What's the best "driving in the snow" vehicle you've owned?

[control-z]

-78 MGB: Rear-wheel drive, but wasn't too bad because it was light and manual transmission.

-76 Fiat 124: Same thing, RWD but manual transmission and light.

-90 Mustang GT: Very tricky. It was sort of ok once you got going, but getting going could be pretty much impossible if you were going even slightly uphill, the rear wheels would just spin, and the rear end would rotate left or right. Not good.

-97 Explorer: Truly great. It had a V8 and AWD, and it just went wherever you pointed it. Once I was on an unplowed back road during a heavy snowstorm, 5 or 6 inches of snow on the road. I stopped while going uphill and floored it, it just spun a little and went on up the hill.

-98 Contour: Front wheel drive, V6 engine, manual transmission. Pretty much goes wherever I want as long as the snow isn't too deep. We had 5 or 6 inches of snow one year and I couldn't back it DOWN my driveway, it was just plowing snow.

95 F-150: V8 and 4x4, goes good in 4WD but that's to be expected. Stopping isn't quite as good.

[lieu]

A pair of K2 MSLs. Well, that and a '90 Jeef Cherokee Laredo w/ Pirelli P Zeros.

[enipla]

’76 Chevy 4x4 short bed pick up. Great. Owned it since ’78. It is currently my plow truck and is chained up on all 4 wheels.

’89 Nissan 240SX. When I moved to the mountains, I put studded snows on it all the way around. Fugetaboutit. After literally dragging it home with the plow truck after about the third time I bought an –

’84 CJ7. Studded mud terrains all around. Great in deep snow. Had snow coming over the hood once going down the driveway (very light snow). Bit of a short wheel base for highway use for my taste. So I bought a –

’93 Pathfinder. Did great. I put 230,000 miles on it and bought a –

’06 Pathfinder. This is my first winter in it. As soon as I get rid of the shit stock tires I’m confident it will do great as well. All the anti-loc brakes and traction control stuff is going to take some getting used to. Looking forward to have posi/limited slip on all 4 wheels though.

[Silence of the clams]

2001 Land Rover Defender (TD5) 110 with all terrain tyres. With a set of snowchains it will function as a snowplough as well

Kotick

[Lightnin']

The one I'm driving right now- an '06 Honda Element, with Nokian WR-SUV tires (the stock tires suck, and I didn't want to buy winter-specific tires). I've driven it in two feet of packed snow and powder up on Mt. Bachelor, and the tires barely spin.

Plus, hey- tons of room on the inside for changing into the snowboarding gear. Can't wait 'til this weekend- the mountain's got ten feet of snow now.

[brewha]

Best
1964 International Scout: Limited slip on all four wheels and weighed a metric shit ton.

Worst
1985 Pontiac Trans-Am: I thought the posi rear end would help, I was wrong. It had lots of power and the slightest hint of throttle would cause both rear tires to spin which was immediatlely followed by the rear end trying to trade places with the front end.

Currently, I drive a 1998 Jeep Cheorkee. It's driven through anything I've asked of it, but it hasn't been tested too harshly - yet.

[Nightsong]

Well, since I've only owned one car (my '95 Miata), that would be the best car in the snow by default.

But yes, with good tires it does surprisingly well in snow/ice, even more so if you get some more weight in the car. And apparently they did design the car such that if you have a stock configuration for the wheels (haven't changed the tire size, etc.) you can put snow chains on it.

But I figure if the weather is bad enough that you're contemplating putting on snow chains, best to stay at home no matter what the car.

Other cars I've driven in snow/ice:
'67 Mustang. (V8, auto) With good tires and enough kitty litter in the trunk, it does fairly good so long as you're going in a straight line. If you want to turn, you'll need to slow to a crawl to avoid sliding. But so far, as long as you can just keep your forward momentum going it hasn't let us down yet.

'97 Intrepid. (3.5L, Sport Edition) Even with good (not snow) tires chosen for their traction and weight added, this car loves to boogie about for some reason. Too much power to the wheels, no matter how gentle you are on the accelerator, I think. In some ways I'd prefer to drive the Mustang in bad winter weather if my Miata wasn't available for some reason.

I know my Mom would chime in with her old '65(?) Corvair for winter weather driving, as she still wistfully talks about the times when it'd be only her and the 18-wheelers on the North Dakota highways. Haven't taken her current Corvair ('66) out in wintery weather, so can't comment on that car.

___
<< Automobile - A mechanical device that runs up hills and down people. >>

[Hampshire]

Probably not the "best handling" by definition but definately "most fun to drive in the snow" would have been my 82' Toyota Corolla/Tercel hatchback manual stick.

