With an average daytime weather of -5 Celsius in Incheon, South Korea, the climate is bone-chilling if your attire is not thick enough.
It was at BMW’s newest and first Asian driving centre here that our group of Malaysia journalists were to check out the German-car maker’s finest on a backdrop of snow and ice.
We were wondering how a winter driving experience would be helpful to us who hail from a country with all-year round equatorial weather.
Our instructor who identified himself as Mr Choi was quick with his reply.
“Though it doesn’t snow in Malaysia, its sudden torrential rain will make roads wet and slippery like ice and snow-covered roads we have in Korea during winter.”
The spanking new driving centre, which was launched in July last year, boasts several courses and a 2.6km track for BMW and non-BMW car owners to test the Munich-based automaker’s vehicles to their hearts content.
But before we got into any of the centre’s test vehicles, a series of driving and technical tutorials were the order of the day.
As usual, the correct seating position is the key in ensuring you will be in the best position to control the car in high-speed manoeuvring.
This means that you have to sit in an upright position with your elbows bent at some 100 degrees when holding the steering wheel.
You should not be sitting as if you were lounging in a sofa.
Hands should hold the steering wheel at the 9 and 3’o clock position and your seat should not be adjusted too far behind so you can fully step on the brake pedal in an emergency.
We even have to pass a breathalyser test before keys to the cars were given to us.
Fail this and you will get to watch your colleagues do the driving from the comforts of a toasty waiting lounge.
This sobriety requirement is definitely over the top but the driving centre’s rules are rigid and the instructors are uncompromising in ensuring incident-free sessions.
My test units were the X5 and 3 Series GT which came with BMW’s xDrive all-wheel drive system that sends power to the wheels that have traction to keep these vehicles moving on slippery roads.
By the time our turn had arrived, the snowy slalom course which had been used by another media group had turned slushy and wet.
The cars handled pretty well on the snowy course but once the dynamic stability and traction control system was switched off, they spun out easily at hard cornering.
Almost every one of us knocked down a safety cone or two in that exercise.
This demonstrated how much electronic safety controls have contributed to a safer drive on slippery conditions.
Depending on conditions, the system will power down the engine and apply brakes on certain wheels to stabilise the vehicle and get it back into the intended driving line quickly.
All BMW cars are fitted with this safety feature as standard.
When I had got to swap my test car for another unit, I had to walk slowly and be extra careful as the icy course was slippery like banana peel.
We also got to learn the advantage of winter tyres versus summer tyres on snowy or icy roads.
Summer tyres get harder in cold climate and have less grip compared with winter tyres.
Winter tyres have more sipes on their thread blocks to improve bite on snow and ice.
BMW test cars fitted with summer tyres were struggling to move on the icy surface unlike those with winter tyres.
Aside from testing BMW cars on the snowy course, we also got to drive them on the high speed track and an off-road trail.
Suffice to say that while power and performance have been an integral part of BMW’s DNA, the car maker has never neglected dynamic handling and safety.
With the new driving centre in Incheon, BMW goes another step in bringing its brand experience closer to Asian enthusiasts.
BMW is the top foreign brand in South Korea with sales of some 40,000 units last year.
