Car for Denver (Aurora: lease, daycare, buying) - Colorado (CO) - City-Data Forum

poinds · 01-18-2009, 04:05 PM

I'm pretty sure I've just about read everywhere and it's been beaten like a dead horse...but I'm moving to the Aurora area in August and I've basically lived in Texas my whole life.

Seeing as Texas never gets snow, this will be my first time driving around in the stuff. Right now I have a RWD convertible and was wondering if winter tires will suffice in the Denver metro area. I ski, but I definitely don't plan on using a RWD for mountains. My wife have a FWD SUV that we can use.

I also may need to take my child (8 months old now and will be around 14 months when we move to Denver) to some form of daycare since I'll be going to school and my wife will be working. Would you guys trade in the convertible for a AWD SUV/Car or will I be fine with it?

I've never even taken my child around in the convertible either and I may have to do so which kind of bothers me considering that I've heard that RWD cars don't do well at all in the snow (unless they have some form of dedicated winter tires)

Sorry to squeeze blood out of a rock but I had to do it. Thanks guys!

ottodog · 01-18-2009, 04:59 PM

Me personally I'd keep the convertible. You'll get a lot more use out of it than you will the 4wd. We get more sunny days when you could put the top down, then snowy days that you'll need 4wd.

That said get you a good set of "real" snow tires and you'll be fine. I run Blizzaks on my work vehicle (minivan), but my wife likes her Nokians. Just look for the Mountain Snowflake symbol on the sidewall and they're guaranteed to have at least 30% more traction than the equivalent all season tire. Maybe get you a sandbag or two to throw in the trunk and you'll be all set. If you can't get there with this setup, you probably shouldn't be out anyway.

It's a common misconception that a gas guzzling SUV is "required" to live in Denver. I've lived here my whole life and have never driven a 4wd on a daily basis. Hell I had to drive a rwd Ford Ranger for a few years. With the exception of the rare spring blizzard, they're really overkill IMO.

Katarina Witt · 01-18-2009, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottodog

<snip>
It's a common misconception that a gas guzzling SUV is "required" to live in Denver. I've lived here my whole life and have never driven a 4wd on a daily basis. Hell I had to drive a rwd Ford Ranger for a few years. With the exception of the rare spring blizzard, they're really overkill IMO.

I agree. We lived here 23 years before buying a 4WD. I've been a visitng nurse, and driven tons of carpools of kids all over the place in a FWD and even a RWD. There are loads of threads about this on these forums. Do a search.

esya · 01-18-2009, 05:33 PM

Hey, it's supposed to be 65 tomorrow and was definitely top down weather in Denver yesterday. I have a sun roof and it's open off and on all year round.

maciesmom · 01-18-2009, 07:24 PM

Your cars are fine - best thing to do is actually learn how to drive in the snow. Don't expect that a certain type of car or tire will take the place of that...

bullfish15 · 01-18-2009, 08:18 PM

Practice practice practice. Don't buy something you don't need to, just use what you have and you will be fine.

Katarina Witt · 01-18-2009, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maciesmom

Your cars are fine - best thing to do is actually learn how to drive in the snow. Don't expect that a certain type of car or tire will take the place of that...

Quote:

Originally Posted by bullfish15

Practice practice practice. Don't buy something you don't need to, just use what you have and you will be fine.

Truer words have never been spoken (or typed)!

PokerMunkee · 01-18-2009, 09:40 PM

My wife has a RWD SUV with 400hp/400lbft (TrailBlazer SS) and is abosolutely worthless in 1" of snow, none the less ice. I put 300lbs of sand in the rear and put some 17" steelies with Blizzak DM-Z3's on it. It now can get up our driveway and not fishtail at every light. When the lease is up in 10 months, we are getting a 4X4/AWD SUV.

I personally love AWD and will never get a car without it (I drive a Dodge Magnum AWD). It's not just great in snow, it's great in EVERYTHING! Rain, gravel/dirt roads, snow, ice, and even dry roads.

One of my favorite print ads:

tfox · 01-19-2009, 10:42 AM

I consider myself as pretty good in the snow, seeing as I've driven in it for years, but I don't like RWD cars or trucks. You have to weigh the back down with sandbags to get good traction.

AWD is a nice to have, certainly, but a regular old front wheel drive sedan will do very well on snow. That includes your basic honda civic or toyota corolla or anything else. Subarus are favored in Colorado (I have an older one), but they are expensive. I wouldn't recommend throwing thousands more on a subaru when just a run-of-the-mill car will do just fine 99% of the time. Still, if you're in the market for a subaru, they are great cars.

steveindenver · 01-19-2009, 10:48 AM

Any car will do well in the snow. Many people, myself included prefer RWD in the snow over FWD. I could lay out the long argument including the physics in the matter, but in the end it is a matter of preference.

Snow tires make a big difference which you are aware of.

A convertible in Denver is fantastic. Cool summer nights and even on occassion (as is currently happening) in the dead of winter temperatures in the 60s and 70s.