With the stick/clutch/brake/countersteer combination I drove this car like a rally racer going through slick mud. Never once did I get in an accident or end up in a ditch through 4 Wisconsin winters commuting between school, job, and home literally drifting around street corners.

[Enginerd]

'88 Ford Bronco - a full size 4WD with a 5L V8 in it. With good tires on it, this truck could go anywhere. I even lived in it for a few months. It was "retired" a couple of years ago. The odometer read 95,000, but it had already turned over once and it was broken for the last year and a half I had it.

The absolute worst was a 2WD 4 cylinder half size GMC pickup with no weight in the ass end and next to nothing up front. You couldn't stop it no matter how good the tires were - it just wasn't heavy enough for them to get any traction. This was seldom a problem, though, since you couldn't get it moving either.

[Khadaji]

I had a Honda CRX, the high-fuel one. It was the best in the snow. I could take it anywhere.

[AskNott]

My wife's '98 Pontiac Bonneville SSE has antilock brakes and traction control. The TC is sort of reverse engineered antilock brakes. Its computer applies brake pulses to the slipping drive wheel. It is nearly impossible to get this thing to skid. Even the traditional FWD problem of dancing sideways at an icy stop light doesn't happen.

I learned how to snowdrive before I ever got behind the wheel. My brother and I would make a few bucks helping motorists get up our hilly street. "Gently, gently, gently," we'd tell them.

[Trunk]

Best: Subaru Outback and Subaru Impreza.

Worst: '89 Volvo 240 Dl. You touch the gas, one single rear wheel spins. That's fun for some stuff, but I hated having to trust it.

[control-z]

AWD is great in the snow. I forgot I had a 93? Subaru Legacy wagon also, that would just go wherever you pointed it.

[Finagle]

Subaru Outback here. Goes through snow up to 14" or so -- then it tends to get high-centered if the snow is heavy or wet.

[crazyjoe]

Originally Posted by Nightsong

'97 Intrepid. (3.5L, Sport Edition) Even with good (not snow) tires chosen for their traction and weight added, this car loves to boogie about for some reason. Too much power to the wheels, no matter how gentle you are on the accelerator, I think. In some ways I'd prefer to drive the Mustang in bad winter weather if my Miata wasn't available for some reason.

This is interesting. I had a 95 or 96 Intrepid, with 3.3L V-6, so a little less powerful, but it was an absolute breeze to drive in the snow. We once got about 20 inches of snow overnight, and the road was not plowed, and I drove my car down the road, watching my neighbor struggle to get his F-150 down the road behind me. I had Eagle GT+4 tires on it at the time.

Perhaps it was the extra power...that 3.5L V-6 was a pretty powerful engine.

[Danalan]

1984 Pontiac Fiero 2M4. The engine was mounted just in front of the rear wheels. I put on serious snow tires, and "Pow" -- Instant snowmobile. Amazing traction. The only problem was when the drifts got too deep, the whole car tended to plow up onto the snow, eventually lifting the rear wheels too far.

[jjimm]

Puch 50cc "Mini Sprint Shopper" moped. I put on slick boots, stood up on them, and used the moped to ski me around town like my very own snowmobile.

[Labelless]

1980 Monte Carlo. I can't explain it other than if it started to slide, I'd throw it up into neutral and it would stop. It was a beast too, 350 engine, and man, the parking lots I swung around in.
I'm not used to front wheel drives in the winter yet, though I've driven them on and off for the last five years, I've been driving over 13 and I want to do the neutral thing, and hubster tells me I should slightly accelerate, makes no sense in my world.
The Intrepid has traction control, and my old one didn't, but at speeds over 20 mph, it seems to work not at all.

[Hanna]

'90 Geo Tracker 4WD. I drove it for 13 years in Wisconsin winters and never got stuck. It was rusty and falling apart, after 13 years, but now I wish I had never sold it.

It went places that other 4WD trucks got stuck in. When I first got it people made fun of it (it was a fairly new model in 1990 - I bought it brand new), but when it made it though snow some fellow coworkers massive 4WD trucks got stuck in it earned respect.

[Godfrey Daniels]

'92 Subaru Legacy Wagon. Go anywhere, anytime, snow, freezing rain, what have you.
All-around best car I ever owned. I sold her with 216K original miles and she was still purring like a kitten.

[Philster]

Subura Legacy w/ all-wheel drive and anti-lock brakes.

