Moving to Colorado, what kind of car do we need? (Colorado Springs: house, buying)

[PA2UK]

My husband and I are moving to Colorado Springs - I will spare you all the "where do we live?" questions, we'll get a realtor for that. Rather, we need an idea of a practical car. Right now, between us we have one car, a 2002 Ford Focus Hatchback. I love it and plan to drive it until it dies. In the past, we worked at the same place so we only really needed one car. However, that's not going to be the case anymore so we're going to need a second car and seeing as how we're moving to Colorado, the big question is, do we need something that's better in the snow? Should we be looking at an SUV? Would a "crossover" SUV be good enough? Are there people in Colorado who don't have SUVs at all or is it really a necessity?

My husband and I are not "big car" kind of people - my husband is British and used to smaller European cars, I'm 5ft and never saw the need for a big car. We don't have kids (yet) so there's another reason we've always had small cars. As a compromise, we were thinking about a "crossover" SUV like either a Fiat 500L or a Mini Cooper Countryman. Is this realistic or are people going to laugh at us outsiders and our unpractical cars?

I've never even been to Colorado - in fact, I've only ever been out west once in my life, as a child and I hardly remember it. So I have no idea what to expect. All I know is the weather is hugely changeable in Colorado and one day it can be 62 and sunny, the next 18 and snowing. How do people cope?

TIA.

[davidv]

It is not so much the car as it is the driver.

I have lived in Colorado all my life and neither I nor my parents (also native Coloradans) have ever owned a 4WD or an AWD vehicle.

My current cars are a Nissan Maxima, Ford Taurus, and a Ford Focus. I can drive through most snowstorms in any of these. I have been stuck at home only once in the past 20 years, but that was the storm that dumped nearly 5 feet of snow on my house near the foothills (a once in a lifetime event, mind you).

It is important that your car has good tires. If you are not familiar with driving on snow or ice, then I would recommend that you buy snow tires for the winter. If you have a place to store them, then it is easiest to buy a second set of rims and have the snow tires mounted on them so you are not changing tires on your rims every 6 months.

Snow in this area melts quickly. Most of the time, the snow will be melted and off the roads within 48 hours. How well the streets are plowed depends on the jurisdiction. Someone from Colorado Springs can speak to how well the city clears the streets.

[beezle1]

You don't have to have an SUV, but I would suggest if you are getting a second car to at least get one with AWD or 4WD. Its not a necessity, but there will be those days when you will appreciate it. Subarus are very popular here, and very good in the snow. All the models are AWD.

[Miss Hepburn]

That being said...if you plan on traveling ...you will have mountain passes...
I love having a 6 cylinder.
There are many Mini Coopers here.
They all have other cars or trucks...the ones that I know.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

a 2002 Ford Focus Hatchback

Will do the job.
Consider snow tires depending on where you live and where you drive during snowy weather.

[Idunn]

This will depend in part where you are coming from. Any winter driving experience? From an urban coastal environment where many of the vehicles tend to be smaller and often imported?

New England winters are wicked enough; if used to that then many of your questions in regards ideal vehicles and tires would already be answered. Presumably this is not the case. If without much such experience, then you should know that some vehicles just handle better in the snow than others, and whether a SUV or not. Generally a 4WD vehicle is best, followed by FWD, with RWD (rear wheel drive) least preferable in this regard. Modern traction control systems can make a big difference with any vehicle and skew this equation to an extent, but will only help what is already an ideal configuration in 4WD. A true 4x4 with low range would be best suited in deep snow, rugged conditions and steep inclines; if usually in vehicles such as Jeeps and large SUVs which have high centers of gravity and less than ideal handling—and if workable not the best overall choice for winter driving.

Many people do perfectly fine with FWD and nothing but. Thus your Ford Focus is probably perfectly adequate for year-round use. If remembering the dynamics of each model, irrespective of brand, handle somewhat differently. If keenly interested in the best choice, some research is advised. In example, Subaru's are favored by many as their wagons (until more lately bloating into small SUVs) a decent size and, most importantly, the model line with a fairly sophisticated 4WD system. If, note, their BRZ model is rear wheel drive only.

4WD systems run the gamut from in place more for marketing purposes to truly engineered and capable. If this assessment hardly definitive, as brands Subaru and Audi should offer above par systems.

If you feel perfectly comfortable on the road in your Focus now, perhaps not quite as much so here. One difference with the interior of this nation are the preponderance of large vehicles. Or, if driving a Chevy Tahoe or some other outsized SUV then one of the crowd and feeling right at home. There tend to more smaller and practical cars in the cities and mountain resort towns, BUT plenty of the other everywhere. If you do not mind feeling somewhat minuscule when driving amidst semi-trucks and a plethora of all the rest trying to imitate this, then never mind—unless run over, and then you want a tank.

