What car as a winter driver (That can also transport 6 dogs in comfort...)?

Hello GRM,

I'm going to be moving to Detroit, Michigan from Los Angeles in a couple months.

I'm going to either bring my RX-8 there or my BMW E24 for sunny days, but would like to purchase another vehicle specifically for snow driving.

People from SoCal have no idea how to drive in any weather besides "dry and mild"... so I would like something on the "safer" side more so than the "fun" side. 

Part of me wants to turn the RX-8 into the winter DD because I'm thinking it would actually be an absolute riot with a slight lift and some winter tires... but I'd probably put myself into a ditch during the first week of snow. LOL

I'm leaning towards Volvo wagons, Subie wagons... (I think wagons in general) because I have 6 huskies and will not be leaving any of them behind. If I didn't have the dogs, I would probably go ahead and use the RX8 but I don't think I can fit all of them in that car. 

Price range is around 4-5k, might be willing to spend more but would like to spend less.  Thanks everyone! 

... or with six Huskies, maybe I should just go buy a sled? 

SIX huskies?  I'm thinking you'll need a Suburban.  Or maybe two Suburbans.

A Forrester with no rear seats. 

AWD Sienna?

stuart in mn said:

SIX huskies?  I'm thinking you'll need a Suburban.  Or maybe two Suburbans.

Yeah, I'm thinking full-size SUV. Or, if you can find an early Flex or Acadia/Traverse, they could be had with AWD, though they'd be OK with FWD and good tires, too.

With six huskies, I'm thinking either:

or

With some more thinking, a full-size SUV is probably the only option. Subaru wagons seem to be smaller than they look (in terms of interior dimensions)... although they definitely would be a more fun option. 

I'm planning on buying the car in SoCal to avoid it having to deal with rust, at least initially... Acadia/Traverse prices are still a bit too high here. 

By the way, Suburban or the Ford alternative (Expedition?) for similar years... Which one would you pick and why?

In reply to wae :

Beat me to it with the dog sled. Well done!

Pick a minivan, any minivan. 2wd or AWD, doesn’t matter. You don’t need AWD, because you’re moving to a place that knows how to remove the snow quickly—unless you work at a hospital, you don’t need it. 

Minivan is also awesome because even old dogs can get in without too much effort. Our 9 year old Samoyed with Degenerative myelopathy can get in and out of ours pretty easily. 

Actually, after thinking for two seconds more, you want a Chrysler or Dodge with stow and go. 

A Suburban or Excursion May have more room, but not without removing the seats.  And even then I doubt it. 

I recommend  a Chevy Express Van, maybe with AWD option. With windows and seats or not. 

My main reason for this recommendation is that you will need to make the cross country trek in a vehicle that you can sleep in yourself too.  Sure, some hotels are dog friendly but how many are "6 large dogs friendly?"  

AWD S/C previa, there's one for sale in the $200x classifieds right now. Mid engined, supercharged winter hoonmobile.

Either that or a Honda Element. 

John Welsh said:

I recommend  a Chevy Express Van, maybe with AWD option. With windows and seats or not. 

My main reason for this recommendation is that you will need to make the cross country trek in a vehicle that you can sleep in yourself too.  Sure, some hotels are dog friendly but how many are "6 large dogs friendly?"  

This. You will fill something up like this quick with all those furry friends. AWD is nice but as already stated, do you really need it with mostly well plowed roads? I’ve had two rwd full size vans and with good snow tires I’ve never gotten stuck. If the roads are super bad then I didn’t need to be out on them is how I looked at it. The big vans are pretty cheap in a lot of areas and the interiors can be modded so many ways. Six big furry friends will make even these vans seem small. I couldn’t see them all packed in anything smaller and maintain any kind of humaneness (if that’s a word lol?) for anything more than short road trips.

Van + snow tires + remove rear seats. 

This seems pretty easy.

I'd bump the budget by a grand or so and get an early Ford Flex. They look neat, have room for the puppers, and should be pretty reliable. No need for mondo ground clearance given how well roads will be plowed.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/d/2010-ford-flex-3rd-row-seats/6605308729.html

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/cto/d/2013ford-flex-sel-suv-7/6606932939.html

If your biggest concern is getting them to Detroit, the most cost-effective solution is to put them on a ...

...

... (wait for it) ...

...

Greyhound.

GM B-body wagon with a functional LSD and real snow tires?

mtn said:

Pick a minivan, any minivan. 2wd or AWD, doesn’t matter. You don’t need AWD, because you’re moving to a place that knows how to remove the snow quickly—unless you work at a hospital, you don’t need it. 