My Dodge Dakota with 4wd is good in actual snow (even over 18"), but terrible if you are driving on slippery roads or lightly snowed roads at speed, as you can't use the 4wd. Well, I guess you could, but good luck turning and good luck rebuilding the differentials!!!!!!!

[Nightsong]

Originally Posted by crazyjoe

This is interesting. I had a 95 or 96 Intrepid, with 3.3L V-6, so a little less powerful, but it was an absolute breeze to drive in the snow. We once got about 20 inches of snow overnight, and the road was not plowed, and I drove my car down the road, watching my neighbor struggle to get his F-150 down the road behind me. I had Eagle GT+4 tires on it at the time.

Perhaps it was the extra power...that 3.5L V-6 was a pretty powerful engine.

Now that is interesting... *pauses a moment to look up specs* Ahhh, I think I see why: besides the higher horsepower, a Wiki article on the engine says that the 3.5L also has better low- and midrange- torque when compared to the 3.3L. And that would do the trick right there: sometimes having a lot of 'oomphf' going to the wheels isn't a good thing.

But hey, it is a fun car to stomp on the accelerator with. (Just not in the snow/ice!)

[One Day Fish Sale]

This thing ('84 Chevrolet Suburban) has worked well so far, though I haven't had a chance to do a lot of heavy snow driving yet. Weighs a lot, has a rear limited slip (GovLock), and narrow-ish siped mud tires.

Add in the ex-county-sherrif styling, and it's a real winner.

[One Day Fish Sale]

Originally Posted by Philster

My Dodge Dakota with 4wd is good in actual snow (even over 18"), but terrible if you are driving on slippery roads or lightly snowed roads at speed, as you can't use the 4wd. Well, I guess you could, but good luck turning and good luck rebuilding the differentials!!!!!!!

The only time you should have to worry about doing damage to a vehicle with a part-time transfer case (like your Dakota) is on completely dry pavement, where the wheels have no chance to slip to compensate for the hard driveline connection. Slippery roads and roads with light snow are just fine for part-time 4WD.

That said, it's a lot nicer with a good full-time 4WD vehicle, since you don't have to pay as close attention to the road surface condition.

[SlowMindThinking]

Best: 2000 Expedition. I've driven up and down mountain passes in all kinds of weather, it has never slipped yet.

Honorable Mention: Suburu Legacy Outback (or is that Outback Legacy). The only problem is that it doesn't ride very high and is much lighter than the Expedition, so it will founder in deep snow.

Things That Were Surprisingly Good: 82 Honda Civic 4 door, and an 89 Taurus SW. Both are front wheel drive, and I really only had problems when the snow was deep enough that they couldn't plow through the snow.

Things That Suck: 1994 Ford Clubwagon and a (mid 70's?) Plymouth Satellite. The van has no weight on the back end, and a very powerful V8 mostly on the wrong side of the front axel, so no surprise. The Plymouth was suicidal, even in just rain.

[control-z]

Originally Posted by Nightsong

'97 Intrepid. (3.5L, Sport Edition) Even with good (not snow) tires chosen for their traction and weight added, this car loves to boogie about for some reason. Too much power to the wheels, no matter how gentle you are on the accelerator, I think. In some ways I'd prefer to drive the Mustang in bad winter weather if my Miata wasn't available for some reason.

Have you tried starting the Intrepid in "2" instead of "D"?

[Uncommon Sense]

'84 Ford BroncoII, short wheel base, 4WD, 6 cylinder, snow tires.
I swear I could floor that thing in ten inches of snow and it would shoot forward like it was on dry pavement. And the short wheel base made it seem like you couldn't get it to fishtail no matter how hard you try. It was light so it stopped good too. I still own the thing but the tranny is shot and it's about 70% rust, but the engine still runs and the air conditioning still works.
Currently we have an Expedition tank. That thing will go through everything with ease. I drive through snow banks on purpose despite the wife's protests.

[jsgoddess]

Best: Jeep Wrangler, mid '90s. I used it in the oil patch and that sucker went everywhere. Longer vehicles had trouble going back some of the right-of-ways.

Worst: '86 Mustang GT. Ghastly. Loved the car, though.

[Argent Towers]

Originally Posted by Kotick

2001 Land Rover Defender (TD5) 110 with all terrain tyres. With a set of snowchains it will function as a snowplough as well

Kotick

And we have the winner here.

Got any pictures?

[Kilvert's Pagan]

'81 Subaru GL Wagon with dual range shift-on-the-fly 4WD and adjustable front and rear ground clearance. Drove it to work every day (30 miles each way) for a few years while living in the Wyoming mountains.

