Live in the snow belt?? What car do you drive?

[onelilspark]

I'm in the market for a new car. I just got a new job cool1 and I'm moving from having a Company Car to having to buy my own. I haven't looked at cars since I was 16, and lived in an area that shut down at the threat of snow! So I'm kind of stumbling through the car buying process. The car I'm currently driving is a Ford Escape, which I only received in June, so I don't know how it it was a 4x4.

So...if you live in the snow belt, and do a decent amount of driving (I will be, but it will be mostly highway), what kind of car do you drive?

I'm currently looking at the 2 Subaru sedans, the Honda Element, and the Honda Insight. I'm also looking at the Nissan Rogue & the Honda CR-V, but I think they look too much like a mini-van, so I'm not crazy about them (I'm 25, no kids besides my puppy!)

Is there anything else you think I should be looking at? We're test driving cars this weekend.

 

[bicker]

We've had lots of Subarus. They're fantastic for winter driving, but are a bit of overkill, imho, during the summer. We're driving a BMW 328xi now, and I think I'd rather have my old Subaru over the winter.

 

[onelilspark]

I really like the Subaru Imprezza, which is just their base model. It's decent gas mileage for an AWD. It's probably the most practical choice, but I am worried about it being overkill during the non-snow season. Which, to be honest is about 6 months here!

 

[mommasita]

I drive the Hyundai Sane Fe, and I LOVE IT, 4 wheel drive.

 

[Amy]

Another Subaru fan here - I've got a 2007 Forester and I LOVE it! Wonderful in the snow, but yes, you do lose some mpg's in the summer due to the AWD.

DH has a 2008 Ford Escape - it has on-demand 4WD (there's a name for it but I can't think of it right now). He's very happy with it. I've been with him when we hit some black ice and he was able to get the car under control very quickly. Whether that was because of his skill as a driver or the 4WD, I don't know.

DH has to drive the turnpike to and from work - 33 miles each way. While he agrees that my Forester is nice, he likes his Escape because he sits up higher and feels more in control of the car. They re-designed the Foresters in 2009 and it now looks more SUV-ish, and you sit up higher.

 

[kiddo76]

I'm a CRV fan. I have an 09 CRV that I traded a 98 CRV in for. I love it. We have no kids, but we do have a black lab. It's great in the snow and perfect for carting the pup around. He can jump in back where he's nice and safe and the rest of the car is protected when he's all sandy and wet.

The reliabilty of my 98 CRV was excellent. We had no major issues with it in the 6 years we owned it and got a pretty good trade-in value considering its age.

 

[sbell111]

Jeep Grand Cherokee with SelecTrac 4WD and BFG AT TA KOs. The new Grand Cherokees use the QuadraDrive II AWD system which, in my opinion, isn't as awesome as SelecTrac, but it is automatic and therefore better for soccer moms.

 

[scrapquitler]

We live in CT and spend lots of time in Vermont. We have a Subaru Outback, which is fabulous in the snow and ice. We also have a Ford Windstar, and I'll tell you that when I put my studded snow tires on that, it will go anywhere in the snow.

I think that the tires you have on your car definitely make as big a difference as 4wd or anything else. Studded snow tires are a definite good thing if you live in an area with snow/ice.

 

[locolala]

Another Subaru lover here. We have a Legacy and a WRX. Both are turbocharged, so we don't get the best MPG but they are fabulous cars. DH had a WRX when he was stationed in Alaska and will never own another car.. he loves his Subies!

 

[GeorgeG]

No snow here, but last year we drove to NY with our Toyota Sienna and from Richmond, VA all the way to NY was through a huge snowstorm. It was solid as a rock. SUVs were spinning out left and right, but we just kept plugging along... when traffic moved.

 

[golfgal]

We have found that for 99% of the time a car with front wheel drive and good tires works as well as any 4 wheel drive/AWD car and gets WAY better gas mileage. Traction control is a plus, especially since you don't have to have it on all the time. Usually when we see cars in the ditches during a storm they are SUV's that had just flown past everyone driving safely because they assume they are safe because they have an SUV .

