Help.......AWD car shopping!!!

[mishele]

I'm starting to look for a new car/small SUV w/ AWD. I hate driving in the snow, so I want to get something that will handle the roads better. It's exciting looking for a new car but at the same time it's overwhelming.

I know we have a lot of people on here that live in crazy snowy areas!! Can you help give me some suggestions? What do you guys drive?

I have been looking at......
Subaru Forester
VW Tiguan
Nissan Rogue

Thanks everyone!!!:hug::

 

[analog.universe]

I drive a Nissan frontier in the snow, I've generally been impressed with Nissan's reliability. 90k on it and only standard maintenance so far. My father had a Nissan that went almost to 300k miles. So many people around here drive Subaru's, and I've heard up and down reviews of them over the long term.

You definitely need super nice snow tires, no matter what car you end up with, the tires make all the difference in the snow. That and nice ambient music, to better tolerate the folks who might take you off the road despite how well you personally are doing with the weather. : )

 

[Big Mike]

I used to have a Chevy Blazer, but had to trade it for a mini-van.

It really depends on the type of driving you do, or the conditions you expect to encounter. 4x4 or AWD is certainly a nice feature when there is lots of snow & ice...but I think that another important factor is the tires that you have on your vehicle.

If you have proper winter tires, getting around in winter is so much easier. Even if they are just on a 2WD vehicle. And of course, you don't want to run winter tires through the summer, as they will wear out faster than normal tires. So the best solution is to buy two sets of tires. To make it easier, it's advisable to put your winter tires on their own set of rims, so that you don't have to dismount and remount your tires twice a year.

Around here, the snow can get piled pretty high, so one consideration is the ground clearance of a vehicle. 4x4 or AWD won't automatically get you out if you have buried the wheels and/or got caught up.

Realistically, I don't think the actual make/model of car will matter all that much in terms of how they handle snow & ice. Each one will be a bit different, but with good tires, any of your choices will probably be pretty good. I'd suggest basing your choice on other options, like how much you like the vehicle overall....cargo space, safety, cost, fuel efficiency....you know, all the usual stuff.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

I usually spend scorching summer months away from FL and hide out in the mountains of Asheville, NC.

I finally asked someone "why are the Subaru Foresters so popular up here" because I hardly see those things in Tampa. The response was "if you would stay here in the winter, you'd know. Those cars are the best for snow".