Best cars in the snow?

[Musashi]

It's snowing like crazy here in Kansas City, with nearly six inches on the ground(as of 3:25 AM local time), and more coming in. I was driving home from work at midnight, and my route home includes a very tall, steep hill. My 1997 Honda Prelude easily made the two mile trip, averaging about 30 mph in (at the time) about four inches of snow with a layer of ice underneath. And that hill? With no running start(stoplight at bottom of hill), I had little problem, passing several stuck vehicles, including a couple SUVS. In fact, after I got home, I changed clothes, and went back out, trying to find stuck cars to help out.

I know front wheel drive has traction advantages in inclement weather, but I didn't think my car would be very good as front-drive cars go. This is the first winter I've had this car, and I have to say I'm surprised with its performance. My tires are not all-weather, and my car has very little ground clearance.

The look on the Explorer driver's face was priceless as he watched me cruise by, while he slid and spun all over the road.

So I ask, what are the best cars in the snow in my fellow DUer's experience?

[DemoTex]

1. My Subaru Outback wagon.

It is superb in snow.

[Musashi]

2. I've heard great things...

About the capabilities of Subarus in bad weather. Volvos, too. Although one of my dream cars, the Subaru Impreza WRX Sti, may not be so great. Ah well, I wouldn't be driving that car for its off-road potential.

[Xandor]

13. I've got a WRX

Not an STI, but the more humble 2002 version. It's just fine in the snow -- like any other Subaru.

[Zero Gravitas]

18. WRX

I have a 2001 WRX (World Rally Blue natch) and not only was it good in the snow this morning it was fun unlike all the slow sliding around pickups and SUVs.

[Demonaut]

34. Jeep CJ7

old, rusty but reliable...we had a blizzard here in Colorado back in March and the roads were covered too deep for any car and most SUV'S but the Jeep with the addition of 120lbs of sand and yokohama superdiggers got me out on the deserted streets. Never have I been stuck in snow with that combo. Plus its paid for and too beat up and ugly to worry about damaging it.

[GOPisEvil]

42. Now THAT is a great winter vehicle.

Now in the summer...in Texas...yikes! ;-)

[geniph]

35. I am so jealous of you guys with WRX's!

I want one of the new turbo models so bad! But hell, I'd just get tickets if I had one. I have a Subaru Forester, and haven't yet had a chance to try it in inclement weather, but judging by how it behaves in heavy rain and on steep, curving mountain roads, my guess is it'll do just great.

[Midwest_Doc]

5. It's not the car ... it's the TIRES

IMHO, tires are a much more important factor than the vehicle. Here in North Dakota, I see a lot of rear wheel drive vehicles doing qite well. Good snow/ice tires like Bridgestone Blizzaks plus weight over the drive wheels works wonders.

[Musashi]

7. Interesting

I have fairly high performance tires(Bridgestone Potenzas), that are designed for smooth, dry asphalt. They aren't really meant for snow. But they are still working for me.

[DemoTex]

14. Coefficient of rolling friction versus coefficient of sliding friction.

Rolling friction is what you want. Tires are important, yes. So is how the power gets to where the rubber meets the road (or snow). If the driver doesn't have at least an intuitive feel for the physics involved in driving on slick surfaces, then neither tires nor vehicle make much difference.

I remember driving from Richmond to Washington, DC, a few years ago - in a snow storm - in the worst-handling car in the snow there ever was: a Porsche 911SC. I took it very slow (about 35 mph), in the right lane with 100% of the trucks on the road, and respected the physics of a car with a very heavy rear end - over the drive wheels - and a relatively light front end - over the steering. Meanwhile, the 4-wheel drive SUVs (and some non-4X SUVs) passed in the left lanes doing upwards of 70 mph in a heavy snow on a snow-covered interstate. Several of those gamblers (gambling on their precious SUVs to save their dumb asses) ended up spun-out in the median. Dumb, dumb, dumb! No clue as to the physics of the situation.

[Zero Gravitas]

21. agreed

driver skill and simple coomon sense/understanding basic physics is the biggest single factor. Although I have an AWD car now that is actually fun to drive in the snow (WRX) I used drive a Miata and did better in the snow than 90% of the other vehicles out there no matter what type they were.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

19. My sister LOVES her Suburu; we got clobbered here in Boston

over the weekend, and she had no trouble getting around.

