FWD and snow tires is about 95% as good as AWD and snow tires, and better than AWD with all season tires. On a side note no Subaru' have a transverse engine layout, it's really cool to see everything in-line under the hood like it should be! Its great for OCD engineering minded people like me.
Preferred SUV for snow: Large FWD or smaller AWD?
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Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I didn't even know it snowed much in Missouri?
Any single snow storm may produce anywhere from 1" to 12". The main problem around here is unfavorable snow removal to snowfall ratio. I worked with someone who lived in Boston and said it was easier to get around there in the winter than in St Louis.
I didn't even know it snowed much in Missouri?
Any single snow storm may produce anywhere from 1" to 12". The main problem around here is unfavorable snow removal to snowfall ratio. I worked with someone who lived in Boston and said it was easier to get around there in the winter than in St Louis.
Originally Posted By: andyd
Heh heh. Snow tires and a shovel. VW bugs are great in snow , except for a wimpy defrost. Grand Wagoneers with AWD are pretty good. Not impressed with FWD, they are pitiful on snow covered hills. I prefer a LSD in a RWD.
Also travel in snow, has more to do with the loose nut behind the wheel than the vehicle. AWD allows you to drive as if you were on bare pavement. Until you try to stop or steer...
Heh heh. Snow tires and a shovel. VW bugs are great in snow , except for a wimpy defrost. Grand Wagoneers with AWD are pretty good. Not impressed with FWD, they are pitiful on snow covered hills. I prefer a LSD in a RWD.
Also travel in snow, has more to do with the loose nut behind the wheel than the vehicle. AWD allows you to drive as if you were on bare pavement. Until you try to stop or steer...
The tires that came on our 2013 Rogue when new were truly awful. It seems a lot of new cars come from the factory with tires meant to be very quiet and efficient. Earlier this year I put on a set of Firestone Fuzion tires that are much more aggressive than what the car came with. I guess we will give them a try. Even among non snow tires there can be big differences.
It appears Nissan has really good deals going on now. The big temptation for me is I can go get a new AWD rogue that gets better mpg than our current fwd rogue. However if it comes with same wimpy tires it may not be any better in the snow.
It appears Nissan has really good deals going on now. The big temptation for me is I can go get a new AWD rogue that gets better mpg than our current fwd rogue. However if it comes with same wimpy tires it may not be any better in the snow.
Sounds like you are just looking for an excuse to buy a new vehicle instead of actually solving the problem. That's OK.
Originally Posted By: ecotourist
I second the advice about front wheel drive and snow tires.
I've been surprised what my Honda Accord can do in really bad winter conditions with that combination. It might do more with additional ground clearance.
As one example I had to drive 1 1/2 miles in heavy drifts on a gravel road followed by 1 1/2 miles of deep ruts that had been further drifted in overnight. That was followed by a couple of hundred miles of icy pavement. Lots of worried passengers but no problem.
I wouldn't trade in anything until I had tried 4 wheel snow tires. I had Dunlops purchased in 2007/8 on low cost alloy wheels. The wheels corroded severely and considering the age of the tires I recently recycled both.
I have Dunlop snow tires for my BMW as well but it is limited by ground clearance.
Snow tires should be the narrowest tires and the shortest rims recommended for your vehicle. Some are better for ice and some for snow. The tirerack wensite has excellent information on snow tire selection.
I live on a hill in Syracuse, NY. One of the top 10 snowiest cities in the country.
My DD is a FWD ford focus. Everyone seems to have AWD SUVs.
Syracuse is broke so they don't plow. I have never had a problem getting up the hill in the snow with the Focus. Even passing the AWD vehicles on all-seaons.
Well, once in a while they jam up all the lanes and I have to seek an alternate route that hasn't been plugged with cars.
I second the advice about front wheel drive and snow tires.
I've been surprised what my Honda Accord can do in really bad winter conditions with that combination. It might do more with additional ground clearance.
As one example I had to drive 1 1/2 miles in heavy drifts on a gravel road followed by 1 1/2 miles of deep ruts that had been further drifted in overnight. That was followed by a couple of hundred miles of icy pavement. Lots of worried passengers but no problem.
I wouldn't trade in anything until I had tried 4 wheel snow tires. I had Dunlops purchased in 2007/8 on low cost alloy wheels. The wheels corroded severely and considering the age of the tires I recently recycled both.
I have Dunlop snow tires for my BMW as well but it is limited by ground clearance.
Snow tires should be the narrowest tires and the shortest rims recommended for your vehicle. Some are better for ice and some for snow. The tirerack wensite has excellent information on snow tire selection.
I live on a hill in Syracuse, NY. One of the top 10 snowiest cities in the country.
My DD is a FWD ford focus. Everyone seems to have AWD SUVs.
Syracuse is broke so they don't plow. I have never had a problem getting up the hill in the snow with the Focus. Even passing the AWD vehicles on all-seaons.
Well, once in a while they jam up all the lanes and I have to seek an alternate route that hasn't been plugged with cars.
If you are buying new a small SUV with awd is a small amount of money more AND the mpg loss is very small vs Fwd. if you are buying used look closer as Awd used to tank MPG. Now it's typically a 1-2 MPG loss with Awd.
The AWD system in her Santa Fe works great in winter weather. It's FWD unless it detects wheel spin, or you can lock in the AWD. It took it out on a big parking lot during a large snow we had and the stability control system along with the AWD did a fantastic job keeping it from getting away from you as long as you are not being to careless.
As far as MPG goes, a family member had the exact same vehicle but it's a 2017 FWD and they get on average 2mpg more than we do.
As far as MPG goes, a family member had the exact same vehicle but it's a 2017 FWD and they get on average 2mpg more than we do.
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