I drove my Evoque to Birmingham in all that snow from Kent with my 20" wheels on & it performed perfectly. Can't see it being any different on a Freelander. (Past) Freelander 2 HSE 2010 MY In Rimini Red.
(Past) RR Evoque Dynamic Lux Si4 In Firenze Red.
(Past) RR Evouque Pure Tech in Barollo Black with bespoke Firenze Red colour coding.
(Present) Freelander Metropolis 2015 MY In Santorini Black with Ivory Premium Leather.

I don't know what tyres you had on before Mav, but it's a known fact that narrow tyres makes for better winter tyres than wide ones. If you had the same width on your old ones as you do on your new 20" then that is another story.
Look at the tyres they run on rallycars and you get all the answers you need.
http://tires.about.com/od/understanding_ti...Wheels.htm FL2, TD4 HSE
The flaming Orange!

I understand how tyres work in different conditions, but going from a 235 to a 245 is not going to make the blindest difference in the weather we have in the UK. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

Exactly why I wrote the part about not knowing what you had before. Just reading this post it seems like you are saying that size doesn't matter .....
If you had 235 before and your 20s are 245 it won't make that much of a difference like you say.
I couldn't see any pics in the gallery tho? FL2, TD4 HSE
The flaming Orange!

redlabel wrote:

Exactly why I wrote the part about not knowing what you had before. Just reading this post it seems like you are saying that size doesn't matter .....
If you had 235 before and your 20s are 245 it won't make that much of a difference like you say.
I couldn't see any pics in the gallery tho?

Even I got to drive in snow and had to drive 240 to get in to it... Just 1 thing to say it was bloody great.....  Iain

Haha no you don't have to face the climate we do up here by the north pole...... But when the summer kicks in it's back to my 275-45-20 shoes.
Do you have some pics of the car with the wheels on? FL2, TD4 HSE
The flaming Orange!

its not that large rims are worse in snow per say, but they do have greater limitations in snow than smaller rims.

Firstly the smaller tyre volume makes for less pressure range in the tyre, potentially limiting your ability to control your footprint, very important on both snow and ice for traction. The smaller, stiffer sidewall of a low profile means that on lets say a surface such as slush that has frozen into ice, your tyre is not able to mould itself to the driving surface as well for example, potentially increasing the risk for puncturing as well perhaps (although I strictly dont believe this is likely to happen).

The secondary factor is that once you get in deep enough snow that your rims are under the snow surface, the snow tents to freeze to the alloy, in the same way that it does snow ploughs.. meaning that when you get back onto the faster roads, its a jelly fest... it cant be healthy for wheel bearings I suppose...

So, all in all, is it right for someone to say that a larger rubber to rim ratio works better than vice versa? strictly speaking, yes - the flexibility that rubber gives you, increases overall performance. Will the average driver notice or even care?, nah, its only us in here that even bother reading about winter tyres it seems.

Evoque 20's with 255/45's on them managed fine over the weekend. No real complaints.

Click image to enlarge