Blizzard Car/Tire Choice: '14 Subaru '08 Civic?

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gathermewool

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My wife most likely won't have work Tuesday due to the blizzard coming through tomorrow. I probably will, and am trying to determine which car to take, if it's safe to drive.

Work is 13 miles away: 7 miles of 30 MPH roads, 2 miles on a 65 MPH highway, and the rest mostly 45 MPH.

The Civic has one-season-old Conti winter tires (9-10/32") that handled the small amount of snow we drove through last night and all of last year VERY well. I actually had to pass a modified Audi that was doing 15-25 mph in 30-45 MPH zones (brake checks while alone on the road resulted in fast, safe stops and almost no skidding.)

The '14 Forester has X-mode, which will help get me going and even slow down me down more safely (Hill descent control,) but it's only active at less than 25 MPH. The negative, is that it has the stock Geolanders still installed, with 20k miles (I haven't checked the tread depth in the past month or so.)

The Subaru is also much, much safer, and obviously has better ground clearance, should the conditions truly become blizzard-like.

Also, if his storm does become an out-and-out blizzard, I will not be going to work; if it's unsafe, I'm staying home.

So, what would you drive?
 
At highway speeds, good snow tires are going to make the biggest difference.

And for the love of god, don't cheap out and buy 2 snow tires. And if you do, put them on the REAR of the car, not the front, even if it's FWD.
 
Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
At highway speeds, good snow tires are going to make the biggest difference.

And for the love of god, don't cheap out and buy 2 snow tires. And if you do, put them on the REAR of the car, not the front, even if it's FWD.


Agreed, all cars are all-wheel stop, and I have no doubt that the Civic will decel emergency Lane change better and stop better. All 4 are snows on the Civic.

With that said, the ABS and vehicle dynamics control system in the Subaru is probably superior to that in the Civic. The snow tires more than make up for this, though, IMO.
 
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I would take the Subie. AWD has much better traction and handling. As for braking just don't tailgate and give plenty of room. It will do much better than the civic. My civic was a pretty lousy snow car - light and low ground clearance. Would slide easy and spin easy. It did not have snow tires which would have made a big difference. I'd still go for the Subie.
 
Originally Posted By: spk2000
I would take the Subie. AWD has much better traction and handling. As for braking just don't tailgate and give plenty of room. It will do much better than the civic. My civic was a pretty lousy snow car - light and low ground clearance. Would slide easy and spin easy. It did not have snow tires which would have made a big difference. I'd still go for the Subie.


+1
 
I have all-season Continental PureContacts on the Suzuki and a set of winter tires on the old minivan. The Suzuki has AWD as well as stability control, ABS, etc. and is a very stable and capable vehicle. The old minivan has none of those. In a blizzard I'll take the minivan. Once you're moving, it's all about the tires.
 
FWIW, in preparation for yesterday's snow I left the all-season tires/wheels in the trunk/back-seat to add a little weight.
 
I'd drive the one I was more familliar with. FWD and AWD are different animals in the snow.

That said, if you get as much snow as they're saying, the extra ground clearance wouldn't hurt on the Subie.
 
Subaru.

There'll be snowplow furroughs that you can get hung up on. Ground clearance and more wheels spinning for your win.
 
Originally Posted By: Wheel
I'd drive the one I was more familliar with. FWD and AWD are different animals in the snow.

That said, if you get as much snow as they're saying, the extra ground clearance wouldn't hurt on the Subie.


The Subie is my DD, but i'm familiar with both in snow. With only one winter with the Forester I actually feel a little more comfortable in the Civic, as odd as that sounds. Like my old STI, the Civic feels more connected to the road and its dynamics are more predictable at the limit of traction.

Going slow and steady, it may not matter, and being in the safer vehicle might mean more. Accounting for those drivers who fly down the road in bald tires, who wouldn't be able to stop anyway, plowing right into either car, being in the safer Subie might prove beneficial.

My wife is taking the Subie tomorrow for that very reason. Visibility will be better, as well.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Subaru.

There'll be snowplow furroughs that you can get hung up on. Ground clearance and more wheels spinning for your win.


Very good point. The Geolanders are no slouches in the snow, even if not nearly as grippy as snows.
 
To be honest, I'd stay home. The winds look crazy, which worries me more than the snow itself. While you might handle it well, very few are going to be as prepared as you. You might be fine...until..Wham!


If you have to, the subie is my choice. Higher off the ground...
 
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
To be honest, I'd stay home. The winds look crazy, which worries me more than the snow itself. While you might handle it well, very few are going to be as prepared as you. You might be fine...until..Wham!


If you have to, the subie is my choice. Higher off the ground...


Yep, this whole thread is hypothetical in nature, since I do plan to stay home if conditions really do get bad. Weather forecasts a notoriously bad, but even a slight deviation from the predicted blizzard will still mean the risk is too high to worry about getting to work.

