We have a Subaru that has never had winter tires…and we DO live in a hilly area with a lot of snow.
The car that needed snow tires…my front wheel drive Volvo.
A friend of mine recently bought a KIA Niro. It’s a small SUV and a hybrid. Problem is the first model year is 2017 so there aren’t any used models available. Remaining 2017s at the dealers start at $19k.
Note that all-season tires that come on most new cars can vary in snow capability from ok (though not as good as most winter tires) to marginal. So if a car is “good in snow” or “bad in snow” with the original tires, that may reflect the car company’s choice of tires. Putting different all-season tires on the car may change its snow (and non-snow) performance.
Good quality all season tires + AWD + a driver who is used to driving in snowy conditions is perfectly fine for most instances. I do live in a snowy, hilly locale. It’s been just fine for decades.
If I was regularly crossing isolated mountain passes in the Rockies or even the Whites, I’d get some snow tires.
If you can find an Impreza with an MT, and you have an association discount (like IMBA- 2% under invoice) you can get one for around $17.5K plus tax/license. Subaru is currently running a 0% financing scheme on a number of models, so it may be worth it to purchase new.
Wow, thanks for all the input, much appreciated!
I test drove one of the Rogues this morning and I liked it a lot. I thought the visibility was fine. The price was recently dropped and the salesman said no negotiating on price.
I also did some more searching on line and found a used Buick Encore with fairly low mileage and AWD. CPO it comes with a nice warranty.
@tutumom2001 and @LeastComplicated thank you for the suggestion to consider a new car. I may do that with a Corolla. The new Corollas come with split rear seats that fold down which means a cello would probably fit in the trunk with one seat folded down and still allow for 1 back seat passenger. Looking at the hatchback is a good idea too.
I think for a young person starting out I like the idea of awd with good all season tires better than a car that needs snow tires. He may be moving around for a while and living in apartments. Tire storage is a consideration and having them stored at a facility and changed twice a year is an extra expense and hassle for someone who does not have a lot of wiggle room in his budget.
I lived in Colorado in my 20s and being young and not knowing any better I drove in the mountains of Colorado regularly with my 1984 Corolla and regular tires and never had a problem. I remember one particularly snowy trek from Winter Park at night and on windy roads.
I have lived in Michigan for 20 years and until recently have had FWD vehicles and never had snow tires and have never had a problem. I do have an Outback with AWD now and good all season tires and it is great in the snow. My H’s Civic is the first car we have bought snow tires for, it is really not good in the snow without them.
@TooOld4School What does Impreza with an “MT” mean? I don’t have any association discounts.
Thanks again for all the ideas!
All season tires are fine. Don’t get suckered into snow tires.
MT usually refers to manual transmission.
^ Ok thanks! That would work for me but unfortunately my S doesn’t know how to drive a manual transmission car. I’m sure he’s smart enough to learn but I’ll probably skip that for now.
For what it’s worth, my S’s current car, a 2004 Rav4 is not AWD and has never had snow tires.
My older son’s first car had a manual transmission. He didn’t know how to drive one either, but he learned. Now they are practically theft proof.
There are a lot of used Audi’s available, and almost all have AWD. Great cars except for the repair costs.
Avoid the 2004 Honda CRV. They have coolant issues which can cause part of the engine to melt. That is the only year with an issue
All season tires are not the same as winter tires and they will not be as safe as winter tires in snow and cold weather. Nobody gets ‘suckered’ into getting winter tires. Drivers who value the safest way to get around in winter weather get winter tires. The best traction will be with winter tires that have different tread and specially formulated tread rubber that is more adept in cold weather. Some people don’t want to spend the extra money for winter tires but don’t kid yourself that there is no difference.
“My older son’s first car had a manual transmission. He didn’t know how to drive one either, but he learned. Now they are practically theft proof.”
Another benefit is it would greatly cut down on the number of friends trying to borrow the car. 
Thanks for all the input everyone, I’m still looking. Have found a few CRVs in our area that are over our price range but may consider them as I know they are good, reliable cars.
When I was in HS several of my friends and I were friends with a guy who was about 10 years older than us through our dance troupe. He would let me use his car, an alfa romeo spider MT, when he went out of town as I was the only one who knew how to drive it!
It’s an interesting idea to look for a car with MT but I doubt I’m going to pursue it at this time.
Lots of cars in our price range including CRVs and Rav4s at a Carvana that is in our area. Anyone have any experience buying a car through carvana? I think I would not get a warranty if I went that route.
Watch out for flood cars. I’ve had better luck on Craigslist.
Watch out for flood cars. I’ve had better luck on Craigslist. You can check the title history through carfax, I’d get an account and don’t look at anything without a documented history from the purchase date. FYI, you can get a new '17 Fiesta or Focus for around $11-12K
Carfax has a competitor called Autocheck. Some have reported occasional differences, since they may not have all of the same sources of information that they check.
Thanks, I have seen the auto check report on some cars. Good idea to see if I can see both the carfax and the autocheck on any car. With the CPO cars they tend to show one or the other free online. My gut feeling is that if they don’t offer the free carfax there is something on it they don’t want you to see but maybe it would be worth getting an account for the time being. I have also made contact with a local mechanic who will inspect a car before I purchase which I plan to do.
I might take a look at the Fiesta and Focus, I would have to see if they can fit a cello. Considered buying a MT corolla, which my H would love and giving our civic to S but it doesn’t fit a cello well.
The Rogue I test drove was sold last night, I called today planning to go back and buy it. Salesman is going to look for a similar one, same price, condition, year and mileage.
Both the Fiesta and Focus have sedan and hatchback versions.
Both use an automatic transmission that some complain about rough shifting (I had a rental Focus once and did not notice such a problem). Both can be gotten with a manual transmission to avoid any concerns about the automatic transmission.
Bring the cello for test fitting when looking at cars.
Yes, some cello cases are larger than others, especially if you have a rolling one.