My Camry does fine in the snow also-front wheel drive helps.

[hlthe2b]

47. I'll second Subaru Outbacks...

Never had anything I couldn't get through, but if I were commuting to the mountains out I-70 daily, I'd probably add the snow tires to the AWD just to be sure. Otherwise Michelin all weather radials do fine.


Yuh, know, back in my extreme poverty days (I'm up a notch to relative poverty, now), I had a Suzuki Samarai. Now, while I had to get out to lock the hubs, it DID get a little cold under the soft top, and (as with all top-heavy jeep like vehicles, I had to not to take sharp curves too fast), THAT WAS ONE TERRIFIC VEHICLE IN HEAVY SNOW. Even now, I can envision snowstorms that would snowbank other SUVs and cars, but that Suzuki came through like a champ-- just floated over the snow.

[HuckleB]

3. Front-wheel drive rocks!

We've had two Saturns with front-wheel drive, a Subaru Forrester with all-wheel drive and Toyota 4x4. All had great traction in snow and ice, but the front-wheel drives were actually better than the other two. At this time, we've got a Saturn and the 4x4, and we always take the Saturn to the mountains in winter.

[FlashHarry]

44. Give me front-wheel drive and a manual transmission.

My Sentra kicks ass in the snow. We got dumped on yesterday here in Nebraska, and I had no problems. In fact, I passed many a Lexus and Mercedes spinning their rear wheels...

[kvnf]

4. My 1983 Subaru GL...

...Even without 4-wheel drive.
I'd also have to go with the classic Beetle.

[izzie]

6. I get along with a front wheel drive in a small Ford.

Have for years.Once I had to be pulled out in the last 25 years and it was me. I hit the brakes and did a whilly into the snow backwrds. With luck I had hit the brakes for a tow truck so he just pulled me out.So in 5 min I had got in a drift and was pulled out of said drift even if it was me doing a stuped thing.

[ET Awful]

8. In years of driving in snow, I've learned. . .

Front wheel drive with skinny tires with good tread works like a charm (thus your Honda, my Nissan, etc. work great). For those with a tad more cash to spend on tires, front wheel drive with wider tires designed expressly for snow.

Then, on the next price tier, all wheel drive (Subaru), same tire choices :).

Then four wheel drive SUV's, etc. with properly designed tires.

Rear wheel drive definitely rates last on my list. And, anyone that has a rear wheel drive only SUV should be forced to pull over, have their license confiscated and be charged with criminal stupidity.

[Fitzovich]

9. Do Not Discount

Driver experience. In all inclement weather conditions slow and steady usually gets you there safely. A good vehicle and good tires are most certainly a huge help but, using your common sense and taking your time are huge factors. I drive a rear wheel drive pick up truck and (knock on some simulated wood somewhere) get to work in the snow, sometimes well before the road crews get out on the job. Occasionally my knuckles are as white as the snow but, taking your time is important.

[BiggJawn]

10. 1972 VW Kombi

That bus was a plow! Only got hung-up once, and that was in a drift deeper than the headlights (about 3')
It would not spin, no matter what you did to it (I lost all the "do-nut contests")

[BlueEyedSon]

11. Audi station wagon w/quattro!

As good as I have ever experienced in the wet, excellent in snow short of suspending the laws of physics....

[tomzee]

12. another outback vote

I'm in KC, too. I'd second the vote for the Outback. My wife drives an Outback wagon. It's a great alternative in terms of performance, carrying capacity, safety and modest, common sense transportation to moronic SUVs.

[Robb]

15. Explorer here, with some experience

with just about everything else that goes in the snow. Our Explorer has been the best, especially now that I've got snow-specific tires (4) as well. Not enough can be said about tires, but 4WD/AWD is important also.

Had an older front-wheel drive Honda Civic that had snow tires and the above-mentioned ratio of tire-width to vehicle-weight, worked very well, but stank when the snow got deep (obviously).

Had an older Audi, again front-wheel drive, and again had some great skinny snow tires. Better than the Civic, but again, worked great until the snow got deep.

Neither of them could drive as comfortably, as quickly, either, as the automatic 4WD and limited-slip on the Explorer. Exceptionally reliable and high-clearance, which is really the only option where I am. We've put 100K on it since we bought it in 2001, most of those miles in 6 inches plus of fresh snow, and a hearty (hour or so) commute in said snow.

