living in michigan for most of my life, i've had experience with all kinds of weather... i've started out with an SUV with 4 wheel drive, then i had small automatic 4DR with front wheel drive, and now i have a manual civic. ranking all of these, my ability to drive well in snowy/icy conditions has decreased with each car i've owned. i love my civic, and you'd probably get used to the manual transmission in the snow, but accelerating really blows. depending on where you live, though, it might not snow all that much, it also depends...some winters are snowier than others. if i had to do it all over again, i'd still go with a manual because the majority of my driving time does not involve snow/ice.

If you are moving to any of the major or semi-major cities I would not even make this a factor in your decision unless you will be spending a lot of time on rural or semi-rural roads. In the cities your greatest road hazard in the winter is excessive salting. Plowing keeps streets in any decent-sized city pretty hazard-free, enough that honestly there isn't a big enough concern to merit impact on your car purchase.

If you are going to be doing a lot of rural driving, of course that is a different question.

Also, on the 1 or max 2 bad road days of the year (blizzard or ice storm) most cities and businesses simply declare a holiday in order to keep people off the streets, so you probably won't have to do much driving on those 1 or 2 days.

fyi - i live in the detroit area... and there are days when the plow trucks just don't make it out in enough time to plow all of the streets. there are also days when it snows so much it accumulates so fast that plowing every hour isn't enough to do any good.

if you live in rural areas up north, you're best bet is a truck/SUV.

I mean I drove a Corolla around Pittsburgh for 3 years and never once spun out or fishtailed or anything, and road conditions there are far worse than you'll find in most northeastern cities (for one thing the place is extremely hilly!). It's just not a big deal I don't think.

I have a manual civic del sol, and I find that when I have a foot of snow under me, I accelerate faster than everyone else around me still. This is because with a manual, as you start spinning, you just keep on shifting up and up. I end up in fourth gear at 20 mph, but I'm not spinning, and therefore already half a block ahead of everyone.

Front wheel drive is a must! Spin-outs all the time with most rear wheel drives. If the car has posi-traction or abs, that will ofcourse help. And contrary to popular belief, YOU DON'T NEED A TRUCK OR SUV to survive northern winters. Sometimes due to the vehicles weight distribution and axle construction, it's much easier to spin-out in a Truck, SUV, or Jeep than it is a car.

Cars that are made to run fast won't do great in the snow for good reason. However, I've had the del sol for 5 years, and have never come close to an accident in the winter (now in the Summer is another story). It's all about not oversteering (just a jolt of the wheel kicks out the back tire, and I can do it with just enough to steer only 30 degrees, but turn 90 degrees to where I want to go). Make sure you get some quality all-weather tires, or if you pocket book can afford, seperate summer tires and seperate winter tires.

Buy a couple bags of salt (or my pref, chicken grit or cat liter) and through them in your back trunk in the winter. It will give you extra weight and can help you get unstuck sometimes.

A lighter car isn't always a bad idea, as you will often drive on top of really thick snowed roads, instead of sinking all the way down, and the snow not clearing your vehicle.

And above all, remember the first snow fall of the season, everyone's an idiot (people forget how to drive in the snow over the summer season). So avoid the roads or drive with care until winter really sets in.

Just remember to have a Jonathan Richmond CD in the stereo!

1) how safe or how much control do you have with a front wheel drive vehicle in snowy or slick roads?
The best is the front wheel drive on slicky, iced, snowy streets. You keep control of the car because placing the mass of the drivetrain over the front wheels improves traction on wet, snowy, or icy surfaces.
Then, front wheel drive tends to inform you when your wheels are slipping on a surface, it's tactile feeling, it can not be explained.
Rear wheel drive tends to lose grip and traction on these surfaces.
The idea is that the front wheel drive pulls the car, while rear wheel drive pushes the car. You can easily understand that it's a better idea to pull a thing on a iced surface instead of push it.

2) Is it do-able or do people just not drive them when the weather is bad?
If you are a bad driver, just don't drive your car in bad weather, it's not safe for you and not safe for others.

3) Is it a bad idea to try and combine the front wheel drive with an manual transmission as initial acceleration tends to be greater...
That's the best idea.

