Subaru AWD vs Blizzard

[nthach]

With that said, maybe your Lexus sucks, go get a Subaru and laugh the whole time while you're driving on the plowed roads that your Lexus struggled with. Cheers.

I had a close call with fresh snow(and a a just plowed country road) and a Lexus a long time ago. Did a 360, a gas tanker was heading up the road as well. I recovered but it was definitely a… wake-up call? But RWD generally sucks in the snow unless you have weight in the back and winter tires.

 

[HemiBenny]

I think he's questioning the legitimacy of the 24" of snow number, not the claim in general. The Forester has less than 9" of ground clearance, 24" would have put the snow basically at the level of the headlights and is almost the total height of the tires (27"). You'd have been plowing big time.

I've had guys tell me they took a Coyote at 500 yards. Then, they are out at the range and are like "whoa, that far target is way out there, you guys are hitting that? how far is it!?" and then you tell them that's only 220 yards and they are suddenly quite quiet. They weren't trying to lie, they just really don't know the distances, so they guess. Wrongly.

The 2'+ is very accurate with the freak system that moved through here last year. Some had 6-10", some had 10-18" and some had around the 2' mark. My yard was up to my knees when I walked out to the shed to get the shovel to clear the driveway off. I've never in my 50 years seen snow as deep as it was that day in this town. We had snow that would not stop and single-digit temps which kept it on the ground, we're simply not used to that here. Everyone should remember the freak weather the South had last year.
The snow on the road was deep enough that I had to stay steady in the gas and plow snow, not headlight height snow, but I was still pushing a lot of snow by the time I got to the better roads. I'm sure that it would have been a different story had it been a more heavy, wet snow, but it was deep nonetheless.
Also, when I say it was 2'+ by the time it was all said and done does not mean that I plowed 2' of snow everywhere I went, that is just not going to happen anywhere, I shouldn't have to explain this, it means we had 2' of snow on the ground around my neighborhood, less in others as it goes with snow fall, and our roads were crap. My road was really crap and deep until it was packed, then it was just treacherous. It was far worse when packed than when it was just fluffy and deep.
The whole point of my post was to point out that a Subaru can handle deep snow-covered roads or packed roads very well if equipped with good tires and someone that has a little common sense. The Subaru in the OP's post was having trouble on a plowed road, that shouldn't happen with decent tires and common sense.
As for his questioning the legitimacy of my 24" snow number, I'll try not to lose any sleep over it.

 

[edyvw]

You miss the point. They are trying to drive too fast for conditions. The speed limit on roads is based on ideal driving conditions. When the roads are snow packed, it doesn't matter what the posted speed limit is. You don't drive 55mph on snow packed roads with a posted speed of 55mph.

People assume because they have AWD they can drive like "normal" regardless of the weather. Then they complain when they try to do just that and the vehicle loses traction.

I would never guess that
That being said, 55mph on snow packed road is perfectly fine with good snow tires. AWD or not.
Granted, not with traffic around. There is always Subaru driving 15mph in front.

 

[edyvw]

I think he's questioning the legitimacy of the 24" of snow number, not the claim in general. The Forester has less than 9" of ground clearance, 24" would have put the snow basically at the level of the headlights and is almost the total height of the tires (27"). You'd have been plowing big time.

I've had guys tell me they took a Coyote at 500 yards. Then, they are out at the range and are like "whoa, that far target is way out there, you guys are hitting that? how far is it!?" and then you tell them that's only 220 yards and they are suddenly quite quiet. They weren't trying to lie, they just really don't know the distances, so they guess. Wrongly.

1. Subaru doesn’t have power to push that much snow.
2. CVT would not die, it would drop out of the car.

Largest volume dealer of Subaru’s in North America is in Colorado Springs. We have them everywhere. They are danger on the roads, and definitely not the best vehicle in the snow. It is not all about AWD. It is also about other performance variables of the vehicle. Snow likes dynamic vehicles, and there is nothing dynamic about Subaru short if STi and WRX.

 

[PimTac]

I would never guess that
That being said, 55mph on snow packed road is perfectly fine with good snow tires. AWD or not.
Granted, not with traffic around. There is always Subaru driving 15mph in front.

Until that deer jumps out.

 

[UG_Passat]

I high centered my then new Outback once on a snow drift that was 2ft high. All season tires. They were either Falken STZ or Nitto NTQ. I was stuck, but able to get myself out by rocking the car back and forth.

Subaru and Audi are really the only two mainstream AWD systems that aren’t axle biased.

Unless you get a Audi Quattro with Ultra Technology or a Transverse Audi Quattro with Haldex coupling.

