subaru/AWD in the snow
 

anyone have any experience driving an impreza or other AWD car in the snow? thoughts? pros, cons? im looking to trade in for something that handles better in the inclement weather we recieve so much here in Maine. I have no use for a huge pickup or an SUV. thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

I got stuck in the snow during a storm with my Civic...while I was trying to get tire chains on, a mid-90's Impreza wagon floored by me to show off its AWD and I got drenched with muddy icy water.

The Impreza was plowing through the snow better than all the raised trucks/suvs with massive mud/snow tires.

I was very very impressed.

tell us what you are expecting out of this future car of yours and we can help you a bit. I mean there's audi a4 s4 a6, mitsubishi lancer Evolution, Subaru impreza rs wrx sti, etc. so tell us if you want luxury, speed, or you just want any AWD car. Cuz not every car handles snow the same.

defintly not luxury, i drive 20 miles to work one way to get behind the wheel of a crown vic. daily driver, but something that can handle the crappy weather. im not looking at an STi or a WRX so most likely an RS

i would say subaru AWD system is pretty nice, mostly because it's been there for soo long, personally never driven it in snow, however the evo has very similar AWD system and it hanled beautifull.

evo is a little out of my price range

i took that into consideration,and what i was trying to say is that evo AWD is somewhat comperable to subaru AWD. Hence when i said the evo handled well i meant that subaru probly would too.

yea i think i may go drive one tomorrow, we'll see. im just tired of sliding in crappy weather, and i dont want to drive the stereotypical redneck vehicle of Maine, the truck

i live in chicago i have this problem too, from time to time, and yeah take a testdrive and see how it feel in the snow. (hint go on a snowy parking lot and do some 4wheel drifts, thats pure adrenaline)

I drove a Qx4 before, it didn’t feel too nice, but it had control. When it slid, it would the same as any 2wd car.

I got a chance to drive my buddy's Jeep TG also.. this was nice :) same kind slide as a 2wd, but you had LOTS of control if you wanted to pull out of it. I was doing some nice off roading in it.

also, its not about having
UGE tires to have traction in snow.
the trick is to have as small tires are possible, this gives you the most LBs per INCH allowing you to grip.

on the story of WRXz, I was on the road beside a cop going bout 30 km/h on the highway during a storm and both of us in amazement witnessed a WRX fly by us at bout 80km/h I feel soo deprived without AWD.


Anyone thought of dropping the CRV drive train into a vic ?

Ive driven subarus and Audis in the snow and the whole AWD great. It does help and its harder to get the car out of control but i find that if you know how to drive in the snow (ie. starting, stopping, and steering) with FWD car, you dont need AWD. Thats just my experience with it.

mm.... having power on 4 wheels is nice... but let's think about this 1st. Subaru WRX has it's transmission sending most of the power to the rear wheels... I have seen it with my own eyes, a WRX spinning the rear tires with the fronts still hooked on. The Evo (I know it's out of your price range), has the ability to send ALL power to the front wheels, and send 50% max to the rear. AWD system of the Audi is primarily front drive (as far as I know). But "thecouch" is right, FWD, although may not be as good as AWD, is still very manageable in the snow.

I'm hoping the RL super handling awd technology will filter down through Acura's ranks.

i know to drive a FWD car, ive been trained on how to drive safely in all conditions, i like to think i am a good driver however you can only do so much, and when the gf uses the car she doesnt drive the same way i do. i live in a rural area, and often times the plows or slt trucks dont get out to my area as quickly as i would like, so getting stuck on my long driveway or sliding off the road isnt my cup of tea anymore.

acura rl's sh-awd is a great system, however, who can afford a $50,000 car?

drove my mom's GMC jimmy all the time in the snow. I grew up in illinois though. learn to drive in the snow too. 4x4 help alot esp on ice. now thats another story...

my friend and i were in chicago driving around with slush covered streets. this was back in 2000 b4 wrx. my friend in his celica was having trouble going above 20 mph and the speed limit on the street was 50. lets just say the street was the not the straightess thing, lost of medium bends.

we were cruising when this car came flying by. it was lowered, had the rally package with the bronze 5 spoke volk rims. it had to be a 99 2.5 RS. It had an exhuast and a BOV. so well all know what that means. it was gone as quickly as it came.

when you learn how to drive on all fours, that could be you. its kinda like me driving in the rain. everybody crusing up hwy 92 going 40 and me going 80. there seems to be a lot of SUVs and pick-ups that like to run off the road from the Alameda de las pulgas to the hillsdale exit. i was talking to a customer about that at work earlier...

it would depend on the awd system right? not really. the concept is the same until you add computers that control the car for you. a good driver would be able to drive all the different cars and do the same things in them. i've driven a whole bunch of front wheel drive cars. i just have not driven one with an lsd. so would know the difference between them. i just like the look on ppl faces when my stock rental out ran your lowered car. i had so much fun in the focus, corolla, buick century, and last but not least and a great car, the echo. the echo handled much like the corolla, but had more pull than my civic did up hill. go figure.

So what's your point?

awd helps you go in teh snow.. but how bout stopping?

AWD + ABS + Snow Tires :D