I've driven the Subarus on that drive also, and the Jeep and Chevy SUVs, none seemed to track as well as the Ford in deep, deep snow. :shrug:

[SheilaT]

16. Another Subaru Outback wagon with 4 wheel drive here.

I'm likewise in Kansas City area, and all the schools are closed today. Both my sons are still sleeping at 9am.

I also think a standard transmission, regardless of the car, is a better bet than an automatic. Me, I won't drive an automatic. I like the control I have with a stick. I get utterly disgusted at drivers of automatics who don't seem to realize they actually have gears other than drive to use.

[Toronto Ron]

20. Yet another Subaru Outback wagon owner here...

2002 basic model, all-wheel drive automatic. After an ice storm here in NC last winter, I was able to drive uphill out of our court with ease, after I saw several other vehicles (sports car, SUV, etc.) struggle and give up. Perhaps the fact that I'm Canadian helped, though...

[geniph]

36. I won't drive an automatic either

Hell, I barely know HOW to drive an automatic - I keep stomping on the floor with my left foot and panicking when I can't find my clutch!

I remember some years back in the snow, when my ex-husband couldn't get his automatic Taurus up the steep driveway. I put my little 5-speed Saturn into second gear and drove straight up with one tiny sideslip.

[Braden]

17. 2000 Explorer XLS

with on demand 4x4 has been a snow machine since I have owned it. 4wheel High does fine in most anything. 4 wheel low will get you out of anything you can get into.

[curse10]

22. 1974 VW Superbeetle

best car I've ever had for snow- The extra weight in back really helps with fishtailing and the thin tires just cut through the snow. Just make sure you get an extra heater! :-)

[ironflange]

27. Hey! I had one of those!

Great winter car, except when it got really cold you had to always bring along a co-pilot to man the scraper on the inside.

[Beaker]

23. '72 Olds Toronado.

I never got stuck, or even close to it in that car.

[rustydog]

24. I'm impressed with all the SUV's I see on mountain

passes in the ditch, on their top, fenders crumpled.
I guess the owners fell for the advertisements on TV showing an SUV blowing through snow and ice at top speed and not even shimmying on a corner..(false advertising?)
I see more SUV's in the ditch on our mountain passes than ANY two-wheel drive vehicle.

Any vehicle will handle fine in snow with decent snow tires and no loose nut behind the wheel.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

25. On snow, 4x4s work...on ice, nothing works but experience...

And people here in Oklahoma lose their minds if there's any ice anywhere. What's funny is they believe that if they have a 4x4, they can go as fast as they want on the ice and when they end up in a ditch or dead, they wonder why. And they never learn. It's the same crap every time it snows here. Because during the afternoon, it melts, then at night it freezes over. Then people get out and they don't know that you can't drive full speed on ice. I get honked at and flipped off because I won't drive 70 miles an hour on the interstate when there's ice. I'd like to live, thank you.
Duckie

[Misinformed01]

26. Another Outback here too

But, Michael hasn't had the chance to drive it in the snow...yet.

I stay home when it snows, so unless he is driving, I won't be able to give the Outback a thumbs up or down; I know it does great in rain storms with standing water-

[amandae]

28. SUV drivers in KC ...

are generally more about the status than the actual need for a 4 wheel drive vehicle. (translation: they don't know how to actually use the 4 wheel drive feature they paid so much for)

on my way home from school during a different snow storm (here in kc) i was unfortunate enough to be up behind an SUV going up a moderate hill. the only problem was that it was completely slicked over. the SUV was sliding BACKWARDS into the path of my saturn, while i had been making the hill just fine. oh, i was in Johnson County ... if that says anything (which i feel that i can say because i also live in a different part of it and deal with these status people all the time).

the best vehicle i had in the snow was my '88 olds cutlass supreme :-) that thing was a beast and completely handled montana winters like it was nothing :evilgrin:

[RobinA]

29. Best Car in the Snow

in my experiences was the VW Rabbit. That thing would drive through anything with the factory tires. I useta drive a Plymouth Duster back in the day and it sucked, but I usually managed. Recently my VW Jetta and Acura Integra sucked as bad as the Duster. The Integra I was afraid of in winter, it would get stuck in 1 inch of snow. It got a lot better when I replaced the factory tires. The Jetta was bad on any tires I tried. Neither would make it up a decent hill that had been plowed but was still snowy. Now I have a Civic with four month old tires that seems to be doing quite well. It's better than both the Integra and the Jetta.

