The SnowPlow!
Written by: Daniel Ivanovici
It was early February in Reykjavik, and the biggest overnight snowfall since 1937 had blanketed everything in sight. Over 50 centimeters of heavy, relentless snow. Just three days earlier, I’d taken delivery of my brand-new Ford Focus RS, still adjusting to the thrill of owning a performance car. Driving conditions that morning were beyond challenging: not only were roads nowhere to be seen, but even actual snowplows were getting stuck. Cars dotted the streets in various states of helplessness, creating a maze that made clearing the roads nearly impossible.
At 5 a.m., I left Akranes, determined to reach our bus company in Reykjavik. Despite the deep snow, the Focus RS forged ahead in a way I wouldn’t have believed if I hadn’t seen it myself. On the way, I picked up a friend who needed a lift; he was also supposed to start work that day. His girlfriend is a nurse, and she couldn’t make it to the hospital in these conditions, so we decided to drop her off en route. Maneuvering through the snow covered streets was surreal, but the car handled every challange and snowbank like it was part of the design.
By the time we arrived at the bus parking lot, not a single person had made it in yet. The lot was essentially a basin of snow, tall gates barely visible under the snow. My friend hopped out of the car with his phone, took a short video of me plowing through the gates, and capturing how the Focus RS somehow carved a path where it should have not been possible. I inched forward, bit by bit, packing the snow down so we could at least reach the buses, though there wasn’t a soul around to drive them yet. That day most tours were cancelled including mine, so we could argue it was all for nothing but surely it was a lot of fun.
A week later, that one clip went viral. To my surprise, it spread across social media platforms, eventually landing on the New York Post’s site in a short edited feature. It showed the Focus RS doing what a lot of people never thought it could do: blazing through half a meter of heavy Icelandic snowfall like it was born for it. Online viewers were stunned that a vehicle known more for performance than utility ended up being exactly what we needed that morning.
In the days that followed, friends and strangers alike reached out with messages of disbelief or just pure excitement. Many joked that Ford should’ve marketed the car as a mini snowplow, while others asked if it was okay after tackling such extreme conditions. Truth be told, I was just as amazed as anyone. I’d imagined plenty of exhilarating moments with my new Ford Focus RS, but spending my third day of ownership navigating record-breaking snow, dropping off a nurse at her shift, and clearing a path so buses could eventually move was not on my radar.
Looking back, it all feels a bit surreal. What started as a quick, determined drive to work turned into a story that bounced around the internet, highlighting how even one well-timed video can capture a slice of everyday life in Iceland’s dramatic winters. In the moment, I was simply trying to get from A to B, help my friend and his girlfriend, and maybe carve out enough of a path for any other souls brave enough to take on the roads. That early morning snowstorm had other plans though, plans involving a good dose of online attention and a video that people still talk about whenever a snowstorm hits.
Find it on the NY post here: https://nypost.com/video/man-uses-brand-new-ford-focus-to-plow-through-piles-of-snow/