The midwest gets much worse winters and heavier snowfall than the northeast, especially lately. I feel sorry for you guys in Michigan and Ohio!

all wheel!!!!!
it makes a difference.

if you get a manual w/ a decent amount of HP/torque, you can do a little trick. if it's icy or snowy, and you're at a complete stop. shift into 2nd or 3rd gear and start rolling the car that way. you gotta be sensitive with the gas/clutch combo but you won't spin your tires out that way.

i went to school in WAY western massachusetts and had many a harrowing experience on route 2 @ 7 in MA. i drove a honda accord, manual out there. tested my friend's subaru WRX hatchback and it def. handled a lot better. it's nice to have power to all 4 wheels.

good tires are a must as well. if you CAN afford it, get a set of snow tires, at least for the drive wheels. but my best recommendation otherwise are Nokian WR tires. they're REALLY good in the snow. best all-weather tire i've ever had. handling was improved SIGNIFICANTLY after i switched. road noise isn't too bad for summer/highway driving either. do NOT cheap out on your tires.

matteo, I didn't understand the third point. Were you agreeing with me? Please restate.

and tempdrive, is it just a coincidence that your name is relative to your first thread that you've posted?

Yes, I totally agree with what you wrote.

oh... the cras... in my opinion the quattro will give you the best handling by far in all conditions be it snowy, icy, rainy, sunny, sleety, frozen-rainy...
but i think all the cars are good vehicles. though i've heard the new VWs aren't built as well as they were maybe 5 or so years ago...

cars... not cras...

The best cars in bad weather conditions are Volvo and Saab.

I grew up in CT and drove in snow all the time. It's the worst in NE that I have seen, when you consider all the ice and how long it all stays around (in the MidWest it melts before it turns to ice, usually).

A4 is a billion times more practical, if you think you'll be driving in the snow often. If you are in a major city, then it probably won't matter too mcuh (but it will matter).

Standards + rear wheel drive in snow is just bad. Front wheel drive not so bad if you are a good driver. The time it is dangerous (and has sent me off the road before), is when you have to down shift going up an icy/snowy hill. not fun.

Also look at Subaru's and BMW 3 series (the 'x' is their all wheel drive versions).

Lastly SNOW TIRES!! Without switching your tires come winter time, you will be killing 90% of the all wheel drive!

Oh, I should point out that my driving in my delsol for 5 years was 90% in either Minneapolis, or Madison, WI. So if I can drive a shitty little car like that in the land of ice and snow and purple rain, then I'm sure you can get by.

And shaybug is completely right. Just because you're in a city DOESN'T mean the roads will be cleared. And I've lived in places where we'll get a couple feet overnight, and the only thing that closes are grade schools. And temperature only affects grade schools too (2 winters ago it got to -55 windchill, and the University of MN THOUGHT about closing school, but decided against it).

type of vehicle makes no difference at all

type of driver makes all the difference in the world

but when the oil dries up & the snow stops falling its all moot

type of vehicle makes no difference at all

type of driver makes all the difference in the world

but when the oil dries up & the snow stops falling its all moot

northern indianastan where i grew up and used to live until recently is the snow belt baby.

I guess I just think of Boston and NYC when someone says "northeast", and I honestly think if you're in the city there, you will have zero problems. Even in the poor neighborhoods the plows get out and on the coast we just don't have as bad snow and ice storms. You only get maybe one per year lately. And yes in our single snowstorm last year, and the single snowstorm the year before, absolutely everyone took the day off work--most people have to take care of their kids that day anyway since there isn't any school. The mayor asked that everyone stay off the roads. Typical.

Rural is absolutely another question entirely. Like someone said above, for example western Mass gets tons of snow. I don't doubt the quiet residential streets of Connecticut get dumped and don't get plowed. Hence my reasoning that it depends on where the thread starter's gonna be living. Didn't mean to piss anyone off. I guess "northeast" is a pretty vague term.

Ok, I guess I agree with that. The Midwest has way more snow storms, and they don't ever call off work. The east and west coasts do (and I'm jealous).

More specifically, I'll be living in New Haven, CT. And it is really my wife that I am thinking about, as she will most likely be commuting from New Haven to Fairfield, Gilford, or somewhere else within a 20 to 30 minute radius of New Haven. So it might be traveling on I-95 or on more of a "back road" approach to whereever she is working...

(and the name doesn't have to do with the initial post, when I created it I was helping configure my office's computer network)

More specifically, I'll be living in New Haven, CT. And it is really my wife that I am thinking about, as she will most likely be commuting from New Haven to Fairfield, Gilford, or somewhere else within a 20 to 30 minute radius of New Haven. So it might be traveling on I-95 or on more of a "back road" approach to whereever she is working...

(and the name doesn't have to do with the initial post, when I created it I was helping configure my office's computer network)

sorry...double post.

1. the longer vehicle reduces the chances of losing control (spinning).
2. more weight over your drive axle will give you better traction.
3. all wheel drive is best. this is why Subaru is so popular in the snow states. do not buy selectable 4 wheel drive because the transfer case is not differential. in other words they are not for street use in 4 wheel drive.
4. 2 wheel drive pickup is a bad choice for a snow condition unless you load up the bed with at least 500 pounds of ballast over the rear axle.