The Civic was supposed to be an Outback, since I live in the country, but it didn't work out.

[Demonaut]

33. Watched a ice road rally race shot in Europe a few years back

and all the cars were all wheel drive except one Rabbit GTI and he was smoking everyone except one guy on a Quattro. True his ass was swinging around alot but his driving was amazing.

[EmmaP]

40. The Bunny

My 1993 Civic does pretty well in the snow and on the ice (5 speed manual), but my 1983 VW Rabbit was the BEST. It was like a little tank...and I live in the snow belt. Anyone know what "lake effect" means?

[RobinA]

30. Best Car in the Snow

in my experiences was the VW Rabbit. That thing would drive through anything with the factory tires. I useta drive a Plymouth Duster back in the day and it sucked, but I usually managed. Recently my VW Jetta and Acura Integra sucked as bad as the Duster. The Integra I was afraid of in winter, it would get stuck in 1 inch of snow. It got a lot better when I replaced the factory tires. The Jetta was bad on any tires I tried. Neither would make it up a decent hill that had been plowed but was still snowy. Now I have a Civic with four month old tires that seems to be doing quite well. It's better than both the Integra and the Jetta.

The Civic was supposed to be an Outback, since I live in the country, but it didn't work out.

[catmandu57]

31. Depends on the driver

I've got an 84 subaru 4 by, but I use mostly front wheel. If you know what you're doing you can drive anything in the snow. I had a 65 fairlane, with snows and a full tank I wasn't afraid to take that car anywhere.

[noonwitch]

32. My 98 Escort handles it fairly well

Nothing can handle more than 7 or 8 inches of snow on the roads except SUVs and trucks, but for a little car, my Escort does pretty well on anything less than that. In Detroit, due to global warming and pollution, we don't get that much snow compared to the rest of the state, but when we do, it's usually bad. We do get a lot of sleet and ice, and front wheel drive is the best thing for handling slippery conditions.

[ProudGerman]

43. Get wide tires

I have wider, after market wheels on my Probe. It almost tracks on top of deep snow. It sinks just enough to make a rut to keep it from sliding when it comes time to turn. The only draw back is standing water, with the size of my contact patch, I hydroplane at a lower speed. But then again, even 4 wheel drive won't help if your hydroplaning. Lowering the pressure in your tires will also help you from sinking too much if the snow is too deep.

The reason front wheel drive is so good is because you are pulling your car instead of pushing it. If you start to slide, turn the wheel and hit the gas and pull yourself out of the slide, or at least in the general direction you want to go. Makes for great fun on snowy, empty parking lots.


Dammit, I want it to snow.

[hussar]

46. Another aspect of front wheel drive

you have the weight of the engine over the drive axle.

[geniph]

37. What a lot of folks with 4WD forget

is that four-wheel drive helps you go, but it does NOT help you stop. Stopping on ice is the same proposition whether you're driving AWD, 4WD, or 2WD - it's a matter of friction, velocity, and mass. A heavier vehicle - ergo, most SUVs - requires much more stopping distance than a lighter one. It's mostly when they try to brake that the overconfident people in their 4WD SUV's end up in the ditch.

[Bertha Venation]

38. no broken windows, bench seats w/ no axle hump...

seats w/ no tears, roof with no leaks, and a horn that works.

[Musashi]

39. PT Cruiser

My father reports that his 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser performs quite well in the snow. He also says his '88 Dodge Aries and '86 Toyota Tercel were fairly decent, too.

[Snow]

41. You all have got to take a look at this site

about SUV's:
http://poseur.4x4.org/

I gotta get me a Peterbilt Crusader.

They do have a non-satire page or two about vehicles that actually do what suv's don't.

[hussar]

45. Have to disagree with him about the Kia sportage

We have a 4x4 EX and it is a great car and it is a stick shift which makes control of the vehicle in the dry, wet and snow a hell of a lot better (take note automatic drivers)
It gets great gas milage, handles extremely well and is great off road and is far cheaper to buy than a Subaru.

I have driven many military 4x4's, tracked vehicles including tanks(3 years as a driver) and amphibious 6 wheel drive too,oh nearly forgot drove semi's for 20 years also.

I find the majority of accidents etc are caused by the drivers lack of skill and awareness of the vehicles limitations as opposed to the vehicle itself.