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It looks like the northern states will have an especially long cold winter. I'd appreciate any suggestions for a vehicle in cold and snowy weather. Also, we will be moving to a very rural area of Northern Wisconsin, so this vehicle will not be a short trip/city vehicle. No worries about traffic jambs, parking, etc.
Welcome to Wisconsin
Wisconsin does a really good job of plowing snow almost immediately. Well, except for early Sunday mornings for some reason. City/county dept doesn't want people going to church. Whatever car you have now is likely sufficient as long as it doesn't have summer tires on it. Last winter was weird because we had so much freezing rain. Northern Wi didn't get that though & instead had snow which is better to drive in.
I drive a Honda Insight & live in rural Wisconsin. Last winter I didn't even bother to put the Blizzaks on & the car did fine. I just kept the all seasons on. You don't need a Subaru. Just ease into braking and starting from a stop when it's snowing & you'll be fine.
Welcome to Wisconsin
Wisconsin does a really good job of plowing snow almost immediately. Well, except for early Sunday mornings for some reason. City/county dept doesn't want people going to church. Whatever car you have now is likely sufficient as long as it doesn't have summer tires on it. Last winter was weird because we had so much freezing rain. Northern Wi didn't get that though & instead had snow which is better to drive in.
I drive a Honda Insight & live in rural Wisconsin. Last winter I didn't even bother to put the Blizzaks on & the car did fine. I just kept the all seasons on. You don't need a Subaru. Just ease into braking and starting from a stop when it's snowing & you'll be fine.
I have a Jeep Wrangler and while it's great for off roading, it sucks as a daily driver and it's a terrible winter vehicle. Were I not part of an off road club, I would never own one.
One of the very worst vehicles I own for snow driving is the Jeep XJ. But like you already pointed out, it sucks everywhere else, too, except off-road. And it's only "acceptable" there.
If it weren't for the dogs, I would never own one.
Thanks for the insights. I havent lived in that climate for 30 years, but I grew up there, learned to drive there with rear wheel drive. With front wheel drive I never got stuck. I coyld be plowed in and pretty much drive right out. But I have no recent experience, never drove a PU in ice, or AWD in any condition. I'm also concerned about how good the heaters and defrosters work these days. Id also like good ground clearance, and cars have so little, I was thinking maybe a crossover.
It looks like the northern states will have an especially long cold winter. I'd appreciate any suggestions for a vehicle in cold and snowy weather. Also, we will be moving to a very rural area of Northern Wisconsin, so this vehicle will not be a short trip/city vehicle. No worries about traffic jambs, parking, etc.
I lived for many years where there was a lot of snow and ice. The cheapest option is a front-wheel drive vehicle with snow tires.
And, then, also have chains, if you need them. Nowadays, you can get plastic chains that are easy to attach - relatively speaking. Putting on chains in bad weather is never fun.
But, I was able to maneuver in fairly deep new snow in driveways, for instance, with just front wheel drive and a lot of patience. You drive forwards and then rock backwards, and then move forwards again, etc.
I lived for many years where there was a lot of snow and ice. The cheapest option is a front-wheel drive vehicle with snow tires.
And, then, also have chains, if you need them. Nowadays, you can get plastic chains that are easy to attach - relatively speaking. Putting on chains in bad weather is never fun.
But, I was able to maneuver in fairly deep new snow in driveways, for instance, with just front wheel drive and a lot of patience. You drive forwards and then rock backwards, and then move forwards again, etc.
In 50 years of driving I have never seen chains on a car in Alaska. Never. I don't know anyone who owns a set of chains. I'd be surprised if anyone in Wisconsin uses them either.
I live in Montana, so have experience in snow and ice. Our house keeper and her family live on top of a hill.She drove outbacks till last year. The Outbacks could not get up the hill in snow and ice, and had to keep an old 4X4 pickup parked at the bottom of the hill with chains. Parked the Outback where at a level space by the road at the place her 1/4 mile drive met the road, and would switch vehicles to get home. Last fall traded up to a Chevy Colorado pickup, and just sails up the hill with no problems.
Our personal vehicle is a 2012 Ford Explorer, bought in 2011. Just normal oil change and service, and not one dime for any repairs,etc. Is a very advanced AWD. You dial road conditions and the transmission adapts for that type of road conditions. Press a Button if you are are going down a hill you need the car to hold back and under control, and this adjusts the transmission and brakes to handle this type of road conditions. You can shift to manual transmission shifts, and push buttons on the shift bar, to change gears up and to give more control when needed.
The best car I have ever driven in my 70 years being a licensed driver. 3 rows of seats, to handle 8 passengers, with option of folding rear 2 sets of seats for a flat bed for cargo.
This vehicle is so dependable and safe even in hot pursuit, that in the 50 largest cities the Explorer has already reached the point over half of patrol cars are Explorers, and is the vehicle replacing the cars that reach the point of needing replaced. This gives a good example of a low maintenance vehicle, a safe vehicle with excellant handling and safety. Of course we switch to winter tires with studs, which is being done tommorow, when snow is going to be flying.
The Explorer is indeed a fantastic vehicle with a lot of utility. I find they're just so expensive, both to maintain and to drive. Tires cost 3-5x what they cost on my Honda. Depending on the year, it burns 2-5x as much fuel. It takes twice as much oil at a change, and other regular maintenance parts like brake pads and batteries are also similarly more expensive because they're larger. Maybe for some it's a good tradeoff, but I wish that utility could be found in something smaller and a bit more efficient.
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