Unless it gets bad early in the afternoon tomorrow, I plan to stay late to bank some hours, since our company rarely pays for snow days, and typically asks that we utilize a flexible work week to make up for the snow day.

This thread is more to gage the community opinion on car vs tire, with my specific example. Seems like the results are heavily weighted toward the Subie, probably due to ground clearance and safety. I honestly expected it to be a tougher choice for some, since I've personally seen older Civic out-handle non-Subaru SUVs during a winter driving course.
 
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Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
To be honest, I'd stay home. The winds look crazy, which worries me more than the snow itself. While you might handle it well, very few are going to be as prepared as you. You might be fine...until..Wham!


If you have to, the subie is my choice. Higher off the ground...


Yep, this whole thread is hypothetical in nature, since I do plan to stay home if conditions really do get bad. Weather forecasts a notoriously bad, but even a slight deviation from the predicted blizzard will still mean the risk is too high to worry about getting to work.

Unless it gets bad early in the afternoon tomorrow, I plan to stay late to bank some hours, since our company rarely pays for snow days, and typically asks that we utilize a flexible work week to make up for the snow day.

This thread is more to gage the community opinion on car vs tire, with my specific example. Seems like the results are heavily weighted toward the Subie, probably due to ground clearance and safety. I honestly expected it to be a tougher choice for some, since I've personally seen older Civic out-handle non-Subaru SUVs during a winter driving course.



Yeah, sorry. Just want ya to be safe.
smile.gif
I'm usually game on going out because I know I can handle it, but the drivers around here are nuts/ stupid! It has got to the point I'd rather eat a vaca day than risk getting hit....
 
The Forester's Geolanders aren't that bad in snow, they're decent moving the vehicles forwards and backwards, but I've always felt their weakness is when turning. Though they are far from being an actual snow tire.

I'd say go in early tomorrow, and stay late if it's not that bad out, so you can log in some extra hours. Then try not to go into the office on Tuesday if it's as bad as they're saying it's going to be.
 
If the Civic gets you stuck because it doesn't have enough ground clearance or can't find a drive wheel with traction, it'll be inconvenient and someone can come pull or push you out.

If the Forester can't stop or turn because it doesn't have the right tires, you're just screwed -- and someone else might be, too.

There needs to be a category beyond "no contest" for stuff like this.
 
The forecast has changed to show less snow than what was being predicted last night. In early and out late is my plan for the day.

Doodfood, could you elaborate on your "no contest" comment?
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
If the Civic gets you stuck because it doesn't have enough ground clearance or can't find a drive wheel with traction, it'll be inconvenient and someone can come pull or push you out.

If the Forester can't stop or turn because it doesn't have the right tires, you're just screwed -- and someone else might be, too.

There needs to be a category beyond "no contest" for stuff like this.


I like 4 snow tires as much as the next guy.

That said, the civic would be great in a 4 inch storm where most folks still go 35 and handling (turning, stopping) means something.

OP is (presumably) concerned about being stranded in a drift, a situation where good samaritans aren't going to shovel him out. The tide turns to favor the scoobie.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
If the Civic gets you stuck because it doesn't have enough ground clearance or can't find a drive wheel with traction, it'll be inconvenient and someone can come pull or push you out.

If the Forester can't stop or turn because it doesn't have the right tires, you're just screwed -- and someone else might be, too.

There needs to be a category beyond "no contest" for stuff like this.


I like 4 snow tires as much as the next guy.

That said, the civic would be great in a 4 inch storm where most folks still go 35 and handling (turning, stopping) means something.

OP is (presumably) concerned about being stranded in a drift, a situation where good samaritans aren't going to shovel him out. The tide turns to favor the scoobie.


You're spot on, though getting out of the way of someone else's uncontrolled slide is good, too. Stopped in traffic or at a light and seeing some one sliding toward me at an alarming rate, I wonder which will get out of the way faster, should I turn my wheel and hit the go pedal. With only a few inches or in icy conditions I'd probably put my money on the Civic with snow tires.

In truth I'm kicking myself a little for cheaping out and waiting for the perfect deal on a used set of wheels or lightly used winter setup. I've gotten lucky twice before with stellar deals on forums, but no such luck in '14. I'm excited to see how a good the Subie performs with some good snow shoes on.

Snow tires transformed my old '08 STI from dangerous in the snow (with all-seasons) to delightful with 1" smaller wheel and larger-than-OEM aspect ratio snow tires. Even those snow tires had some good width and relatively low AR, and the STI easily broke traction with even light throttle. The Forester will have other issues associated with being a CUV, I'm sure, but I expect it to out-perform both the Civic and my previous STI...when I finally get snow tires.
 
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Doodfood, could you elaborate on your "no contest" comment?

The Forester is more likely to prevent inconvenience, and the Civic with winter tires is more likely to prevent an accident.

Inconvenience prevention vs. accident prevention. No contest -- the latter should always win.
 
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