Then it's FWD based.

Some of the older Subarus with automatic transmissions had the default torque split at 90:10, making them FWD biased.

 

[edyvw]

Until that deer jumps out.

That happens in summer too.

 

[Rand]

Subaru are hands down close to being the worst car in the winter on stock tires.
.. this goes double for rental subarus with cheap tires in snow country.

not talking about at going 10mph on side road.. where awd does help having all 4 wheels powered and not dragging them through the snow.
but overconfidence and going to fast because "subaru".

I owned 3 of them. Not fanboy or anti-fanboy here.

Now put on winter tires and you have a tank.. upto about 12" after that if its anything besides fluffy powder you may get high centered or destory radiator/bumper etc.

Perfect car for road that has been plowed if equipped with worthy tires.

Trucks can be the worst on ice or plowed road. Many have 4x4 that you cant use all the time so can have issues if you are going from salted/plowed to untreated etc.
Brodozers with $300 cheap chinese tires(name brand ones in that size are 500+ each) on massive rims are the absolute pits.

Knee high on a 6' tall guy is usually around 20" I could see 18" fluffy powder but full size trucks would have issues in 24" you would have pushed your radiator into the engine on 24". Not saying you are making it up but perhaps your eyeball measurement is uncalibrated.

 

[HemiBenny]

I could see 18" fluffy powder but full size trucks would have issues in 24" you would have pushed your radiator into the engine on 24". Not saying you are making it up but perhaps your eyeball measurement is uncalibrated.

If I said that I was plowing through 2' of snow, I can see the argument. My statement of 2' of snow is a general statement as to how much snowfall we had laying about in my neighborhood, the overall snow total around my area when it was all said and done. It is meant to say, we had a lot of snow, our roads were crap and the Subaru did just fine, even in the deep unplowed snow on my road.
It was not 2' on the road, but it was deep enough to reach the bottom of the bumper the first day out while getting to the maintained roads. I was, by the time I reached the maintained road, pushing some snow. It being powdery snow helped a lot I'm sure, but the Subaru did great.
Nowhere in my post does it say that I was driving or plowing through 2' of snow on the road, it's to say how much my area got. Most places that get snow will have less on the road than on the side of the said road or in people's yards.
Maybe I should have just said, "Lot of snow, Subaru do good, me happy with Subaru's performance." People need to learn to take a general statement for what it is. These posts related to my comment are making it sound like my post said that I was driving THROUGH 2' of snow.
Good grief.
Cheers

 

[y_p_w]

I would never guess that
That being said, 55mph on snow packed road is perfectly fine with good snow tires. AWD or not.
Granted, not with traffic around. There is always Subaru driving 15mph in front.

I dunno. In California when there are chain conditions, the speed limit is 25 MPH. There are variations on how this is displayed, whether it's electric signs, a temporary sign parked on the side, or even ones that can be flipped over or installed manually.

If anything, the most important thing is that there aren't people going vasty different speeds. That seems to be a big recipe for disaster in winter conditions. Nice and steady allows everyone to get somewhere safely.

 

[Trav]

I only owned one vehicle that could handle 24" of snow with not too much trouble (I never tried it, not enough snow but they use them in Switzerland to clear those alpine passes), a Unimog. 6-8 inches not plowed is about it for a Subaru Outback or Forester with dedicated snow tires.

 

[y_p_w]

maybe in 6" of snow but certainly not going thru 24"...around here, the vehicle under carriage runs up on the snow and all traction ends.. hopefully you packed a shovel but in that depth even a shovel probably not reasonably going to get you much further.

I've driven through 24" of snow. Tried it once in Yosemite in the winter when I found a patch of snow plowed off to the side and just wanted to see how my WRX took it. It was a challenge though. I'll just say it was like swimming upstream. Even with AWD there was a lot of spinning, but eventually the vehicle started pushing the snow out of the way. I can't imagine trying to drive through miles of that however.

I've tried a bunch of that too like my wife's Civic with its crappy tires. There was this parking garage that had a section that wasn't covered, and it was interesting trying to get through even 8 inches of hard packed snow. I could tell others had tried by the tire tracks. I finally worked when I backed up and went in with some momentum. But the key is to avoid losing momentum.

I also remember finding my car with a fresh dump of snow - maybe 8 inches in a parking lot. It got interesting trying to get out of there. But it was fresh powder, which wasn't so bad.

 

[y_p_w]

I only owned one vehicle that could handle 24" of snow with not too much trouble (I never tried it, not enough snow but they use them in Switzerland to clear those alpine passes), a Unimog. 6-8 inches not plowed is about it for a Subaru Outback or Forester with dedicated snow tires.