My choices:
Subaru
Honda: that small suv in all wheel drive, don't know the name.

new haven.... heck that's the sunny southwest - there's no snow there

There IS snow there, but rather infrequently. You can bet on no more than 6 or 8 episodes of more than 4" of snow in New Haven per winter. But it's a fairly safe bet that one of them will be around 2 feet.
The thing about New England is it doesn't shut down for snow. So even if the snow is not too bad you've got a lot of people driving around in it going about their daily business. On the one hand this makes them better experienced drivers in snow but on the other it just puts more people out there to slide into.
In some places - even some much snowier places - if there's 1/2" of snow on the ground there are school delays and businesses close and such. But CT isn't that snow-sensitive (don't plan on ever using weather as an excuse for missing any sort of deadline). And CT is the just about the iciest place I've lived in. If there's 1" of snow on the ground it can keep up its freezing and thawing for weeks and cause perpetual slipperiness.

But one caution about New Haven: you might want to cross reference your "best snow car" list with your "most stolen" list. That's a bigger risk than snow there. I never slid off any roads in CT but I had a car stolen (Honda) and another destroyed by rust.

tempdrive,
Allwheel drive would be better than front wheel in the snow. Either is better than rear wheel drive.
I've been driving in and out of New Haven on I-95 for more years than I want to admit. Mostly driving front wheel; Fiats, VWs and Saabs. FOr the last 10 years its been a 4WD Jeep Wrangler.
New Haven does get deep snow, usually when we get a winter nor'easter. But it's usually lighter on the east shoreline and DOT clears the turnpike pretty well. New Haven doesn't clear the roads well at all.
There are also commuter trains. MetroNorth from Fairfield Co. and Shoreline East from the east shore.

Oh, and where you end up living may influence the car you get. You don't want to travel too far to have the car serviced by a dealer.
Email me if you have particular questions.

if you're so worried about driving in snow, then get one of these!!!




Otherwise, spend the $$$ on a prius- help stop global warming so we still HAVE snow in the winter!

few more snowcats:










is this a hummer???


tundra buggy!

No matter what brand of car you buy, because if you are not able to drive in snowy condition, it is useless spending all those money in a full optional all wheel SUV.

Last winter I was in Sainkt Moritz and it was funny to see all those Mercedes ML, Porsche Cayenne, BMW 3 and 5 parked in heated garages, just because wives on holiday were too scared to drive on street covered by few inches of snow.

Yeah, It really doesn't matter what kind of car you have. I've seen all kinds of cars on the roads in the winter, and right now I live in western mass. I've only been up here for two years, before that North Carolina and before that Florida. You just have to drive carefully.

A good idea could be to get the front wheel drive vehicle and a set of snow tires with their own rims. In the fall, you pull your snow tires out of the basement (already on their own rims) and put them on...in the spring you take them off. You don't need 4 wheel drive...it's just a ploy to make more expensive cars that get worse gas mileage. You're only "driving in the snow" for 4 months, and in the northeast cities and towns are usually exceptionally good at keeping the roads clear after (and sometimes while) the snow has fallen.

Just get what you want, drive carefully, and you'll be fine.

Yeah I agree. It doesn't matter a whole lot. I grew up in hilly, suburban PA where some winters we would get 3-4 feet of snow in one shot. When that happens, no one goes to work. The cars I most commonly see stranded are SUVs. People fear the weather, but when it:s really bad, you just don't go out. And like it's been said, unless the snow is REALLY bad, or strange, most decent sized towns/cities keep up with it on the main roads. And like ajliebch said, you are only driving in the snow for 4 months, and out of that the conditions are usually bad like 10 days. I know a girl from VT and she says her Mini Cooper is the best car she's ever had for the snow. My mom threw some snowtires on her Matrix and said it's great.

My family has had the following cars and has never gotten stuck or gotten in an accident that was their fault (other people have hit them).
Chevy Impala
Dodge Colt Vista
Toyota Corolla
Plymouth Voyager
Mazda 626
Oldsmobile Cutlass Cierra
Ford Probe
Toyota Matrix
Saab 93

I disagree that the car doesnt' matter. The car makes a huge difference. Large horsepower rear wheeled drive cars I going to suck (I know, I had Mustang 5.0) whereas Volvo station wagons (rwhldr too) are a billion times better - never slid out in one of those.

However, incompetent driveres are going to suck anytime, just suck more in the snow (and rain). If you suck, you'll end up off the road in anything. If you are patient and slow, you can do ok (although there were times when my front wheeled drive Saab wouldnt not move and I had to be picked up in a 4x4 pickup).


The snow tires are what is going to make a huge difference too.

Down in NH you won't have too much to worry about. The ocean breezes will keep it warmer than most other parts of CT.

Hmm.. the northeast of England would be Newcastle..