Your vehicles in snow

[OVERKILL]

Given the recent dumpings we've had here, I've had lots of opportunity to try out the Charger in snow, on ice....etc. It has close to a perfect 50/50 weight balance too, and (aggressive) traction control (thanks to DBW). My benchmark for winter performance has been and continues to be the Expedition, a vehicle that became that much better on ice with the fitment of the LTX M/S2's before last winter.

The Expedition weighs a bit over 6,000lbs according to the dump scales with 1/4 tank of gas. The Charger weighs a tad more than 4,000lbs, a touch lighter than the M5.

The Charger was fitted with the Hankook iPike winter tires. It feels confident and competent in snow; far more so than the M5 on the Blizzak's, likely due to the tires being a lot narrower (the M5 was on 245 and 275 skis).

That said, the Expedition is still massively better in snow. Massively better on ice. It stops better, it goes better, even in 2WD. I assume some of this has to do with the 2,000lb weight advantage

I keep expecting a car with 4 snows to do better than the truck with the Michelins and it just doesn't happen. We have winter tires (also Hankook) on the work E250 van and the Expedition is still a more competent vehicle in adverse weather conditions.

About the only vehicle I can think that has been better was my buddy's F-250 Super Crew Lariat diesel with BFG A/T's on it and tipping the scales at north of 8,000lbs. It was a BEAST in snow and he always kept a fair pile of scrap steel in the bed to keep weight on the rear axle.

All that said, I haven't gotten stuck on a hill or had to back down from a grade or anything with the Charger. I did with the M5. I enjoy driving it, it gets up to temp very fast (Clevy.... you mentioned this about yours) and has great seat heat

 

[montero1]

Jeep is unstoppable, Sentra does well with All seasons, everything else stays home.

 

[HTSS_TR]

We have no snow and no ice on any road down here, the worst we have down here is slightly wet surfaces and people panics and accident everywhere. Part of that car piling up on wet surfaces(city and highway) is many cars have bald tires(less than 2/32") front and rear, and part of the problem is we don't have enough rain yearly so many drivers only know how to drive on absolutely dry surfaces.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

My focus has no problem passing stuck AWDs on the hill where I live. Almost didn't make it up the hill Thurs night ... stopped for a stuck SUV (AWD ) and had a heck of a time getting moving up the hill but I did make it.

The Jeep does well. .. studded and hand siped all terrain tires help.

 

[turboaccord1]

My 2004 wj with quadradrive is unstoppable in the snow, just point and go. The passat won't see any snow, but my accord does pretty well also.

 

[jeepman3071]

My Cherokee is unstoppable. I've had it in snow above the bumper before and it just kept on going. It has 30" General Grabber AT2's on it. With the tires aired down I don't even really need 4x4. The back end sometimes wants to slide a little bit on ice but if speeds are kept appropriate for the conditions it does fantastic.

My dad has a 2013 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk with the 5.7L. In "snow" mode and with good tires he couldn't even get it to slide. At the beginning of this winter the rear end would slide a bit around corners in the snow, but his tires were down to the wear bars. Good tires make all the difference.

My sister's 2005 Honda Civic surprised me in the snow, especially with highway tires that had 50% tread. As long as I kept momentum I had no trouble in 4" of snow. Pulling out onto roads was the only issue, but only using very light throttle helped. I think this car would actually be pretty decent in snow with winter tires.

 

[lawman1909]

My CR-V did great in snow/ice. No problems at all. And it stayed in FWD the entire time, never used the AWD system.

 

[andrewg]

My Honda Ridgeline simply eats up a snow filled highway. Last winter it was a real joy to drive in a snowstorm. It climbed hills and negotiated nasty spots with ease. All with stock tires.

No snow here yet though. Too soon to tell with my new Honda Fit. I don't expect any great difficulties though. But then....no matter what car I've owned I never really do. (Fingers crossed).

 

[fdcg27]

Nothing to it in any of the seven vehicles we have in the family fleet.
Some tires are better than others and the two AWD Subies don't even care about tires, but with sensible driving by those experienced with winter, there just aren't any issues with any vehicle on any tire with either end driven.

 

[147_Grain]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
the two AWD Subies don't even care about tires.

+1 and with reasonable common sense.

