Are minivans bad in the snow?

[Parasitic]

Ok, so I'm moving from California (the Bay Area) to a place with a snow. The original plan was that I was going to spend maybe $5-6k on a used car (maybe a Volvo 850) from a loan with AWD and more importantly ABS (my Camry doesn't have ABS), but then my parents changed their minds and want me to take our crusty old minivan with me because they can't seem to sell that thing. Now we've been in California for our entire lives and never drove in snow EVER so I'm wondering how horrible it is to take that old van with me.

The minivan is a '97 FWD 3.8L V6 Windstar.

 

[waggy]

driving my windstar was better then driving a smaller car. out here we get plenty of drifts. the smaller cars have some trouble with those. the windstar did not

 

[nakedfrog]

Well, if you knew how to drive in the snow, it would probably be just fine.
I've never driven a car with AWD and/or ABS in the snow and I've had no problems. Heck, I've even done it in RWD cars!

 

[Parasitic]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Well, if you knew how to drive in the snow, it would probably be just fine.
I've never driven a car with AWD and/or ABS in the snow and I've had no problems. Heck, I've even done it in RWD cars!

I don't have ANY experience driving in the snow.

 

[Scarpozzi]

If you think there will be ice on the road, get some studded snowtires or chains.

Chances are though, you won't see that kind of problem now. It's late enough in the season that most of the heavy stuff has melted off and the roads are likely to be clear. You have a year to get the snowtires and/or chains.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: Parasitic

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Well, if you knew how to drive in the snow, it would probably be just fine.
I've never driven a car with AWD and/or ABS in the snow and I've had no problems. Heck, I've even done it in RWD cars!

I don't have ANY experience driving in the snow.

A minivan is a perfectly fine snow-car.

ABS is kind of nice, but not really needed, and AWD is totally superfluous unless it is really bad (icy and lots of hills).

The most relevant thing about AWD and snow is this: It won't help you stop.

 

[Parasitic]

So is there anything I need to worry about with the car?
Like I said I've had no experience driving in the snow, specially in our minivan (not my primary car to begin with).

I'm going away for grad school (so yes, long term undetermined period of time). Aside from being a gas guzzler and horribly inefficient for a single student, anything I need to worry about?

 

[Queasy]

Mini-vans are no worse than any other car. The deciding factor is what tires you put on it.

Even then, the nicest tires won't help you in ICY conditions.

 

[dullard]

Minivans are ok in the snow (I learned on one in the snow). They generally are a bit higher than many cars, and thus you can get over snow mounds easier.

AWD is not important for snow. It helps you get out of a ditch after your accident, but it won't ever prevent that snow/ice accident.

ABS is useful but slightly overrated. ABS will help you stop faster on ice, but if the snow is plowable, ABS increases stopping distance. Thus, it helps you some and hurts you some. On the balance, it thus doesn't have that much of a benefit.

The best thing is to have good high-traction tires and to drive carefully. A good driver > * when it comes to snow. Let everyone else pass you. You'll pass them right back in 5 minutes when they are in an accident and you are safe. On ice/snow a tortise is faster than the hare.

 

[Parasitic]

Originally posted by: Queasy
Mini-vans are no worse than any other car. The deciding factor is what tires you put on it.

What kind of tires do I need? Will All-Season suffice?
We have the cheapest Michellin tires from Costco on that car.

 

[ValValline]

The trick to driving in snow (no matter what you are driving) is to be smooth and to take your time. ABS, Stability Control and other driving aids give you a bigger margin for error, but as long as you are smooth and not overdriving conditions, you will be fine.

 

[pontifex]

just go slow in the snow. thats the best advice i can give. using the lower gears really helps with that.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: Parasitic
So is there anything I need to worry about with the car?
Like I said I've had no experience driving in the snow, specially in our minivan (not my primary car to begin with).

I'm going away for grad school (so yes, long term undetermined period of time). Aside from being a gas guzzler and horribly inefficient for a single student, anything I need to worry about?

Nope.

I guess snow tires would be nice, or at least decent all-season tires.

<--- Learned to drive in a 4-cyl mustang hatchback with 10 year old tires. In the snow.

 

[Kelemvor]

If you don't have any experience at all, you are in for a big surprise...

FWD helps a lot but braking is the biggest problem. Most people just figure everything will be fine and worry about driving traction instead of stopping traction. As long as you drive slower than normal and leave a lot more room to stop, you'll be fine. Here in WI you really only have a problem the day it snows until the plows get everything cleared up. Then it's fine.

 

[jdoggg12]

I take my moms Odyssey to tahoe a couple times per year... works fine. Then again traction control and ABS has saved my ass a few times

 

[BlancoNino]

I'll have to echo what others have said. Drive slow in the snow. Hell, drive even 5mph slower than what you think you should be driving. Nothing sucks more than sliding and knowing you can't stop even though there is a busy intersection ahead.

 

[Tiamat]

I used to drive a 1984 Dodge Caravan with FWD and never had trouble on the roads. I also drove a 1996 Town & Country and had no problems either. (This was in Upstate NY)

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Parasitic

Originally posted by: Queasy
Mini-vans are no worse than any other car. The deciding factor is what tires you put on it.

What kind of tires do I need? Will All-Season suffice?
We have the cheapest Michellin tires from Costco on that car.

Get some good all-season tires. If snow is truly bad in your area, buy some chains.

Seriously, tires are one of the most, if not the most important, parts of the car. Don't skimp out and go cheap-o there. I learned that the hard way when wash from a big rig sprayed my car and caused me to spin out on the highway going about 45mph. I got lucky because there were no guard rails...I came to a stop in the median.

This happened on the tires that came with my car. I read up on them and they were probably the worst set of Goodyears you could get for the rain. I went out and bought some Bridgestone Potenza's the next day for my car and my wife's car.

Check Consumer Reports or elsewhere and find out what tires that fit your minivan are good for snow/rain.

 

[sdifox]

Snow tires FTW!

 

[FoBoT]

it'll be great
beggars can't be choosers, take what they give you or else use your own money to do what you want to

 

[alimoalem]

where in the bay area are you moving to with snow?

if you really do want a Volvo 850, though, i have a friend in sacramento, ca that's trying to sell his. he realized after purchasing the car that he actually does want a manual car, not automatic, so now he's trying to sell the volvo to get a manual car.

 

[Gibson486]

AWD is really only good for getting out of spaces when you are too lazy to shovel. That's my experience with it.

 

[seanc85]

Originally posted by: dullard

AWD is not important for snow. It helps you get out of a ditch after your accident, but it won't ever prevent that snow/ice accident.

Are you serious?
i drive an'05 impreza and i wouldn't give up my AWD for anything. If you add AWD to a good set of tires and competent driving it can make a world of difference. I can say its saved my arse more than a few times.

 

[deerslayer]

Like others have said, drive slower, and give yourself plenty of room to stop/slow down, and use lower gears.

 

[geecee]

As many have said here, just drive a little slower and give any cars in front of you a little more distance. I drive a lot in the snow with my old Sentra (FWD, usually with all-seasons as I'm too lazy to change to snow tires unless I've seen repeated snowfall ). The only problem with my Sentra is that it's fairly low to the ground and it will get in trouble with over 6 inches of snow. Your Windstar should be have better ground clearance than that. Having a minivan is not as bad as you think as it is actually very useful (i.e. moving, buying larger items and/or road trips with several friends) and the gas mileage is not that bad. Of course, you may also get stuck as the designated driver a lot.