up the windows, which may affect visibility. The best remedy for condensation on windows is the air conditioning system because when the air conditioning is activated – regardless of its temperature – the air flowing out of the vents is dry. This means it can absorb the condensed water responsible for steaming up the windows. It is most effective if the dry air is blown directly onto the windscreen at maximum fan speed. Heated front and rear seats and a heated steering wheel offer drivers and passengers increased comfort; a heated windscreen and heated windshield washer nozzles ensure a clear front view at all times. Custom-designed rubber floor mats and the protective luggage-compartment mat from ŠKODA’s range of Genuine Accessories keep the floor of your car clean and effectively prevent wet carpets due to melting snow from winter boots.
The ŠKODA KODIAQ, SUPERB and OCTAVIA not only offer generously proportioned and extremely versatile interiors with enough room for passengers and equipment but are also available with all-wheel drive as standard or as an option depending on the engine, trim level or variant. This enables them to handle the abundant snow around the ski resort safely. For additional support in extreme winter weather, snow chains are available from ŠKODA Genuine Accessories, along with alloy wheels approved for use with snow chains. Putting snow chains on is something drivers should practise at home before setting off on their holiday. A short test run of about 50 metres will show whether the chains are properly fitted and not too loose. If everything is in order, you’ll be able to tackle even deep snow.
More tips for a safe skiing holiday you can find on the ŠKODA Storyboard.
