I totaled my car, what kind of car is good in snow?

[marmalade]

I live in Buffalo NY so I have driven in my fair share of snow. I have had both 4 wheel drive and AWD and I don't know the difference but my AWD handles much better in the snow. I have also heard great things about Subarus. I may be wrong but I think they are AWD also.

I would also as previously mentioned get a good set of snow tires.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Subaru Outback! Love ours.

 

[limace]

Nthing the Forester. You can get a used one for not a lot of money, they are great on snow, and they are really reliable. We have 150K miles on our '05 and have done nothing to it but change the oil, and it runs beautifully. Love it.

 

[arihillfarm]

Hopefully your insurance co. won't total it. If they fix it, get a good set of snow tires put on it and get two tubes of tube sand from Home Depot to put in the trunk over the two rear wheels (move the tubes as far to the each side as your trunk will allow). Even on a front wheel drive car, the added weight over the rear wheels will help greatly with traction in the snow. AWD and 4WD is not the be all, end all. You'll pay more for one (especially now with winter almost here) and the gas mileage generally is not as good as a standard front or rear wheel drive car. A couple months of payments on an AWD car would pay for a good set of snow tires that you could get 2-3 or more winters out of if they are taken care of. Look up tires on tirerack.com and there you can see detailed handling reviews for each tire you may be considering.

-Astrid

 

[NVDisMom]

Another vote for Subaru. We are on our second and will always have one. DH will probably buy the next one when DD13 gets her license in a few years. Aren't hand me down's great? All wheel drive with 30mpg average is awesome. Oh, and don't forget the 4 star crash rating, the reasonable purchase price, and very little in the way of maintenance. We love our Suby! We also have a Toyota Highlander. We like it too, but the Suby handles better and gets way better gas mileage.

 

[lyncecelia]

get a good set of snow tires put on it and get two tubes of tube sand from Home Depot to put in the trunk over the two rear wheels (move the tubes as far to the each side as your trunk will allow). Even on a front wheel drive car, the added weight over the rear wheels will help greatly with traction in the snow.
-Astrid

I love this suggestion....once I learn how to drive DBF stick-shift I'm doing this...we are a 1 car family and he takes the train into work every day. Doing this, I'd be able to drive to work everyday, and he could do his running etc without worry

 

[EclecticWAHM]

Hey fellow Coloradan! I know what you mean, I've seen SUVs with California plates (not the only offenders, but a lot of them) barreling down an icy road, passing me at mach 2, and then I wave as I'm passing them being pulled out of the ditch 10 miles later!

OP, I've seen Subaru's do great things, and we've got a '98 Explorer that has plowed through some pretty deep snow...

Hey! Nice to see other Colorado folks around here! I think the Subaru must be the official car of this state It amazes me how some people drive in general, but especially in bad weather.

 

[GraysMom]

DH loved his Subaru Outback so much that when it was time to buy me a new car, he convinced me to go with an Outback as well. I'm totally hooked after going through all our crazy snowy weather last year. We also have a great dealership to go to.

 

[burnurcomputer]

A Subie will not stear you wring....unless you tug the wheel to far to one side

 

[marie1203]

Snow tires make a lot of difference but nothing drove like my audi in the vail,co weather.

 

[EllenFrasier]

Another vote for Subaru. We are on our second and will always have one. DH will probably buy the next one when DD13 gets her license in a few years. Aren't hand me down's great? All wheel drive with 30mpg average is awesome. Oh, and don't forget the 4 star crash rating, the reasonable purchase price, and very little in the way of maintenance. We love our Suby! We also have a Toyota Highlander. We like it too, but the Suby handles better and gets way better gas mileage.

What model Subaru do you own?

 

[trip]

Driving in snow is one thing, ICE is entirely different. Ice usually wins.

 

[WeekdayDisneyland]

I have an '04 Forester. Love it. Bought while I lived in Seattle and it was perfect. Its definately overkill here in SoCal. But still, I love this reliable, safe, easy to maintain car.

