Dear Tom and Ray:
I am a doctor living in an area that typically can get 6 to 8 inches of snow on the ground at some point in the winter. Snow plows are not always out on the roads when I drive. For this reason, I need a four-wheel-drive vehicle; however, I don't know if SUVs, like the Honda CR-V or BMW X3 or X5, are superior in snow to lower-riding all-wheel-drive cars, like Audis or Subarus. Do I really need to be higher up in an SUV, or could I get through snowdrifts in a sedan? I get concerned about it because I have to be at the hospital no matter what the conditions are outside. This dictates what I drive, even if gas mileage is poor.
-- Claire
Tom: Well, there are two issues that determine how well you get around in the snow.
Ray: One is traction. And for traction, any all-wheel-drive vehicle -- car or SUV -- will keep you moving on snowy roads. If one wheel is slipping on snow or slush at any given moment, one or more of the other wheels always will have enough grip to pull you through.
Tom: The other issue is ground clearance. If you have, say, 2 feet of unplowed, drifting snow on the roads, and you're driving a Mazda Miata (or any car whose floor is close to the ground), the car can get "hung up" on a hardened mound of snow -- with its drive wheels unable to reach the ground. Granted, you'd have to be pretty unlucky to get hung up so that all four of your wheels were not touching the ground. But if you did, it wouldn't matter how many wheel drive you had -- you wouldn't go anywhere.
Ray: But that's not an issue for you. Six to 8 inches of snow is what those of us in the great frozen north call "a light dusting." So you should have no trouble at all getting by with an all-wheel-drive car -- some of which (like the Subaru Outback) have heightened ground clearance, too.
Tom: Cars generally are safer and more comfortable. They handle better, ride better and get better mileage. So, why suffer in an SUV all year if you really don't need one?
Ray: And besides, cars are easier to get in and out of. So you'll never have to suffer the embarrassment of stopping by the emergency room and asking a colleague to have a look at your SUV-induced groin pull.
(Car Talk is a nationally syndicated column by automotive experts (and brothers) Tom and Ray Magliozzi. Write to them at the Car Talk Web site.)
4 Comments
By John Smith on January 8, 2010 5:51 PM
Wind can cause snowdrifts that are much higher than the average depth of snow. I think the doctor should have an SUV with its increased ground clearance.
By Plug One on January 9, 2010 7:35 PM
i grew up in Wisconsin, routinely helped push SUVs/pick up trucks/vans out of snowbanks ... the 'drivers' seem to think that those rigs are superior, and then do sorta bonehead manuevers (ie: heavier rig means you need more momentum to drive up hills, but it also means stop times are negatively impacted ..)
one of the best 'snow cars' we ever had was a ford taurus station wagon, built like a tank, but more importantly driven wisely ... my wife has a subaru station wagon, that thing PERFORMED last winter here in Seattle when we had snow for a month or so ... obviously, my superior driving skills helped, but that car made quick work of the conditions ..
snow driving: leave plenty of distance vs. car ahead of you, tap breaks to stop, leave plenty of distance to stop, gain plenty of momentum going up hills, look far ahead when going up hills in case there are some knucklehead SUV drivers stuck in snow banks trying to figure out how to engage their 4wd (you laugh, but i've witnessed this 1st hand ..).
By Carbunicle on January 11, 2010 4:00 PM
Sleep at the hospital when it snows.
Or get a professional driver so you can concentrate on doctoring.
A 1974 Impala worked for me through two blizzards and an ice storm.
By alan on January 13, 2010 5:45 PM
No one has mentioned one of the most important factors here - proper tires.
I have an AWD VW car. I use high-performance all-season tires (Michelin Pilot Sport A/S) during most of the year. On the first day of the big snow in Seattle last year, I took the car around the block to see how the tires worked in the snow. It was a little dicey, but I made it around the block without much drama. However, I could not get sufficient traction to get the car back up the hill to my house.
I walked up to the house, got out the snow tires (Bridgestone Blizzaks), rolled them down to the car and changed tires in a neighbor's driveway. After that, there were no traction issues and the car went up the snow-covered hill like it was dry.
Most of the OEM tires that come with SUVs don't work well in the snow, so it isn't surprising that you see a bunch of SUVs in ditches when it snows.