How well do all wheel drive vechiles perform in snowy weather?

Question

I'm looking for something with good gas mileage that will do well on snowy roads.

Answer 1

If you want something upscale, Audi's as the best system on the market.  If you are looking more economical, Subaru is the best in it's market.  In fact in the compact market. Subaru is the only true AWD system.  Toyota, Nissan, even ford's system are just FWD biased systems that send power to the back when needed which sounds good but most of the time it's too little too late.  I have seen some clips on Youtube and automotive shows that compare Subaru against other brands and I was amazed, not at how well the Subaru did but more at how bad the other cars were.  They showed Toyota, VW, and even Volvo were unable to get up some pretty small hills in slippery conditions but the Forester and Legacy had no problem at all.

Answer 2

Obviously the subaru guy is biased but in all actuallity you wont get good gas in any 4x4 vehicle except for a car. Sorry to break it to you but thats the truth. You could always just get a truck like a blazer or somthing and only drive it when it is snowing. Or a GMC jimmy would get decent milage and it drives pretty well in the snow.

Answer 3

They do best in deeper snow  - only about 15 percent improvement on slick pavement. The front wheel cars have the advantage of the engine weight over the wheels that need traction.  If your state allows studded tires, they will do better on the road than non-studded tires.

Answer 4

ford and gm and dodge all have AWD on most of the cars they make now. Look at the websites on them. They work great. Slightly lower than fwd models but not much loss in mpg. If you are just driving on roads they should work fine. They also have traction control assist on them which keeps the car from skidding out of control. They work great. Very hard to try and make it spin the car on corners. I am impressed by my friends lincoln LS with that system.

Answer 5

They handle better, but they don't make you invincible on snowy roads. They still brake the same amount. I'd take a look at a used Subaru Legacy.

Why must it be American Made?

Answer 6

I would go with a Chevy Equinox. You must get the AWD version though becuase they have AWD 4WD and 2WD.

We live in a very snowy place in the winter and the Equinox performs well. IF you drive with care it won't let you down. The wheel base is just the right length that it does not tend to fish tail as easy as some of the others. I drive a lot of different cars and feel the equinox is best.

By the way the equinox is largest in its class and gets about 24 miles per gallon.

Answer 7

They handle and ride great in the snow.....

Mercury Milan 4dr Sdn  AWD

EPA Fuel Economy Est - City (MPG) 17



EPA Fuel Economy Est - Hwy (MPG) 25