 

Minivan is also awesome because even old dogs can get in without too much effort. Our 9 year old Samoyed with Degenerative myelopathy can get in and out of ours pretty easily. 

This seems like the logical choice to me. Minivans are great for toting around a bunch of dogs.

John Welsh said:

 

I recommend  a Chevy Express Van, maybe with AWD option. With windows and seats or not. 

My main reason for this recommendation is that you will need to make the cross country trek in a vehicle that you can sleep in yourself too.  Sure, some hotels are dog friendly but how many are "6 large dogs friendly?"  

Your main reason for this shouldn't really be a sticking point. What would you rather drive in the winter at the end of the trip? It is two nights that he has to worry about it. Now, you could make the argument that you'd be able to sell one rust free when you get to the Great Lakes, but really I'd stick with the minivan and a hammock to sleep in outside of it.

Brake_L8 said:

I'd bump the budget by a grand or so and get an early Ford Flex. They look neat, have room for the puppers, and should be pretty reliable. No need for mondo ground clearance given how well roads will be plowed.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/d/2010-ford-flex-3rd-row-seats/6605308729.html

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/cto/d/2013ford-flex-sel-suv-7/6606932939.html

The flex was strongly considered but for the price, and how the interior is nicer than some other options here, won't make as much sense for dog transport, IMO. There's way too much leather and I think the width of the space seems greatly reduced compared to other options due to some trim pieces that protrude quite a bit. If I were to go this route, I think I'd have to look at BMW E60 Wagons as well. 

As for all the other suggestions:

I think that a minivan/express van are my only "real" options here. I'm planning on living a more "outdoorsy" type lifestyle once I'm in Michigan so I most likely will want to keep whatever it is I buy. To those who have owned/driven both, does the Chevy express van offer that much more usable space than your conventional Town&Country/Odyssey/Sienna? 

AWD would be nice in the scenario that I go somewhere with my dogs where the snow isn't plowed as quickly / decide to road-trip with them. 

Living in SoCal, like most here, I'm completely devoid of having any real experience driving in the snow, let alone a really bad rainfall... So I don't really know if RWD will cut it for someone like me. Winter tires will be used regardless of drivetrain format though. 

Minivan > Express. IMO, the only reason to get a traditional full-size van is if you have 12 kids and/or need to tow something big. Minivan will be cheaper, better in snow, get better MPG, have a lower step-in for your puppers, drive more like a car, and there are scads of them around so finding one should be easy.

One other thing: I'm assuming you plan on buying this thing in LA and driving it to Michigan? If not, please do that. You simply aren't going to find much of anything in your price range here that doesn't have some rust. Much better off buying a clean Cali car and trying to hold off the rust as long as you can while you're here.

One note on the roads here. Yes, they are pretty good about plowing and salting... the main roads. Depending on where you live, your road might not get touched for several days after a major snowfall. It gets packed down enough to be passable, but it'll still be slippery and compromised. Also, if you have a steep driveway (like me) and it snows while you are gone, you might not be able to get up your driveway. Ask me how I know. 

I second Mr. Spangler. Unless you're getting a Quigley, I don't see any reason to go with the full size. 

It isn't like it snows 24/7. I can count on one hand the number of days in the past 5 years where I couldn't leave the house in my Miata here in Chicago. Michigan will be worse (Lake Effect Snow), but still... I doubt it was over 72 hours total over the past 5 years that I couldn't leave, again, in the Miata. Probably about 12 hours total if I had FWD with snows. 

Also, just to keep rolling with the minivan train: I finally convinced my wife it was what we needed. We bought a new one (Kia) about 2 weeks ago. She hated the idea for the longest time. She now wishes we had gotten it 3 years ago (we're only expecting our first child now). They're just so handy to have around, and with the long wheelbase they're extremely comfortable. 

4wd truck with a cap on it.  Six huskies are gonna generate metric yards of hair and unless you want to regularly vacuum and wipe the entire interior surface most vehicles will quickly look like the dogs that are riding in them.  With a capper on a truck they are in their own weathertight compartment.

KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:

4wd truck with a cap on it.  Six huskies are gonna generate metric yards of hair and unless you want to regularly vacuum and wipe the entire interior surface most vehicles will quickly look like the dogs that are riding in them.  With a capper on a truck they are in their own weathertight compartment.

Too hot in the summer and for most of the trip east.