I think shift-on-the-fly 4WD became the next big new thing on American cars about, oh, 15 years later...

[River Hippie]

Best ever is my current 4 X 4 Ranger pick-up. It does pretty well even in 2 wheel drive.
Most surprising might have been my '71 Olds Vista Cruiser station wagon. I had mag wheels with huge tires on the back. L60-14s (using the sizing they used back then). That thing would really do well in snow and it had a GREAT heater.

[MacTech]

various snowmobiles (Polaris and Arctic Cat) for off road use (i know, that's cheating )

my current car, an '02 Dodge Neon does great in the snow, especially when shod with snow tires

[Rigamarole]

What is "snow"?

[Nightsong]

Originally Posted by control-z

Have you tried starting the Intrepid in "2" instead of "D"?

For some reason I think one of us has, but I can't remember the result off-hand. (Since this version has that auto-shift selection thingy, I believe we'd be able to start off in second just like I could in my Miata. Shifter on this Intrepid looks like: P R N D AS. The 'echo' of the gear selection up on the dash reads: P R N D 1 2 3 4, so you know what gear you're in when you have the shift lever in the AS position.)

Will have to try this and see what the result is... wonder if it'd let me try to get going from a stop in 4th.

[Stranger On A Train]

Count me in as another Subaru fan for handling on ice and snow ('82 GL-10, '83 GL, '98 Forester, '99 Legacy). I haven't had the '06 Legacy Spec B out in snow yet, but it does hug the twisty mountain roads with wet pavement like it's on rails. Even the '83 GL, which was only FWD, handled admirably through snow. The only problem is clearance; none of these cars (even the Forester) are really off-road vehicles and can only tolerate 12-16" of snow.

Stranger

[Kilvert's Pagan]

Originally Posted by Stranger On A Train

Count me in as another Subaru fan for handling on ice and snow ('82 GL-10, '83 GL, '98 Forester, '99 Legacy). I haven't had the '06 Legacy Spec B out in snow yet, but it does hug the twisty mountain roads with wet pavement like it's on rails. Even the '83 GL, which was only FWD, handled admirably through snow. The only problem is clearance; none of these cars (even the Forester) are really off-road vehicles and can only tolerate 12-16" of snow.

Stranger

You have a Spec B? <- my attempt at envy

I didn't mention the other Subarus, but you're right about the ground clearance thing. Ours:
81 GL Wagon
89 Legacy
93 Impreza
98 Forester
02 Legacy GT
05 Legacy

They've all been great cars.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by control-z

-78 MGB: Rear-wheel drive, but wasn't too bad because it was light and manual transmission.

I drove an MGB in the snow once. I think it was one of the '77s. It handled it well enough.

My '99 Cherokee handles snow well. I'm not home right now, but if I were I'd be using it.

The most surprising vehicle, to me, was my '88 Chevy Sprint Metro. Very light weight, and front wheel drive. I easily made it to a ski area while every other car was putting on chains. (I did have chains with me, but I wanted to see how far I could go.)

[Winston Smith]

I had a 91 jeep renegade. man was that fun to drive and it was GREAT in the snow. Damn, I miss my jeep.

[Moirai]

Originally Posted by Kotick

2001 Land Rover Defender (TD5) 110 with all terrain tyres. With a set of snowchains it will function as a snowplough as well

Kotick

You're damned skippy.

I like either of my Rovers in the snow, but prefer the Disco II over the Range.

[El_Kabong]

I've never owned a vehicle tailored specifically for snow conditions, but the two best in my fleet were my '75 VW Rabbit (went absolutely everywhere in northeastern winter conditions, under perfect control, with summer tires) and '81 Audi 4000 5 + 5 (although much greater mass but not much more tire made it a handful on ice, of which there was a lot in the Rocky Mountain region, where I lived at the time).

I've got an '01 Subaru Impreza with AWD and a manual, but the few times I took it out in snow I terrified myself. For this I blame the truly dire Bridgestone Potenza 'all-seasons' it came shod with. Absolutely pathetic tires.

Now I live in an area where snow is just something you occasionally see on TV.

[Chefguy]

My new Chrysler 300 with traction control. It will slide, but it won't slip.

[Xema]

My best was an '88 VW Golf. With decent tires it was simply astonishing in the snow - 6" accumulation was like a bare road to that car (okay, you had to slow down just a bit). I lost track of how many times I drove past 4WD vehicles mired in a ditch.

(To be fair, it's notorious in New England that during any sizeable snowstorm, perhaps 75% of the vehicles that get stuck will be 4WD. Their owners are those who went for 4WD as a substitute for learning how to drive in snow. And, as Rocky said to Bullwinkle, "That trick never works.")

