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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Nokkians x4 studded (for my climate (Snow + freezing rain and LOTS of 80 mph wind) )
Currently using a Subaru Forester (not impressed, I was not impressed LAST time I had a Subaru ~10 yrs ago, BUT it was SO MUCH BETTER in DEEP snow!!! late 80's Legacy wagon 2 spd transfer case )
budget? / frequency?
For dedicated winter rig... I would do a 80's - 90's Cherokee not Grand.(bought from a NON-Rust state ~$1500)
for 'vintage'... AMC Eagle AWD wagon was the winter solution in 1980's / Or RARE VW Golf Country (only imported to Canada, (2) in USA FS at the moment)
For 'practical' & affordable, Audi Quattro is awesome (especially if you can find a rare diesel)
Neighbors got 400k out of a simple 4cyl, AWD 'Ford Escape'
For an all-round frequent use (single car winter or summer) ... 2019 VW is offering a Manual tranny Alltrack wagon (with elevation / ground clearance adjustment)
Sportwagen/Alltrack from VW https://jalopnik.com/volkswagen-just...man-1829962452
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.
You can.
It's called the Volkswagen Tiguan.
Or, if you want something even smaller, the Volkswagen Golf Alltrack.
Don't conflate warranty with reliability. Old Kias and Hundais, as well as some old Dodge junk, have 100k warranties and needed them. Doesn't help when the car won't start or the dash looks like a Christmas tree due to warning lights.
A friend has a Passat diesel and another a Jetta diesel. The engines are great but they've had so many electrical problems from new that it wasn't worth it. Anecdotal, yes, but they are the only people I know who have Volkswagens so it's 100% failure across that sample size.
I no longer have this vehicle, but my previous Infiniti G sedan with AWD was a tank in the snow. I threw snow-tires on that bad boy and could get through anything with confidence.
There was a button you would press that would turn the intelligent AWD off and lock the center diff giving you 50/50 split like a modern part-time 4WD system. When I did that, it was amazing what I could get through.
Only limiting factor was ground clearance. I ran slightly taller snow-tires to buy myself some, but there were plenty of times I drove through some deep snow and still managed to get through.
I miss that car simply for it's snow performance. I now have FWD (with snow tires) and my wife has an AWD CUV and it's just not the same as how that car handled in the snow. The Infiniti was lighter, but still had plenty of traction
OP, you mentioned maybe a crossover. They are not all created equal so do your homework. For example, I have seen Rogue Sports with AWD tested in low traction situations vs other vehicles and end up stuck. Also, if you want ground clearance check the specs. Some of these crossovers have hardly any additional clearance vs a car.
Even an Outback which has one of the highest clearances off the ground of any crossover, still does not really give you as much height in avoiding high-centering in deep snow as some of the body on frame vehicles such as a Wrangler where the ground clearance is measured from the suspension, but the body sits much higher.
My wife's outback is just fine in the snow. I drive an AWD Dodge Charger on snow tires, which gets around sufficiently fine as well (although IMO not enough power gets routed to the front axle, a max of 38%, which in turns can mean managing the rear end a little with the throttle).
Studs, yes. Chains, no. I miss the days when Anchorage used to leave an inch thick layer of packed snow and ice with some sand on the city streets to allow use of studs. Now they seem to plow to the concrete which wears out my studs. They also seem to use salt now which really sucks. Never had rust on any of my trucks in Alaska until they started with the salt.
1) You must not drive on the secondary roads and side streets because there are still way too many areas that are not getting plowed or treated, even days and weeks after significant snowfall.
2) Are you kidding me? I wish they would use just plain rock salt on these roads and not that useless "briny" sand or salt/sand/gravel mix.
The sand just turns any melt-off into that disgusting sandy water that makes your vehicle grimy and smears your windshield so you have to use a gallon of washer fluid every couple of days.
You also have to frequently stop along the road to clean your headlights so you can see and clean your taillights so others can see your turn signals and brake lights.
The only thing worse is that stupid "pea" gravel that sticks between the treads of your tires, makes it harder to stop on pavement, and leaves your windshield cracked and chipped after being propelled back by vehicles in front of you.
Location: San Ramon, Seattle, Anchorage, Reykjavik
2,254 posts, read 2,738,942 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phlinak
1) You must not drive on the secondary roads and side streets because there are still way too many areas that are not getting plowed or treated, even days and weeks after significant snowfall.
2) Are you kidding me? I wish they would use just plain rock salt on these roads and not that useless "briny" sand or salt/sand/gravel mix.
The sand just turns any melt-off into that disgusting sandy water that makes your vehicle grimy and smears your windshield so you have to use a gallon of washer fluid every couple of days.
You also have to frequently stop along the road to clean your headlights so you can see and clean your taillights so others can see your turn signals and brake lights.
The only thing worse is that stupid "pea" gravel that sticks between the treads of your tires, makes it harder to stop on pavement, and leaves your windshield cracked and chipped after being propelled back by vehicles in front of you.
Just wait until the salt destroys your car, wrecks the creeks we fish salmon out of, and starts to rust away the street level infrastructure. The previous plan with no salt and studded tires worked well for the 35+ years I experienced it.
I don't care if my truck is dirty (like we locals even use the 2 car washes here in Homer) but I hate salt-induced rust. I have decades old Toyota trucks and Land Cruisers with zero rust on them precisely because of the lack of winter salt.
No automaker wants to lose money and repairs made under warranty lose money.
Volkswagen would never offer an extended warranty if they did not have confidence their vehicles would remain reliable during the warranty period.
To me, an extended warranty is an indicator that your vehicle is less likely to leave you "freezing to death on the side of the road".
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Volkswagen in in a unique situation. Lost sales and prestige with the diesel thing a few years ago. Had to do something to bring people/customers back.
That Hyundai/KIA 10 year 100,000 warranty is virtually a joke. It's a powertrain only warranty. AND you had better heave real good records for maintenance work.
Wear items not covered. And what is not a wear item?
"The call that I received that evening knocked my socks off. It wasn’t from the Hyundai dealership’s service department, but instead was a regional Hyundai corporate representative. He said that while the 100,000 mile warranty did cover the engine and all its components, the coolant temperature gauge was not considered part of this assembly. Since my vehicle’s engine issues were caused by a failure in this gauge, none of the repairs would be covered by the warranty."
Subaru has one of the best all wheel drive systems. VW also has a really good AWD system, but the rest of the car is problematic. Expect to pay a lot more for repairs.
Subaru^10.
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A good warranty won't keep you from freezing to death on the side of a dark road.