 

[Dan Murphy]

I have driven front wheel drive cars since 1976, probably 15 or so different vehicles. We live in Chicago, not exactly a slouch city when it comes to tough winters, lots of snow. Until recent past few years I usually drove about 25,000 miles a year, more than average. Currently somewhat less. I have never, ever been stuck or unable to go in those 34 years, not once. And here, about half the time is winter and snow. The prior 16 years of driving, I always had rear wheel drive. Usually stuck at least once every year. 4 wheel drive is not needed, unless maybe you are traversing the Rockies through the Donner Pass or the like, way over-hyped. As to current, a 2010 Taurus. And SUV's, many/most built on truck chassis, probably do need 4 wheel, what with their way out of balance front to rear weight ratios and high center of gravity, which also does lend to their higher incident of rollover.

Enjoy your new vehicle.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Anything with 4WD is a must around here. I personally have a Chevy Blazer.

Growing up we had Jeep Cherokees.

DH had trucks for the longest time (but he lived out in the boonies...).

 

[yoopermom]

We've always had 4WD living here in "the wilderness", and I dearly love it, but I bought a Subaru Forester two years ago and really do love it, too. The clearance is lower, but I worked census on roads that no one could believe I got through in that little car . Subarus are known for being "driven until they drop".

Terri

 

[Deb in IA]

Jeep Cherokee, Toyota Highlander, and Subaru Forester.

(This is IOWA, you know . . .
And we live out in the country)

 

[wenmc]

Deleted

 

[scrapquitler]

We have found that for 99% of the time a car with front wheel drive and good tires works as well as any 4 wheel drive/AWD car and gets WAY better gas mileage. Traction control is a plus, especially since you don't have to have it on all the time. Usually when we see cars in the ditches during a storm they are SUV's that had just flown past everyone driving safely because they assume they are safe because they have an SUV .

excellent points.

 

[SandrA9810]

I'm personally in love with the Honda Element Doggie Edition. The rear mats are rubber with dog paws on them, and other cute features for your pup.
But I have never driven in snow... so I'm the wrong person for answering this question.

 

[mamacatnv]

I don't live in the snow belt but we do deal with a fair amount of snow and lots of ice.

We have never had 4wd we have always had Honda's with front wheel drive and never ever an issue. Like a PP said, good tires are a must, we use a good mud/snow tire year round. Some people do the studs but we have found that the mud/snows with the front wheel drive are just fine.

If clearance is an issue then something that sits up higher would be in order but unless you are navigating unplowed streets/Hwys or live on a dirt road I don't see how clearance would be an issue.

I drive the Honda Odyssey mini van, DH drives a civic coupe and up until a few months ago DS drove an Accord. None of us ever had issues. My Ody has the traction control but the others don't. DS likes to go off road hunting etc. We replaced his vehicle with a 4WD.

The key to remember that that boneheads around here forget is that 4WD will not stop you any faster and that just because you have 4WD does not mean you can go faster in bad weather.

 

[bicker]

There are cases where clearance will help you deal with the snow better, though admitted not many. By contrast, there is a big difference between FWD and the AWD systems that most folks are talking about in this thread in terms of how they deal with the weather. We have one of each (FWD and AWD), we wouldn't have bought, and have insisted on having at least one, AWD vehicle if there wasn't a big difference. Folks may or may not feel that the added safety and protection against getting stuck are worth the price, though. That's understandable. There are both additional up-front costs, and additional ongoing costs.

Folks have made a good point about these AWD systems not making it so you can go faster, but really the issue is with regard to whether folks should be out on the roads or not, given the drive train in their vehicle. We feel that it simply isn't prudent to be out in some of the snow conditions we get each winter without AWD. Indeed, going out in some of this weather in a FWD vehicle we'd consider a very bad decision.

If we could be sure that we could apply our discretion and decide about each trip, based solely on the weather, then I think FWD would be fine. However, if you face the prospect of "having" to get to work, or even dealing with a need to get to doctors or the hospital, it would be taking what I think is a foolish chance, in some of the weather we get up here, to drive a FWD.