<p>Another vote for a Subaru. I just “made” my 85 year old mom who has only driven good old American cars buy a replacement for her Ford front wheel drive vehicle. I owned one and will probably replace my made-in-Sweden old Volvo XC with a Subaru.</p>
<p>Subaru vote from this part of snow country. Even when the going gets tough, the Subaru (mine is an Outback) seems more likely to stay where the driver wants it. From a lot of years of experience, I’m far, far more likely to see tall SUV’s slid off the road or overturned than I am to see a Subaru in that position, and you can’t turn around in a parking lot here without seeing a whole lot of Subarus. (Mostly green Outbacks.) </p>
<p>A lot of the taller/bigger SUV’s have a tendency to roll when trying to do skid correction. Additionally, a large number of SUV drivers seem to be under the belief that 4WD means magic braking too. Not so, unfortunately.</p>
<p>I like the look of impreza but worry a little about it being kinda small and lighter weight - how does the safety of impreza compare to the forrester?</p>
<p>I also keep hearing at dealerships how they have corrected the SUV rollover problem and how being higher up is safer. </p>
<p>It’s sooooo confusing and I wanna make the safest choice!</p>
<p>We must’ve been sold by this Subaru commercial that’s afflicting this thread - DW has a minivan, and we also have a Taurus and an Accord, but when DD2 signed up for a vet internship during the school day for which the school doesn’t provide transportation, we ended up getting her a Legacy. Clearly it should be better for going up snowy hills - my question for those with more knowledge of AWD - does it help in downhill skids too? As someone observed just braking should be no different, but does AWD do anything beneficial going down?</p>
<p>Winter tires help when you need to turn and stop in the snow.</p>
<p>" I have no problems with our Prius in the snow, either."</p>
<p>Are you serious? Maybe we have a crummy Prius. We don’t even like taking it out in the rain. Alot of controllability issues. Tried to drive it on light snow a couple of times, it was scary.</p>
<p>No Subaru advertisements here, Dad<em>of</em>3, just people who have them love them. Freedom to take it most anywhere, fits alot of stuff, comfortable, low maintenance problems. What’s not to like? We’ll always have one.</p>
<p>I’m glad I got out of SeaTac. I left a day early, I was supposed to fly out this morning. Sounds like I escaped just in time!</p>
<p>We 've driven Volvo sedans since 1986 and have few problems in the snow. You could probably get one that isn’t too old.</p>
<p>“I just saw a funny video yesterday of what happens when (some) Seattle drivers try to drive in 1-2” of snow with some of the hills. It was funny to watch."</p>
<p>Some hills? LOL. Check out the Queen Anne hill. Dump that inch of snow on San Francisco and see what happens. Midwest should be very thankful for its relative “flatness”. 
Of course, these people should not even be on these roads! Thank goodness the storm was a slow moving event, and it hit in the morning, or you could have seen even funnier videos of people bailing out of their cars in the middle of freeways. :eek:</p>
<p>
No - it only helps with driven wheels so if you’re referring to a hill where it’s all braking and worse, skidding, then awd doesn’t buy anything but if it’s a vehicle that has some anti-skid control on a per wheel basis, if could help, but if it’s a true skid then there basically is no ‘wheel action’ happening since they’re just sliding. The key is to learn how to drive down a slick hill - go slow, steer as straight of a line as possible, be careful about applying brakes - i.e apply the gently and feel it out if a skid is starting and if so, get off the brakes. Using a lower gear to help stay off the brakes helps also.</p>
<p>Uggggh driving in winter is so scary - you feel so out of control. That is why I am looking for advice about the safest car…and so far SUbaru seems to be most popular by far!</p>
<p>I’ve got a Subaru and H has a Prius, and when the snow gets tough, the Prius stays home. For one thing, it lacks the clearance to push through more than about six inches of snow. It is quite heavy for its size, with a very low center of gravity, but it definitely doesn’t have the all wheel drive thing going. H loves his Prius, but not at all the car for heavier snow.</p>
<p>On the hills front: learn to use your lower gears (even in an automatic.) And, learn to slow down. I’ve also figured out less hilly routes to and from our home after nearly getting whacked by a car sliding backwards down the hill into me.</p>