 

[Kate and Pete]

I live in Maine and have had two Subarus - they're great cars. I would like something a little "hotter" , but they're so darn safe.

My next car will be a Subaru, too!

 

[mamaLori05]

We live in WI, which also gets the snowstorms like crazy in winter. We have a CRV and love it. However, the best thing you can do for any car is buy snow tires and put a bag of sand or salt in the back of the car to weigh it down. My dh has a Ford Ranger, which normally is horrible in the snow, however once he put on snow tires and tubes of sand/salt in the back it made all the difference.

I have to agree with pp's in that ICE is a whole different story. No matter what car you buy, what tires you buy, even if it's 4wd, AWD, or whatever, ice will win. You probably just hit the ice just right.

 

[PatsMom]

Love my Subaru! Number one is a 2000 Outback Sport (basically an Impreza with an accessory package). Has about 225,000 miles on it. Gave it to my daughter in 2008 when she got her driver's license and bought myself a 2008 Impreza - the cheapest model Subaru makes. It now has 85,000 miles on it and is going strong!

We are planning (hoping) for the old car to last my daughter until she is out of college in two and a half years. She drives to and from work in the summer and drives home (about 100 miles each way) on weekends in the winter so that she can work.

My husband has a four wheel drive Dodge Ram with a club cab, long bed and a hemi. It is an enormous truck. We prefer the Suby in bad weather because the larger vehicle tends to want to spin the back tires. Although we fill the bed with some cement blocks and sand so it will do OK on our hill. But it will be replaced with a smaller vehicle someday now that DH doesn't need to haul stuff around.

 

[stacie_d]

We have two subarus. I have an impreza and DH has a forester. They managed to get us up and down and around these West Virginia hills through last year's rough winter.

 

[NHWX]

Lots of people here in NH have Subarus and love them. They even make them with a righthand drive option for mail carriers. But if you're going to have to go through a quantity of snow, you might consider a Jeep. We have a Liberty and have enjoyed it through 156K miles. The extra room underneath the Jeep can be a big bonus. You can also put a tow hook on it for those especially trying times.

That said, we've had moments when we've hit the ice just right and the only thing left to do is tell the kids "Hang on!" and pray.

I hope you find a good solution.

NHWX

 

[Alice28]

another Subaru vote

We live in Portland, OR. Not known for snow, but it usually does 2 times per winter. We've had an Outback and a (the upgrade from Outback) Tribeca, both were excellent during bad weather. Right now we don't have a Subie, as we had to trade in the Tribeca for a-----minivan. J/K, but at any rate, as soon as we can afford it, we are marching back to Subaru so we can get DH a new Outback. We want to always have one as they are incredibly reliable and safe cards.

 

[Evi]

You want a car with some weight to it. Preferably 4 wheel drive or rear wheel drive. You don't want front wheel drive in the snow. If the car isn't heavy add a a few 50lb bags of sand or salt in the trunk. I know this will eat up some extra gas but it will help you with traction light cars slide more. Also it takes time to learn to drive in the snow. I see people slipping around all the time in truth you should drive a little slower and give more space between you and another car. Also plan to start slowing down for stop signs alot earlier then you normally do. If you hit a patch of black ice don't try to steer try to coast through it or you'll spin. When your sliding in the snow you want to turn your car into the slide. If you stuck in the snow carry cat litter or a salt sand mix in your trunk to pour on it to give you traction. This may sound like common sense but really if you've ever been to the south when it snows you'd be amazed to see how many people crash in an inch or less of snow. In New England you drive in the snow its part of it. Oh yeah and get snow tires or at least all weather tires.

I disagree about snow tires vs all weather. I've always used all weather tires not snow specific. If I were in northern NH, VT or ME maybe I'd go with snow tires. I drive a Passat its a heavy little car. I honestly think the weight of your car makes a complete difference on how it drives on snow.