There’s no shortage of winter driving schools hosted by automakers these days. Each of these schools is the same basic concept with various twists on the details. Subaru, the brand known for all-weather capability, now offers its own.
With Flatout Sweden and DirtFish Rally school, Subaru’s created the Goldilocks of winter driving events with a generous amount of seat time, ideal location, and value-packed price.
Dubbed the “Subaru Winter Experience,” the Japanese automaker invited journalists to a lake near Rhinelander, Wisconsin to see what sets its winter driving school apart from the rest.
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2018 Subaru Winter Sporting event
2018 Subaru Winter Sporting event
2018 Subaru Winter Sporting event
2018 Subaru Winter Sporting event
Here to drive
Skipping the usual PowerPoint slides and coffee session, the Subaru Winter Experience starts with professional rally driver Patrik Sandell and Flatout Sweden’s CEO Mattias Lönn welcoming visitors. The school is about driving, not talking, they say—no time to waste.
Partner up with another driver—typically people attend these driving schools with friends or family—and a fleet of blue Subaru BRZs, WRXs, and WRX STIs equipped with custom Swedish Lappi tires with 400 2.5-mm studs per tire for extra grip on the ice await outside.
Some winter driving schools start with, or only consist of, car control exercises. The Subaru school starts with two 30-minute exercises to warm up and get comfortable with the ABS system and weight transfer of the cars. Then it’s time to develop and refine the art of going sideways around corners with longer drifts and a Scandinavian flick on an ice circuit.
After lunch, the afternoon is all wheel time. Driving instructors from Flatout Sweden and DirtFish Rally school are on-site and provide constant feedback, happily hopping in the passenger seat to provide real-time instruction.
Everyone is released onto the full driving circuit in the second half of the afternoon, a four-minute course that feels like a lifetime at speed.
Like other driving schools, Subaru’s Winter Experience provided ride-alongs with instructors at speed around the course near the end of the afternoon. It’s a thrilling experience that’s equally humbling and inspiring.
READ: Learning the unnatural at Porsche's Camp4 winter driving school
2018 Subaru Winter Sporting event
Why, where, how much
Dollar Lake in Eagle River, Wisconsin was Subaru's venue for their first school after a long search, Lönn told Motor Authority. The setting in northern Wisconsin offers plush accommodations, easy access, and notably, plenty of cold weather. (Word to travelers: Disconnect from the digital life and enjoy the drive. There's not much of a choice anyhow, wi-fi is very spotty.)
At $1,450 the Subaru Winter Experience undercuts by thousands similar schools hosted by other automakers.
Lönn told Motor Authority that 130 people attended the event’s inaugural season in 2018, and it will be expanded to accommodate up to 300 people in 2019.
New Subaru buyers may be tempted by the school next year, although owning a Subaru isn’t strictly a prerequisite for entry—new students just need an affinity for going sideways on the snow.
2018 Subaru Winter Sporting event
Wrap up
There are plenty of winter driving schools to choose from, but Flatout Sweden and Subaru have created an experience that costs less than much of the competition, provides just as much fun, and teaches valuable lessons in car control in a low-risk environment.
Subaru provided travel and lodging to Internet Brands Automotive bring you this firsthand report.