<p>away2school, driving in winter is not that scary if everyone around you knows how to drive in snow conditions, so if you live in an area where snow blankets the ground for more than a few days, chances are you will be surrounded by folks who know this stuff. When you get your car, practice your snow driving on bunny hills with no other drivers around you to get a feel of how your car handles in snow and on ice.</p>
<p>[Driving</a> in the snow](<a href=“The Oatmeal — It’s snowing in Seattle today and every single...”>The Oatmeal — It’s snowing in Seattle today and every single...)</p>
<p>Driving in the snow isn’t bad if it wasn’t for those other people.</p>
<p>I was once in Brianhead Utah on a ski trip when it snowed a level 36" overnight the night before I was planning to leave and that was on top of what was already there! Brianhead’s at something like 9200 ft (the town part and base of the slopes - it goes up from there) and it’s straight down a twisty mountain road to get out of there. I had a Jeep Cherokee at the time that luckily had good mud and snow tires on it. I put it in 4WD plus I put chains on the rears despite the 4WD. It was weird because as I was driving the snow level I was driving through was about even with the bottom of the driver’s window. It was somewhat surreal driving in it. I was the only person on the road at that time (it was early plus - a lot of snow) but I drove carefully and slowly down the mountain taking extra care in the switchbacks with a cliff dropoff on the side and did fine getting down the mountain. By the bottom of the mountain it was only around 6" or so of snow which by that point felt like nothing.</p>
<p>So, even though the Subaru owners posting here obviously love their Subarus, probably with good reason, you have your choice of many vehicle models that will do the job. There’s nothing magical about a particular model. I had the Jeep because I did a lot of 4 wheeling (desert and mountain trail type) which a Subaru wouldn’t be able to handle at all since it doesn’t have a dual speed transfer case with a low range among other things. But a low range isn’t needed if you’re only concerned about snow, rain, ice on the road.</p>
<p>I know GladGrad is sick of hearing about Subarus, but I felt it necessary to share the conversation I just had with my husband, who is stuck there in blizzardville. He said that they were telling everyone to stay off the roads, and there were tremendous numbers of accidents. But he just took the teen out for dinner (can’t miss Wed nite Steak Nite, $6.99/per person)…and let the kiddo drive. He said the snow was worse than he’d ever seen it, and the car did great.</p>
<p>^^ I’m not really sick of hearing about Subarus. It’s not a vehicle that appeals to me for various unimportant reasons but they’re clearly good vehicles that appeal to many people and I’m struck by how many CCers have them and are so loyal to them which is a plus for the Subaru and worth noting by anyone looking to purchase a vehicle of this type. My point is simply that there are many vehicles from a number of manufacturers that are also good in the slippery stuff.</p>
<p>Another Subaru fan - had one years ago and loved it. </p>
<p>My Prius also goes well in the snow. We have had some really rough winters in the mid-Atlantic the last couple of years and I drove my Prius throughout. Mine is an older one and I have read that the newer models with traction control don’t do as well in snow. When I got new tires, I also got much better tires than the ones that came on it. I think the tires make a huge difference. Last winter, I was able to roll off over snow and ice that some of my neighbors were just spinning on and they had 4 wheel drive. Agree too that driving in snow involves planning ahead so you minimize stopping and starting.</p>
<p>Driving in snow is fairly easy. Driving on ice is different.
The best car for bad weather is the car that you can afford to be damaged and trashed. A newer car with relatively high value, you will be ticked if you or someone else totals it-and the consequential auto insurance premium increase.</p>
<p>DS lives a couple of blocks from Lake Union/gas works: Wednesday, no snow. But today he works from home-I guess he didn’t want to bike to work.</p>
<p>He drives a beater, 97 Camry. He has highway tires. studded tires (rarely used) & tire chains for when he goes skiing. Insurance for car & 26yo, is $600/yr, urban, ungaraged.</p>
<p>I have a silly question…what is the real advantage of AWD in rain, light snow, and dry roads? Does it help a car hug the road? And is there a true advantage to being up higher in an SUV or is it actually safer in all situations to be in a lower car type sedan?</p>
<p>It seems that the latest and supposedly greatest cars are being pushed as SUV/crossovers and I’m wondering if it is just a new marketing approach of car manufacturers or if there is real true safety value?</p>