Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Best/worst snow cars or trucks?

The wives outback is way better than my 4x4 pickup.

My neighbor has one of those that he swears by.
Lot Subaru's around here too. Everybody from the hipsters across the river in WA to the farmers/ranchers wives drives em.

My Wifes 2013 Grand Cherokee Limited is the best I have Driven in the show and Ice.....The Thing is just planted and goes were you turn the wheel....Also has 60K miles and never Been in the shop...Just put on its First set of Tires Got 59K out of the Original Goodyears....Just an all around solid vehicle...Sill looks Brand New.

A friend that used to run hounds all winter long in Montana used to swear by solid axle Chevy Suburbans.

In general,

4WD>FWD>RWD

longer, wider, lower helps

Tires are a big consideration.


The biggest factor, IMO, is way too many people drive way too fast for conditions.

Wife had a front wheel drive VW Rabbit diesel pickup. Pulled out several full sized rigs with that little truck.

Dual wheel pickups are a PIA in snow.

Got a Honda CRV with AWD and a bit more ground clearance than your average passenger car that is very good in the snow even with the not so great all season radials on it. We had a lot more snow than usual last year and I was running around where other folks were stuck solid. But you still have to take it easy and not get too rambunctious or try to see just how much snow you can plow through.

this. a 4x4 suburban on good tires is a rock star in the snow.

we have an newer outback and an older forester. they are hands down the best 4x4 i have ever had in the snow. better than my jeeps, 4x4 trucks or FWD cars. as long as 1 wheel is on the ground it has traction. i have run mine in 18"+ of snow on trails and they just plow on through. my new one has traction control though and it will kill you in deep snow. switch off TCS and it will go like a fuggen tank. the TCS is more for slush and wet road traction rather than deep snow. xmode is cool as well for going downhill on bad roads and offroading in mud or shallow snow.

by far the worst in the snow was a nissan 2wd truck i had. that little fugger would switch ends in a heart beat.

1986 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. A close second is my 2002 Suburban. Worst was a 1980 F-150 2 wheel drive we had at work. Got stuck on flat ice. Put it it neutral and pushed out by hand by myself but could not drive it out

The best I've driven in the snow all belonged to my Mom, going back to a granny gear equipped '79 Bronco. She's on her third Outback now. All work even better than the old suv in anything shot of three foot drifts.The Silverado with a manual and A/T's I own handles those with aplomb, though. The worst winter car I've ever driven is also the only car I've ever totalled-a Merkur xr4ti.

There it is.

Spend enough time driving in snow and ice and you learn they all have their strengths and weaknesses. If I need to push through bumper deep snow I'll take a 4WD pickup with the right tires, if I need to pick my way up a slippery grade through spun out and stuck traffic I'll take a Jeep Wrangler. If I want to be pushed out of a ditch I'll take a Subaru Forrester and wait for the Gay team to show up.

Funny how the stereotype of Subaru's for the gay community in the USA are a standard

The Forester in South Africa comes in the form of a Pickup truck. It's stereotype is that of one of the favorites of Professional hunters and farm workers.

If the stereotypes are removed from both and it's judged simply on its merit, I doubt that anything made for consumers off the factory floor is any better. Only those without experience using one could judge it poorly. Once you have used one in pretty bad conditions.. You will be a believer in the engineering that makes them so good.

I broke down and bought studs for my ram 3500 this year. Man does it seem awesome. A Subaru with studs is probably the best if the snow isn't too deep. In deep snow a pickup with tall tires and corks. Any rear wheel drive with performance tires is going to be awful.

Again, +1.

That said, like the OP said a Saab 99/900 (early gen) with some hakkapeliitta's is about as unstoppable a car as you'll find. FWD, 60/40 wt distrib, about 3900lbs, low-slung on big tires , and crash worthy/stout as fug. Miss mine dearly, but they "don't make'em like that any more."

Had an audi FWD in Bavaria, it was good but it wasn't the saab. Ditto with the S4 with traction this/that and blizzacks I got next; also good, but not the saab. That fugger was special

And 4x4, as was said, to be helpful it needs good wt distribution, and well, weight. Off road is one thing, but no fan of driving pickups in ice/snow on pavement.

Any mustang I've ever driven will get out from under you in a hurry on slick roads, including the one I own now. It spends winters in the garage.

I had a '79 VW Rabbit that was great in the snow. I put a set of Sears studded snow tires on it and It would go just about anywhere you pointed it. And this (former) 22 year old would point it toward some pretty hairy stuff! My '83 Subaru GL wagon and '87 (?) Jeep Comanche pickup were great off the beaten path too. All 3 of these were 4 cylinder/4 speed. I think there's something to be said for not too much power.

The worst snow cars I had were my first two. A '70 Camaro Rally Sport and a '73 Ford Gran Torino Sport (400 c.i.). It probably had something to do with the fact that 18 year olds don't actually know everything.

In my experience it has more to do with the driver with their head up their ass than the vehicle. Nothing helps more than slowing down. I drove a 1984 Mustang GT convertible through several winters going to college in Marquette Michigan without issue due to good tires,weight in the trunk and not driving like a moron. You can have the highest rated all wheel drive wonder car out there. But if it has [bleep] tires or if you drive like an idiot you're bound to spend a lot of time in the ditch.

I have been stuck in snow and in the ditch on ice as many times as most people.


When my brother and I were both in our early 20's we bought a 1977 Olds Toronado. Big old 2 door coupe that happened to be front wheel drive. Had a big block in it as well.


Drove it all over MT and north ID.

Awesome highway drift buster.

Best in Snow was a Honda CRV - had several 4wds and nothing came close to it.

Worst was the KIA Soul. We didn't even drive it in rain