Looking for car thats good in snow (nyc)

[JEDI]

It is for accelerating. Not so much for stopping/turning, where it doesn't make a difference. Tires and driver ability matter more for winter driving.

2008 Altima vs a 2014 car that has mandatory ESC.

your saying theres no diff in stopping between the 2, even if they both have the same all-season tire???

 

[Jumpem]

AWD car will always weigh more than an equivalent vehicle with FWD

Snow tire with ANY wheel drive > all seasons + AWD

Snow tires + AWD > *

🙂

 

[LTC8K6]

Stopping is worse, AWD cars are heavier and take longer to stop most everything else equal

It's not really enough of a difference to matter, imo.

My 4X4 Grand Cherokee weighs about 200 pounds more than a 2WD version.

 

[LTC8K6]

A Toyota Sienna also adds about 200 pounds for AWD.

 

[disappoint]

Chevy Cruze runs great in the snow on Continental Contipro Contact tires thanks to the stability control, traction control, FWD, ABS and not driving like a dimwit.

 

[Anubis]

buy a subaru and put good snows on it

win win

 

[desy]

http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/do-you-need-an-all-wheel-drive-or-four-wheel-drive-car.html

I prefer fwd for the many cons associated w awd vehicles, however I have had 2 4X4 vehicles and when the snow is deep you can really chew through.. Having awd certainly has merit, there is a reason they sell it and its popular, with 35 years of winter driving I don't need it for the type of roads I travel

 

[SparkyJJO]

4x4 is great on totally covered roads and the thick stuff due to full power on all the wheels all the time, vs AWD trying to do power transfer constantly (depends some on the AWD setup too). But when you have those patchy roads where you may go for a bit on a dry section of road to then hit snowy/icy sections, AWD tends to be better as it doesn't risk drive line bind on the dry portions like 4x4.

Typically on those patchy roads I just leave my SUV in RWD, but there are times I want it in the 4x4 just in case. After having spun out several years ago in my RWD car on slick roads and wrecking it I've always been a bit nervous of the rear coming around. Far less likely for that to happen on my Trailblazer vs my old Camaro for several reasons, but it still haunts me a bit.

When I get another Trailblazer to replace this one I'll get a dedicated set of snows as I'll then have spare wheels. I'm driving this one until it dies, so I'll have a bunch of spare parts when that happens 😛 Until then I just run my Firestone Destination ATs which really do pretty good in the snow already.

 

[DeviousTrap]

2008 Altima vs a 2014 car that has mandatory ESC.

your saying theres no diff in stopping between the 2, even if they both have the same all-season tire???

Correct, same tire = same stopping distance, with minor variances due to how each car's ABS system triggers and weight.

ESC doesn't directly help braking performance, ABS does that and both cars should have it. ESC helps you control a skid or cuts the acceleration if you're slipping.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Snow tires + AWD > *

🙂

Correct

But it remains worthless 99.99% of the time you drive. AWD adds weight and usually is less efficient than most cars.....and costs more.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Correct

But it remains worthless 99.99% of the time you drive. AWD adds weight and usually is less efficient than most cars.....and costs more.

You could say the same for almost anything.

You really do hate anything but the absolute most basic don't you 😛

 

[BurnItDwn]

If he doesn't want to have to change out his tires every winter, He may want to investigate Nokian WRG2 or Nokian WRG3. They are expensive (for tires). They do not last more than about 30-40k miles. But, they are proper "snow tires" that one can use all season.

I got new tires in Nov. I did tons of research, and opted that since IL is flat, and we rarely get more than about 12 inches of snow in any one sitting, I would go with regular all seasons rather than proper winter tires. (Got some Ecopias at Costco. $200+ less than it would have cost to get the Nokians, and now I don't have to pay for tire rotations any more.)

 

[Jumpem]

Correct

But it remains worthless 99.99% of the time you drive. AWD adds weight and usually is less efficient than most cars.....and costs more.

It's useless maybe 55% of the time I am driving.

 

[gorcorps]

Some people don't care for Subaru, and if he's one of them you can also look at the Ford Taurus or Chrysler 300. Both of them have AWD options (Chrysler 200 will get AWD in 2015)

 

[hanoverphist]

that new buick has AWD option as well. the regal? i cant remember now...

 

[nageov3t]

I've been researching AWD cars lately for when I'm ready to buy a new car (driving my current car into the ground, but at 10 years-old and counting, I want to be ready to know exactly what I want when it finally does die)... my current top contenders are a Subaru Imprezza or a Nissan Juke (which I like more than the Imprezza for looks/features, at least, but it's hard to compete with Subaru's reputation)

 

[sdifox]

I've been researching AWD cars lately for when I'm ready to buy a new car (driving my current car into the ground, but at 10 years-old and counting, I want to be ready to know exactly what I want when it finally does die)... my current top contenders are a Subaru Imprezza or a Nissan Juke (which I like more than the Imprezza for looks/features, at least, but it's hard to compete with Subaru's reputation)

D:

Juke is just one letter away from puke. And I want to puke when I see that thing.

 

[nageov3t]

D:

Juke is just one letter away from puke. And I want to puke when I see that thing.

I think it looks... unique 😛

 

[sdifox]

I think it looks... unique 😛

Go get an Aztek then.

 

[nageov3t]

Go get an Aztek then.

unlike the Aztek, the Juke actually seems to have pretty decent reviews and seems to offer a few more bells and whistles than an Imprezza.

mostly I'm just sick to death of driving a hatchback (but I don't want to go full-on SUV either). my own choice will have to factor in wherever I'm living at the time, though... if I'm living somewhere with a driveway, I may just go the SUV or truck route. in my current town, I'd have to factor in driving something that I can easily parallel park.

 

[pauldun170]

D:

Juke is just one letter away from puke. And I want to puke when I see that thing.

I saw a Juke last week where the owner swapped out the "J" with a "P"

 

[Jumpem]

Some people don't care for Subaru, and if he's one of them you can also look at the Ford Taurus or Chrysler 300. Both of them have AWD options (Chrysler 200 will get AWD in 2015)

Neither of which have an AWD system remotely capable as Subaru.

 

[gorcorps]

Neither of which have an AWD system remotely capable as Subaru.

For just getting around the city in the snow, I would take a less than perfect AWD in a car I actually like over anything Subaru offers. They just aren't appealing for a lot of people. I don't care for how they look, drive, or how far behind the times their interior electronics are.

 

[Doppel]

1) Altima is perfectly fine in the snow. Get better tires

2) AWD is hugely overrated. I wouldn't mind it myself, but only because I am terribly impatient and hate not being able to accelerate; it doesn't help handling or braking

3) 2008 altima non 3.5 does not have traction control, but all new vehicles have it and stability control, so FWD is better than it's ever been before, making AWD even more expensive (because it offers less benefit) than it was in the past. AWD is primarily a marketing thing now. Most people don't use it in conditions a FWD wouldn't have worked fine.

I think it looks... unique

So does my ahole, but trust me neither look good. I'd actually consider a Juke if it weren't so God-awful to look at. It's all about those huge round lights. If they had not screwed those up so badly it could look like a miniature infiniti, but they went and did it.

 

[dbk]

oh great now I'm not going to be able to look at Juke without thinking about that comparison...