let's talk .... snow cars...

[Don Ro]

My '92 Jeep XJ, 5 spd, FI 4L HO 6cyl. got 26 mpg on a 699 mi. trip from SF Bay Area to Portland, OR. @ 60 - 75 mph last summer.
City mileage is ~ 20 - 22 (mood specific).
Some XJs for sale here:
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At home in Menlo Park, CA...Summer '08
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At home near Portland, OR...Christmas '08
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Cleaned the windows, warmed her up, put her in 4WD-L, & backed her out.
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Good luck.

[AbbyAk]

Volvo XC70. Best all round winter car I have owned--great car for AK.

[red-beard]

+1 on the Jeep Cherokee.

Add Snow tires and you have an unbeatable snow vehicle.

It may not be a pretty or fancy as some other, but it works. I had one in the mid 1990's and then bought another in 2001 (last year produced). They made some suspension changes in 1996, which made the on road time, better. Make certain you get one with the straight 6, 4.0 HO engine.

[FastCarFan]

Absolutely love my 2004 R32 with snows. AWD, traction & stability control (which can be turned off), ABS...oh & 240 hp. 86,000 miles & going strong. It is a BLAST to drive!

Waiting for my new Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 snows from Tire Rack -- should be in any day. Here are some pics with its snows & (cheap) winter wheels (17" instead of the 18" for the summer tires).

[Zef]

Honda CRV...reliable...low cost of operation...nice....very good in snow....

[onewhippedpuppy]

Lots of good car options, but you have to consider how deep the snow is. Even the best AWD car can still get high-centered on an unplowed road.

[1990C4S]

Volvo. Four snow tires.

Or a 964 C4.

[porsche4life]

That R32 is a good choice... They are getting reasonable now... Super fun... Nice interior... Lots of room for a 2dr....

[Don Ro]

That VW R32 looks interesting. Hmm...
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I guess that ultimately, for a snow vehicle, deep snow could be the screen-out element.
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[onewhippedpuppy]

If you're concerned about the deep stuff, one of the tall wagons might be a good bet. Outback and Forester both have some extra ground clearance but ride and drive like a car. Both can be pretty quick as well. There's also the Audi Allroad, but they aren't exactly reliable. The Volvo XC is another similar option.

[gatotom]

I love my Audi A4 quattro with studless snow tires in the winter. I have not found any condition on the hwy yet that I can't go. The passes in WA state can be bad at times and I travel them alot in the winter, no problem with my last 2000 Audi A4 and I am sure no problem with my current 2006 A4 plus they get good fuel mileage, city/hwy combo at 28 pure hwy driving at 33,not bad for a all wheel drive car.

[nut11]

Any late 80s, all 90s SAAB even to present. Put 4 snows on and you are good to go. I still believe w/ 4 good snows and frnt wheel drive, you'll get there 99.9 percent of the time in snow. God I remember the good old 96s and 99s w. thin to win snows and plowing through legit 2 feet of snow going anywhere I wanted. All wheel drive as a snow safety feature is over blown, particularly b/c people keep the all season rubber on and get over confident. A SAAB, 4 good snows and safety snow fun!!

87 blk coupe

[Dave L]

you could always go with a AWD saab WITH snowtires for an even better time.

[vash]

what do you drive now? how about a set of snow tires for your current rig?

[pavulon]

Originally Posted by vash

what do you drive now? how about a set of snow tires for your current rig?

Thanks to all for the advice. I really appreciate it. I'm looking to park the '09 Jetta wagon TDI for winter and hopefully summer drive it 'til the end of time. WI winter/salt/sand/gravel sucks. I hate watching my car/money literally melt into rust puddles on the garage floor. So far, it has 12K miles (1 summer) and has been rock solid, miserly and kinda fun to drive (DSG/TDI is a pretty interesting combination).

The '08 Outback I drove was an H4/auto. I wish I had been taken with it but wasn't.

I'm looking at an '04 CR-V this week. Hopefully the tires are gone and I can use that as leverage (plan to put some x-ice tires on it if I buy it). Otherwise, an XC70 (esp w/ third row seats!) would be a great choice but they seem a bit spendy.

[onewhippedpuppy]

If you want a bit more space and a 3rd row, look at the newer Rav4. I think they get about 25 MPG.

[jurhip]

Any car that tracks well in regular conditions and has good basic handling traits will do well in the snow. Ground clearance is the biggest issue. Hills, or if you go off (the road) are where you really need awd/4wd. Stiff suspension tends to work against you (but, you still want good damping - separate things). I think most european cars exemplify these traits. But my saabaru is good and fun in the snow - but really no more fun than an MB 190e I drove for awhile.
Trucks/SUV's will get you there - but they may more "slippy" in turns due to weight and general layout.

Only until recently does it seem that everyone believes you need AWD in anything but dry roads or you are doomed to crash.

Remember they all have 4 wheel brakes.

[ddbach]

You made me go look for rust on the 99 Passat. I'm just shy of 150K and will have had the car 11 years in Feb. Drove it daily until acquired the Porsche in August. I've got some stone chips and one possibly deep enough to rust (this weekend project) had a commercial ladder fall against the passenger side door and leave 2 dents (small) that have not rusted in 3 years (down to primer) underside looks good. I'm on second muffler which still looks good too. Curiosity made me price check the Passat when I got the 944 and it seemed about 5K or less for comparable.
The Jetta should do well too unless they've changed their rustproofing for the poorer. I have 12yr rust through warranty (caveat fix visible rust when found)

[lyon]

[924slover]

I've driven many different cars in the snow
The best was honestly my old fj40
closely followed by my subaru, jeep,
the worst was either my 924s or my old e21 bmw. a goos set of snow tires makes the difference between a car thats good in the snow and a car that sucks in the snow.