[Valgard]

Only owned two cars in my life:

1988 Toyota Celica. Little two door FWD. Worked amazingly well in the snow, even without chains. This is what I learned to drive in the snow in and it taught me a lot (like "Slow Down" and "Just because you can go doesn't mean you can stop"). I fondly recall one vacation with a bunch of us at a rented house in Lake Tahoe, sloped semicircular driveway with tons of snow and slush on it. Nobody could get their Jeeps, big 4WD trucks, etc. up to the top. I came out, put the Celica into 1st, pointed it uphill and just drove right up. Could have come all the way around and done it again.

You've never seen such a bunch of stone-faced individuals in your life. I was laughing my butt off.

Current ride is a 1998 F150, 2WD. Not a model of traction, even with nice new tires and a few hundred pounds of sand in the rear, still slides around.

I'm looking to get something that will work better in the snow, possibilities include:

Fullsize 4WD pickup, probably regular cab/shortbed.
Midsize 4WD pickup (Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier).
Subura anything.
Honda Elements AWD.
Even kicked around the idea of a used Isuzu Vehicross.

[Silence of the clams]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

And we have the winner here.

Got any pictures?

Why yes, but unfortunately not ploughing. Here's a pic one early morning this february, it was -24C that day as I remember...

K

[Silence of the clams]

Originally Posted by EJsGirl

You're damned skippy.

I like either of my Rovers in the snow, but prefer the Disco II over the Range.

If you mean skippy like the bush kangaroo, I guess there's something in common.

You're probably talking about driving on roads and such, in which case these cars are heavy and take a loooong time to stop if you are in a hurry, and if one should actually skid off the road, engaging lowrange and difflock will get you up from any ditch.

K

[Uzi]

Other than a 10 ton 6-wheel drive armoured vehicle I drove in the army (technically the army owned it) I'd have to say my 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX. Any car you can double the speed limit in mountain passes where the roads are covered in ice and snow is a good car for inclement weather.

[Argent Towers]

Originally Posted by Kotick

Why yes, but unfortunately not ploughing. Here's a pic one early morning this february, it was -24C that day as I remember...

K

It's a beauty. I can't tell from the photo if it has a bed in the back. Does it? Some of the Defenders do. There is a local auto body shop here that has 2 new-ish white Defenders for sale - both with convertible tops and pickup beds. They are around $37,000 each.

Anyone who can afford a new Nissan Armada or H2 or any of the other ugly-ass new "4x4s" out there could buy one of those Defenders and have a vehicle that will set them apart from the crowd instantly, be the most unique 4x4 in town, and the most useful, as well - but I guess they need to be just like everyone else. I'm glad there are people like you who want to have something unique. And there are few vehicles more unique than a Defender.

[Silence of the clams]

Thanks!

Its a CSW so it does not have a pickupbed no. But the fine thing about Defenders and the older series models is that you can remove the roof and the walls and make a pickup out of it you want. Most Defenders around here that are pickups are mostly 130's. But thats the beaty with these cars, you can remove and replace any piece of the car you want and make it after your own needs. Thats why all Defenders are unique.

K

[Pushkin]

My Honda Civic/Domani has been the only car I've really driven any distance in the snow (although technically my Mum still owned it at the time) The snow was heavy enough I guess for Northern Ireland, but only bad enough to restrict main road driving to 40mph.

This thread makes me think (slight hijack here) of my parents' old Fiat from the 80s. They remember the name as a Fiat Panorama, but wikipedia lists that as a Brazilian motor, although it agrees it was an estate car. Can any European dopers remember a small Fiat estate from the 80s. Its relevance to this thread was its apparent lack of mobility in the snow.

[control-z]

Originally Posted by Xema

My best was an '88 VW Golf. With decent tires it was simply astonishing in the snow - 6" accumulation was like a bare road to that car (okay, you had to slow down just a bit). I lost track of how many times I drove past 4WD vehicles mired in a ditch.

(To be fair, it's notorious in New England that during any sizeable snowstorm, perhaps 75% of the vehicles that get stuck will be 4WD. Their owners are those who went for 4WD as a substitute for learning how to drive in snow. And, as Rocky said to Bullwinkle, "That trick never works.")

If those idiots in the SUVs would slow down under 55mph in the snow they'd probably do better. I've had them pass me on snow-covered highways, which was a scary experience since they have to go through the deeper snow between the tire tracks. But then a few miles later I passed them in my Contour when they were in the ditch...