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

A really interesting read here guys. I too didn't know about the gay/Subaru thing either though I'm not sure that sis with that Forester doesn't fit with that lifestyle, though I do see a whole lot of Subaru cars out her way in NW Montana. WI. outlawed the studded snow tires years ago because the studs ate the mortar out if the concrete. Those wide tires on a pick up look nice, but they sure have a mind of their own on slippery roads. I put those skinny 7.50-16's on that truck and it went well in a straight line in deep snow, but high, hard, narrow tires sure make ice exciting. A friend of mine put posi-traction on the front as well as the back axle of a truck and it went real well in a straight line, but he said it was like a pea on a platter on a slipper turn. Probably the reason that front wheel posi on a 4wd is never an option. Oh, someone mentioned the Mustang and the Camaro. Yep, wide Poly Glass tires, rear wheel drive and all the weight up front in the big engine and I could barely get mine out of the driveway. Headers were not good for plowing through snow either. Kids.

My wife wanted a Subaru a couple of years ago, I told her that I would never drive it out of state with California plates on it...she looked at me like I was mad...

She ended up with a Ford...with California plates.

I suspect the plates are far more offensive than the make of the vehicle...

Are you really that insecure about your masculinity? Afraid of what other people may think. What kind of a way is that to live?

Worst I ever had was a 1969 Chevelle . The Hummer H3 is quite good.

Years ago there was a private detective who lived next door, on my private road. His vehicles consisted of a Porsche 944 and some fancied-up pick-up truck. Neither vehicle had snow tires, he had performance tires on both. The first couple times when we heard him spin his wheels, my other neighbor and I would go out at all hours of the day and night and push him. I repeatedly told him that he needs to get good snow tires if he was going to make it thru the winter on our road. He never listened. After a while we stopped going out to help him and we just put up with him racing his engine and spinning his wheels for what seemed like forever. One winter was enough for him and he was gone the following year. He couldn't find his butt with both hands but he sure drove some macho machines.

My wife, daughter and I all drive Outbacks. I have Blizzacks on mine and it is pretty impressive. I carry chains, come along, and a shovel and never had to use them. I like the AWD better than my 4wd tundra. I kinda want to trade on a 4runner, but it is hard to cash in the suby.

Then the law is a ass!

Chains on the rear of a FWD tank sounds a little like an anchor.

Dwayne-

Holiday greetings to you and yours.

That little Bolens ain't a car, but I bet it would get Bristoe to the Likka Stoe in a blizzard!

Check out this video. 2014 Subaru Forester Vs Honda CRV, Ford Escape, Mazda CX-5, and Toyota RAV4.

Link - USAC wet ramp test

Impressive.

ironbender;
Good afternoon sir and please allow me to return holiday greetings to you and yours!

The photo of the little diesel is a couple years old and it's now equipped with a 12" LED light bar up front and 4 LED lights on the back - it's like I've got 35 year old eyes again ironbender!

I should think that so equipped it would get our esteemed colleague from Kentucky there AND back in any storm. It's got a rear diff lock too on the little rascal...

All the best to you and your fine family this Christmas sir.

Dwayne

As good as the Sub-a-loos are, when I lived in Upstate NY, I saw more of them in the ditch than everything else combined. Overconfident drivers, you think?!

IIRC, we had the highest snowfall totals of any city in the US at that time (mid 2000's). AWD is great for climbing, and getting started, but we're all on the same footing when it comes to turning and stopping. Contact patch, anyone one? Along with weight distribution.

Here in the Portlandia, we've got a strange mix of cold dry air mixing with warm wet air. It screws with people from the colder regions of the US like the Northeast and Midwest where it's just straight up cold.

I see Subarus going sidways on flat ground. And was hit by a Subaru last year.

Also saw a bunch of 4x4 trucks abandoned in last year's storm.

Had a Ford Focus back in the day, it was great in the snow. Same with Rangers and Tacomas. Will see how the 4Runner does, probably pretty well too

I've lived in Upstate and the North Country of NY all my life (now 61) andI haven't observed that at all. The most common type of vehicle that I see in the ditch are pick-up trucks; 4 wheel drive, no weight in the back end, and big tires that they think are good in the snow. AWD can get you going (and as seen in the linked demo above, Subaru does have the best system) but it's tires that keep you on the road and stop you. That is why tire selection is KEY to safe winter driving.

To me, it didn't look like they all had the same tires, so I'd consider it an invalid test.

They should have all had either the same tires or tested with OEM tires as the consumer would initially buy them. In which case, the Subaru had to overcome their tires because the Subaru's OEM tires aren't much. I think the major difference is the Subaru's X Mode. It's a fairly sophisticated computerized system that monitors each tire individually and adds power and braking as needed to maintain traction. None of those other vehicles have anything comparable.

My wife’s Subaru Forester runs better than any truck I’ve ever owned unles snow is over 10 inches or so.

Saw plenty of trucks in the ditch. But in Central NY cities, the Subarus far out numbered the trucks.

If your perception is fact (and again, that is not my observation) it had more to do with the tires or lack of the driver's skill/judgement than anything with the vehicle itself.

Had an Outback and it was a beast in the snow. Would still have one it it wasn't for the engine. It was loud.

Friend has a Honda Pilot and he takes it were I would hesitate. Plus he has a huge area in the back with the rear seats folded up. Rides nice and an all around great outdoor vehicle for those who don't need hard a core 4wd.