Adrian wrote:
Steve Walker gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

Yes, but with the cost of another set of wheels

Cheap. Even brand new factory steel wheels are rarely more than £30 a
piece, but perfectly good used wheels are widely available.

and tyres

Don't forget you save the wear on the summer tyres.

and somewhere to store them for the summer

Hardly a big problem compared to the ****e most of us have stacked up
"just in case"...

In 25 years of driving, I've never encountered weather where I've
actually needed snow tyres to get through before

It's all about the increased safety margin throughout the cold weather,
though - winter tyres grip much better even on cold, dry tarmac below
about 5 deg.

That raises a question. Major roads around here (A6) have been gritted.
But I still find my ABS kicks in on an apparently clear road. The
temperature is only 0 degrees C.

WTF is going on? It can't be black ice. It's not cold enough.

Dave