[Aaron37]

I've been looking at the 2008 Impreza Outback. It looks like it would be good for the snow. I am a Southerner moving up, so I'd like AWD just to be safe.

[KNOTTE]

I used to have a Subaru Outback and it was very good in the snow, of course when ice is involved AWD does not help - as many a NY/NJ skier can tell you when they fly by in their SUV thinking they're untouchable only to hit ice and go off a bit off the road. Anyway, they are great in snow, but FWD and some common sense often goes as far or further.

Good luck on your move.

[Sherylcatmom]

I don't have a Subaru but I have something in common with you.

I am a native of Miami Beach who moved to Northern New England in my early 20s. I have never had an AWD or 4WD car. I've never felt like I needed one.

These are the cars I've owned since I've moved up here, all of which handled great in the snow as long as I had good snow tires, which I made sure to put on every winter:

Dodge Colt Technica sedan
VW Jetta sedan
Mercury Tracer station wagon
Honda Civic sedan -- my current ride, a 2006 EX, and everything I could want in a car!!!

[robertpolyglot]

I can't stand Subarus because of the lifestyle packaging that goes with them. Some of the buyers help support the stereotypes. Yep - that's right, Maine and Oregon to the hilt. No thanks. An acquaintance from Portland refers to the drivers of the many Subarus here as "Subaru jockeys."

I just bought a brand new mid-sized GM car last week. With the incentives and a nice heap of cash accumulated from using my GM Card over the last decade, I couldn't pass it up.

And, before we rag on American cars, my car immediately prior to the purchase has 242,000 trouble free miles on it (another GM car), so I am keeping it as a second car. Please consider a good domestic product to answer your needs and keep the money on our shores. Look at Consumer Reports which ranks cars by its components and pick up a car that does well for you and is made on our shores. Have you seen the new Acadia with the V6? It is a beautiful vehicle, considering I don't like that genre (crossover, SUV).

[Aaron37]

well, i have a '99 Corolla right now. It has 100,000 miles on it, but I just don't know how it will handle in the snow. The only time i've ever driven in snow was on I-35 in Austin going about 20 mph all by myself. Nobody else had the courage to go out.

[Sherylcatmom]

Before I got my Honda, I was driving a Merc Tracer wagon that I bought for $1700 with over 100,000 miles on it. I drove it to nearly 200,000 miles, including 75 miles each way back and forth to grad school in snowstorms, and would probably still be driving it if not for October 9, 2005. That morning I woke up in Keene, NH where I was in grad school, looked out my motel window, and saw my car (and most of the others) underwater up to the door handles. It did get back on the road but the electrical system was funky so our car repair guy gave us $300 for it. He's still driving it. In snow, too.

[Aaron37]

Wow, maybe i'm underestimating the Corolla. I was told I would do fine with FWD and snow tires, but I wasn't sure if this was true.

[Sherylcatmom]

FWD and snow tires have always done the trick for me. When you're here, you'll see tons of non-4WD, non-AWD cars along with Subarus and trucks. People even drive RWD cars in winter -- Lincolns and Cadillacs and such. When I met my husband, he was driving a RWD Ford Aerostar. He did just fine driving in all snowy & icy conditions. He would play gigs and drive home in snow & ice in the middle of the night with no issues. I admit, I never got the hang of driving that van in winter conditions. But every FWD car I've driven up here has been fine in winter -- with snow tires. Not all-season tires, but real snow tires.

When I moved north, I'm not sure why, but it just never occurred to me to be concerned about driving in snow! I think it's because Vermont is a place with all kinds of people, not just super-drivers certified for extra-wicked weather. The main learning curve for me was allowing way more slowing & stopping time and taking turns more slowly when it's slippery out. But it wasn't rocket science and it wasn't daredevil-like, at least for me. I've spun out at least twice, luckily with no damage to myself or my car. It happens. My senses are honed and I stay very alert, but not tense. I was way tenser commuting on I-95 in Miami.

My parents once asked about studs and chains. After joking about my new job as a dominatrix (not!), I explained that I don't even know anyone who puts chains on their tires here. When we were visiting Colorado, however, everyone we met who lived in the mountains had tire chains. On one visit to SW Colorado, my husband and I couldn't get from Durango to Crestone because of a snow storm at a high-elevation pass and only cars with chains were allowed to pass. This was in September! Vermont is so not like that. Rutland's only at like 700' above sea level. The Colorado town we stayed in was at over 7,000' and the pass we would have climbed was over 10,000'!

[c~mom]

9 out of 10 drivers in Rhinebeck NY own a Subaru!!

Its like a scary epedemic or strange status symbol or something, everywhere you look there is another suby!
We had to do a favor for a friend one night and pick up his subaru from the train station nearby one night, and in this long dark parking lot it was just subaru after subaru, I had to keep pushing the unlock button on the keys untill I found the right car...definately a popular car in the midhudson valley of NY!
I personally prefer a GMC or Chrysler 4x4, but the Audi is a nice vehicle with all wheel drive, and very comfy!

[c~mom]

Snow tires...I swear by Nokians...a bit more expensive, but a great aggressive tread, I've had them on my front wheel drive lexus, and my big 4x4 trucks, I've tried less expensive brands but they just don't cut it after you've had them!! Great tires for Northeast driving! and on a car, I agree, all weathers won't cut it up here, but get some good snows on and your just as good as the 4x4's, just take it slow and easy!