None of this will matter much unless you have the proper tires. It never ceases to amaze me that the Colorado State Patrol, who must be out in all sorts of weather, usually insist on driving RWD sedans. But modern ones with traction control, AND the right tires. This alone will determine much of your success or not in winter driving (other than knowing how to properly).

Start with needing four of the same tires on all four corners of the car. The roads are so often dry in winter, the snow quickly melting after a storm (particularly along the Front Range), that anything more than four season tires can seem excessive. They will last longer than dedicated winter tires, and one doesn't have to bother with changing them to summer tires every season. BUT, particularly if commuting, there will surely be times and conditions when you wish you not only had the very best dedicated winter tires but even instead a tracked snow cat. Winter tires, if often on only wet or dry pavement, are used in forethought of those occasions when you want the best traction and assurance of getting home safely. If in doubt then do a little research and buy what are not inexpensive tires, in this at least knowing you've done all you can.

If more an academic matter for private vehicles in Colorado, it is still a good idea to always carry tire chains. And know how to use them by having done so at least once yourself on your vehicle. For all intents and purposes, a set of two are required, for each of the driving wheels (probably the front two in a 4WD, and all four tires if in a maximum kind of way). You may well never use these, but if for some reason so then in combination with the right tires they provide a marked increase in best possible traction (if certainly not advised in day to day operation). Related, carry the usual snow shovel, food, water, blankets or sleeping bag, etc.—all in the event of being unintentionally stranded for who knows how long somewhere.

Beyond that, no matter what you're driving, sometimes the best recourse is simply to remain home when possible and wait out the worst of a storm. Certain others do not (with various reasons, probably compelling why), with some of them never to their destination in any event but in unfortunate circumstances on the news.

[jwiley]

Most of the problem with driving in the snow in most areas along the front range which includes everything from Fort Collins to Pueblo is not getting stuck but stopping. SUVs or 4 wheel drives give people a false sense of security, and those are usually the people I see wrecking.

All you really need is a front wheel drive car with decent tires, you should not have any problems 99% of the time it snows, and that 1% of the time that you do, is usually after a blizzard when everything is basically shut down for the day anyway.

I see that your location is Pennsylvania, meaning you are used to driving in more snow than you are likely to see in the Colorado.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

....we're going to need a second car and seeing as how we're moving to Colorado, the big question is, do we need something that's better in the snow? ... TIA.

Originally Posted by beezle1

You don't have to have an SUV, but I would suggest if you are getting a second car to at least get one with AWD or 4WD. Its not a necessity, but there will be those days when you will appreciate it. Subarus are very popular here, and very good in the snow. All the models are AWD.

Since you will be buying a second car, the car of choice for tons of people here in COLO is the AWD Subaru; people joke that Subies are the official car of Colorado. Don't buy until you get here.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

My husband and I are moving to Colorado Springs - I will spare you all the "where do we live?" questions, we'll get a realtor for that. Rather, we need an idea of a practical car. Right now, between us we have one car, a 2002 Ford Focus Hatchback. I love it and plan to drive it until it dies. In the past, we worked at the same place so we only really needed one car. However, that's not going to be the case anymore so we're going to need a second car and seeing as how we're moving to Colorado, the big question is, do we need something that's better in the snow? Should we be looking at an SUV? Would a "crossover" SUV be good enough? Are there people in Colorado who don't have SUVs at all or is it really a necessity?

My husband and I are not "big car" kind of people - my husband is British and used to smaller European cars, I'm 5ft and never saw the need for a big car. We don't have kids (yet) so there's another reason we've always had small cars. As a compromise, we were thinking about a "crossover" SUV like either a Fiat 500L or a Mini Cooper Countryman. Is this realistic or are people going to laugh at us outsiders and our unpractical cars?

I've never even been to Colorado - in fact, I've only ever been out west once in my life, as a child and I hardly remember it. So I have no idea what to expect. All I know is the weather is hugely changeable in Colorado and one day it can be 62 and sunny, the next 18 and snowing. How do people cope?

TIA.

Certainly, there are many of us who don't have big honking SUVs. We came here 34 years ago with a Ford Fiesta (old-style, not the "new improved" version, but it was front-wheel drive which was a minority at the time) and an old Chevy Camaro. Shockingly, we did just fine, even going to the mountains. I was a visiting nurse and used the Fiesta. I now drive a mini-SUV (Honda CR-V). This and other mini-SUVs are popular, e.g. Toyota RAV-4 and others. Ironically, by the time we got our SUV, I was no longer working as a visiting nurse.

As far as the weather, we cope because we have to. After while, you get used to it, and eventually come to like it!

[bartonizer]

If you were up in the mountains frequently, or lived west of the Continental Divide, or on a steep road/dirt road in the foothills, I would suggest an AWD or 4WD, but in CO Springs or anywhere in the Front Range, a FWD car with snow tires will allow you to get around just fine in most conditions.