# Best car for driving in ice and snow? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 24, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795 "2013-03-24T04:15:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![48Willys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/db5fbb/32.png) [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/83 "2014-01-28T06:46:04Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > It sounds like snow tires are definitely the way to go. She does have a basement to store the tires, but her father and I are too old to get them up and down and she doesn’t know anyone who could carry them up and down, but maybe she could hire someone. > > And as soon as she does that northern Illinois will have balmy winters! What?? I have eight sisters, and all of them could carry my large pickup tires up and down the basement stairs one tire at a time. Even the sister who only weighs 100lbs can do this. Do not doubt the ladies! Yes, she should be able to hire this done. One could ask the local church if they have someone to assist you-all with this task. My sons and I often do this kind of thing for those who can not do it for themselves. As far as Subaru being a “yuppy, gay, lesbian, liberal, etc” car goes, my cousins that chop trees for a living have used Subeys for work for three decades now. I assure you that my cousins are as redneck as they come. The Subaru has a reputation for being a tough get-you-there car. Those of us (I just bought one this year) who drive them in inclement weather like how they work in the snow & ice. IME, the driver and good tires are most important when driving in snow & ice. Around here it is false economy to only have summer/all weather tires. A set of GOOD snow tires can save your life without you knowing about it. My life is worth much more the a set of good snow tires. My family’s lives are worth more then mine is, so you decide on what is important to you, money or family? IHTH, 48. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/84 "2014-01-28T13:32:26Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > She does have a basement to store the tires, but her father and I are too old to get them up and down and she doesn’t know anyone who could carry them up and down, but maybe she could hire someone. If the tires stay on winter rims they can be a bit heavy, but you’d be surprised what is possible for a motivated driver. If the tires get mounted on the same rims as the summer tires they’re pretty easy to move up and down stairs; pretty much any adult can carry an unmounted car tire without trouble unless she has other physical impairments. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/85 "2014-01-28T15:55:11Z")
She doesn’t even have to carry them. Just roll them up one at a time. ---
**Author:** ![psg718](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psg718](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psg718)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/86 "2014-04-14T06:52:05Z")
PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WERE FIGHTING IGNORANCE—LOL… the SUBARU HAS A VERY VERY BIG PROBLEM WITH THIER HEAD GASKETS. GO 'HEAD GOOGLE IT… UNLESS ITS NEW WITH A WARRANTY I WOULD DEFINITELY STAY AWAY FROM SUBARU…try ford fusion awd, mitsu lancer awd, Nissan awd, much better choices ---
**Author:** ![highrollinwooded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/71c47a/32.png) [@highrollinwooded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/highrollinwooded)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/87 "2014-04-14T11:03:37Z")
My AWD Equinox with good all season tires does me just fine in the snowbelt that is the U.P. of Michigan. It has good clearance also, which makes a big difference. A lady I work with recently bought a new vehicle (not sure what it is) but it has such low clearance that it is basically useless up here. AWD with adequate clearance is my answer!! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/88 "2014-04-14T11:13:38Z")
> [@psg718](#): > > PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WERE FIGHTING IGNORANCE—LOL… the SUBARU HAS A VERY VERY BIG PROBLEM WITH THIER HEAD GASKETS. GO 'HEAD GOOGLE IT… UNLESS ITS NEW WITH A WARRANTY I WOULD DEFINITELY STAY AWAY FROM SUBARU…try ford fusion awd, mitsu lancer awd, Nissan awd, much better choices There are issues with Subaru head caskets but not enough to make the car a bad choice. My suby has 155,000 miles on it and is going fine. My Honda at the same mileage was in need of a new head gasket. As said in this thread many times, good snow tires and the knowledge of how to use them are far more important than 4WD. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/89 "2014-04-14T11:31:00Z")
I would go along with the Subaru. Thing is yes, there are better vehicles for true offroad driving, but how much of the year do you need that? Maybe 2-3 months and even then how many deep snowfalls do you have where its truly necessary? Yes, there are better vehicles for off road but they get maybe 12 MPG whereas with a Subaru you can drive it in all kinds of weather and get over 20 mpg. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/90 "2014-04-14T11:33:26Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > There are issues with Subaru head caskets but not enough to make the car a bad choice. My suby has 155,000 miles on it and is going fine. My Honda at the same mileage was in need of a new head gasket. > > As said in this thread many times, good snow tires and the knowledge of how to use them are far more important than 4WD. I agree. 4wd can often mean you stuck in an even worse area. I’ve seen small front wheel drive cars do just fine in icy or slick conditions. Any deeper than that and one really should not be out anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/91 "2014-04-14T13:45:22Z")
So just to add to the data points on tires - I have two vehicles, a 2012 Smart Fortwo and a 2014 Ford Escape. We changed to summer tires on the Escape in March (which is a TOTALLY reasonable time of year) and had another ugly snow day right afterwards. I had to drive both cars that day for various reasons and the tiny commuter car with winter tires was less slippy and easier to drive than my heavy weight awd SUV with all seasons on it. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/92 "2014-04-14T13:49:57Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I don’t think anyone will store your tires for you. Find a friend with a basement. 🙂 A [Canadian](http://www.tirehotel.ca/)option but I’m sure there are US equivalents. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/93 "2014-04-15T12:03:37Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > A [Canadian](http://www.tirehotel.ca/)option but I’m sure there are US equivalents. In Canada I noticed most of the cars have block heaters too. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/94 "2014-04-15T12:31:08Z")
> [@psg718](#): > > PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WERE FIGHTING IGNORANCE—LOL… the SUBARU HAS A VERY VERY BIG PROBLEM WITH THIER HEAD GASKETS. GO 'HEAD GOOGLE IT… UNLESS ITS NEW WITH A WARRANTY I WOULD DEFINITELY STAY AWAY FROM SUBARU…try ford fusion awd, mitsu lancer awd, Nissan awd, much better choices Wait, are you talking about NISSAN, or nissan? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/95 "2014-04-15T13:35:07Z")
My wife is on her third Subaru. Is she trying to tell me something? But, yeah, suburban Boston, hell, suburban Burlington, Vermont, all you need is four snow tires on a front-wheel drive vehicle. If you never get out of the urban/suburban area, you can even get by with all-seasons, although I wouldn’t recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/96 "2014-04-15T13:41:24Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > My wife is on her third Subaru. Is she trying to tell me something? Is she a lesbian? That’s what my friend asked me when my wife bought a Subaru. Apparently, it’s a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/97 "2014-04-15T13:50:04Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Is she a lesbian? That’s what my friend asked me when my wife bought a Subaru. Apparently, it’s a thing. Well that would explain a lot about my dreams recently. I’ll have to break the news to my wife… ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795/98 "2014-04-16T03:11:06Z")
While my caps lock is not engaged, I do have to agree that Subarus are still having head gasket problems. I had to replace mine just before I hit 100k miles and it was a wallet killer (and is definitely not covered under warranty). I’ve also gone through an alternator. It’s a fun car to drive but I’m putting in nearly the same amount of money now as I was making payments. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-car-for-driving-in-ice-and-snow/653795.md?page=4)