 

[ccb056]

Drove the 1991 SAAB 900 SPG with over 200,000 miles on the clock up to Tuktoyuktuk for new years. The trip was around 9000 miles and she never let me down. Went through countless snowy mountain passes, ice roads, and severe cold.

Only complaint was the heater core had a hard time warming the -30 F outside air to something remotely comfortable.

 

[eljefino]

My Cutlass Ciera was a tank. Ahh, 70/30 weight distribution, skinny tires, but a big enough car that the wheels tracked in the existing ruts. The rear got loose but some $12 "Regal ride" shocks from NAPA planted it back down.

I've had other cars since then... a RWD volvo 940 wagon with locking diff and studded Hankook i-pikes. Saturn s-series on "arctic claw" snows.

But you just can't beat a heavy (whatever) on skinny tires.

 

[Reg# 43897]

Grand Caravan on 215 wide General 'Altimax' winter tires (down from 225 stock width) does surprisingly well. Never an issue really. The 2500 Cummins w/ a set of Motormaster W/T's (non-LT's for the winters - no loads other than a sled now & then) chews through most anything. Ripped home through -blank- up to the doors last year & didn't stop. Snow was flying & I was probably driving ~35 MPH or so, keeping the momemntum up. It did it. I actually enjoy that sorta thing. So far this year it's been quite cold as opposed to having a lot of snow so haven't taken the all season's off the truck just yet - might not this year.

John.

 

[spk2000]

My Montero ate up the snow last way better than any car I have ever owned. It has 2wd, AWD and full time 4wd. I hae tested it pretty thorough in all 3 and the full time 4wd is definitely much better. The AWD is RWD and when the rears spin the front kicks in. It is way better than just 2WD but the full time AWD I had up to the mirrors in snow and it just keeps going. This is with General Grabber ATX's on it.

Currently having some transmission issues but I think I may have solved them by having a flush done and putting in Wolfs Head Synthetic Tranny fluid in and so far it has been great.

 

[WiskyBadger]

Truck is awesome in snow, obviously 4wd. Although the Cooper AT3 tires that came on it when I bought suck. Impala is pretty good, put General Altimax's on it and they're great.

 

[ronbo]

2004 RAV4 with 2wd FWD and Firestone WinterForce snow tires. No problem in snow and I pass AWD RAV4 with I'm assuming no snow tires. Lot's of lake effect snow in Buffalo.

 

[geeman789]

2007 Honda Odyssey on Nokian Hakka R's ... works very well. Stability assist/traction control light flashes frequently, but the van just plows thru most anything. Weight seems to be a factor...

My AWD 5 spd manual Subaru with Toyo GSI-5 winter tires is FANTASTIC in snow... my biggest problem when I drive in nasty winter conditions is that the OTHER GUY doesn't have AWD / winter tires... and it can frustrate the heck out of you being stuck behind the snails...

 

[earlyre]

I can't say i've ever had a "bad" snow handling car.
The worst was a 93 Ford Aerostar, but that was typical van issues. RWD, with no weight to speak of over the drive wheels, and sides that acted like sails if there was any cross wind. (and i was a teenager as well)
after the van, they've all been FWD Sedans all with all-seasons
1994 Chevy Corsica - this thing was a snow beast. couldn't be stopped
1987 Olds 98 - worst handling of the lot. but not terrible
2000 Hyundai Sonata - only got stuck a time or two
2005 Dodge Neon - light weight, skinny tires, 'nuff said
2009 Mercury Sable - only one of the lot with abs/traction control. so far, so good.

but from my experience, it really doesn't matter WHAT you drive, just HOW you drive it. if you can not be a meat head/idiot, you should be fine.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

I can't break my 2005 CR-V loose in snow and especially with brand new (2nd-best rated) tires on it. The rears barely engage even in snow, and at 214k I plan on keeping it forever.

 

[Wheel]

I think lot's of folks with AWD never end up with snows. They're pretty decent in snow on a road, and not bad depending on the system. My old Outback would go thru fields with 8" of snow with no problem, up and down hills. Turning was not great, but stop and go were fine.

I finally put snows on my second Subie (Hankook iPikes) Much better than all seasons now, even without the Outbacks ground clearance. Stops, goes, turn no problem.

Now my 86 Grand AM, that just stunk in snow... wouldn't go, stop or turn.