Chains (or possibly coiled tire cables) can handle deep snow, but it's best to avoid getting into that position in the first place.

 

[CheezWhiz]

maybe in 6" of snow but certainly not going thru 24"...around here, the vehicle under carriage runs up on the snow and all traction ends.. hopefully you packed a shovel but in that depth even a shovel probably not reasonably going to get you much further.

This is what I use for transportation in two feet of snow:

 

[Astro14]

This is what I use for transportation in two feet of snow:

“And I thought they smelled bad on the outside…”

 

[edyvw]

I've driven through 24" of snow. Tried it once in Yosemite in the winter when I found a patch of snow plowed off to the side and just wanted to see how my WRX took it. It was a challenge though. I'll just say it was like swimming upstream. Even with AWD there was a lot of spinning, but eventually the vehicle started pushing the snow out of the way. I can't imagine trying to drive through miles of that however.

I've tried a bunch of that too like my wife's Civic with its crappy tires. There was this parking garage that had a section that wasn't covered, and it was interesting trying to get through even 8 inches of hard packed snow. I could tell others had tried by the tire tracks. I finally worked when I backed up and went in with some momentum. But the key is to avoid losing momentum.

I also remember finding my car with a fresh dump of snow - maybe 8 inches in a parking lot. It got interesting trying to get out of there. But it was fresh powder, which wasn't so bad.

I did that with my Tiguan, during Bombgenesis in 2019. But, it was very fine powder. In anything heavier, no way, any small SUV, car etc.

 

[UG_Passat]

I've driven through 24" of snow. Tried it once in Yosemite in the winter when I found a patch of snow plowed off to the side and just wanted to see how my WRX took it. It was a challenge though. I'll just say it was like swimming upstream. Even with AWD there was a lot of spinning, but eventually the vehicle started pushing the snow out of the way. I can't imagine trying to drive through miles of that however.

I've tried a bunch of that too like my wife's Civic with its crappy tires. There was this parking garage that had a section that wasn't covered, and it was interesting trying to get through even 8 inches of hard packed snow. I could tell others had tried by the tire tracks. I finally worked when I backed up and went in with some momentum. But the key is to avoid losing momentum.

I also remember finding my car with a fresh dump of snow - maybe 8 inches in a parking lot. It got interesting trying to get out of there. But it was fresh powder, which wasn't so bad.

Sounds like it wasn't the typical Sierra cement you went through

 

[HemiBenny]

6-8 inches not plowed is about it for a Subaru Outback or Forester with dedicated snow tires.

Heavy, wet snow, yes,...powdery snow is not near as difficult to bust through. The 2011 Forester that I hijacked from the car lot before that weather came through soldiered right through it for a mile and a half or so with good tires that were not dedicated snow tires.
That snow on the first day out was deeper than 8" I can assure you. It was that powdery stuff that looks like glitter floating in the air and it was blowing out the sides as I was driving through it, but it still ended up packing some in and pushing snow by the time I was about halfway to the maintained road, it kept on going though. I was very happy to reach the maintained road, but I was impressed with that little car.
Again, if it was heavy, wet snow, I probably wouldn't have even tried it, I would have gone back to bed.
I hate this kind of weather, I live in the city limits of a small town, but they do nothing to the roads, I have to get to the county or state-maintained roads before you can see that something is being done. We just don't do road clearing like you guys up north, we usually don't have to worry too much about it, it's usually gone the same day or the next.

 

[edyvw]

Heavy, wet snow, yes,...powdery snow is not near as difficult to bust through. The 2011 Forester that I hijacked from the car lot before that weather came through soldiered right through it for a mile and a half or so with good tires that were not dedicated snow tires.
That snow on the first day out was deeper than 8" I can assure you. It was that powdery stuff that looks like glitter floating in the air and it was blowing out the sides as I was driving through it, but it still ended up packing some in and pushing snow by the time I was about halfway to the maintained road, it kept on going though. I was very happy to reach the maintained road, but I was impressed with that little car.
Again, if it was heavy, wet snow, I probably wouldn't have even tried it, I would have gone back to bed.
I hate this kind of weather, I live in the city limits of a small town, but they do nothing to the roads, I have to get to the county or state-maintained roads before you can see that something is being done. We just don't do road clearing like you guys up north, we usually don't have to worry too much about it, it's usually gone the same day or the next.

All 3 of my vehicles are gonna go through fine powder. It is not any Subaru specialty.

 

[HemiBenny]

This is what I use for transportation in two feet of snow:

Get this and you don’t have to worry about weird snow monsters taking your ride out. Well, unless they rope your legs together.