In my quest for something nice to get me through the winter I happened upon this Saab. Appears well maintained with mainly highway miles. Are the resale value of these cars so low for a good reason??
$4300 OBO Saab 9-5 Linear 2.3 Turbo 5spd http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/cto/2517552598.html
On the other hand I'm really tempted to just pick up an XJ and drive over/through whatever snow gets in my way. And possibly go mudding when things aren't frozen...
Saab sounds tempting until your highway dept. can't keep up w/ snowfall, XJ FTW
You in the city, or suburbs? I live in Denver and we get our share of snow. I drive the MR2 year round. I just put winter tires on and I'm set. But I'm in the city. If I had to get through streets that hadn't been driven on yet the ground clearance would be a problem. Otherwise, engine over drive wheels + winter tires and you're good to go.
By all means, go for the XJ if you want, but virtually any car with good snow tires will get you through winter with ease. My Protege with Blizzaks is a monster in the snow. I'm in upstate NY with frequent trips into the Adirondacks and VT in the winter. I've never had a problem.
Snow tires or not, 4WD or not, finesse with the controls will go a long ways towards successful winter driving.
I'm in the suburbs and head into the city frequently. In both the city and suburbs the streets are 50% decently cleared and the other 50% are left untouched by plows. Last winter was horrible. My Volvo 740 made it through everything. Sadly it's about dead and really not worth fixing.
Really what I would enjoy in a winter vehicle is either heated seats and luxury or the ability to destroy all snow that dares cross my path. Ideally in the $3k range.
my winter beater is whatever i own at the time.. made it thru most of last winter in my 86 Camaro with old half worn out tires. that car died when the radiator froze up and it overheated in -30 degree temps.. if the weather got real and i had to get anywhere, then i fired up my 87 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 pickup. it's a beast with the new Firestone Transforce tires on it and you simply will not find a better heater in anything ever built, but a 30 mile drive to work gets expensive at 10mpg..
I live in eastern PA, so we get those nasty Nor'Easter storms that come up the coast, that'll drop 14-20+" of snow. Oh...then as the storm leaves it usually coats it with a nice layer of ice.
The reality is that even in the worst plowed townships, the roads are relatively passable within 24 hours. They'll still have ice and snow on them, but it won't be a foot deep. Pretty much any front wheel drive car driven sensibly will get you through. Snow tires are a big bonus.
Answering the posted question- same as I drive on sunny days in July. A '99 Miata.
seems like a waste of money to have two cars just to get you back and forth based on the weather outside.
I adore my 4.7 4Runner. Mainly for its quiet and comfortable cruising, roominess and all the towing ability I'll ever need but if there's an epic snowstorm, I feel like a god. With the Revos, locked center diff, there's nothing I can't get through. Locking the center diff also disables stability control, and drifting this truck is so easy - turn in, jab the gas and once it's at the angle you want, back on the throttle and it does a perfect 4 wheel drift. It's actually the most surefooted way to take snowy turns with it since it loves to understeer.
I drove a decade or so in Syracuse winters, about half with a 2wd fullsize pickup and half with an 81 Camaro. Both had awesome snow tires. It's all I ever needed.
It is my personal opinion that there is no good reason to drive anything other than a subaru in winter months. My bone stock 2.2l 5 speed awd impreza wagon had no trouble starting and stopping in 16" of dense powder on cheap snow tires. It got about 28 mpg highway in the winter.
You can give them a 3" lift with forester suspension components, or give them a dual range 4x4 transmission from earlier loyales and whatnot.
Also the automatics have an electronic locking center diff, which can be tricked with some electronics to give you a flip-switch locking differential. You can then drive with two feet in some really nasty stuff and get through just about anything.
Also just for fun 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVSQjOSvkPA
The answer is always "Miata". I just put on a good set of winter tires and go have fun !
Lesse... it's been the wife's cooper S on horrible allseasons, my ms3 on awesome winter tires, and my Taurus on half dead mismatched used whatever's the cheapest. None of which have left me stranded.
I'll echo the sentiment that snow tires make any car worthy of winter. I will say a subaru with winter tires is a hell of a lot of fun though.
I always had the thought of "winter beater" as counter productive. More prone to break down when you need it most.
I'm thinking of a beater just to keep the RX8 out of the salt, but the 8 on snows has been a fantastic winter car. Obviously if there is 18" of snow it's not going anywhere, but that's where the wife's CX9 comes in.
My winter vehicle is my F150. But it's also my bad weather vehicle since the top on the miata is like octo-moms mommy parts, trashed. I have a cabin in a national forest so ground clearance is important to me.
RossD wrote: My winter vehicle is my F150. But it's also my bad weather vehicle since the top on the miata is like octo-moms mommy parts, trashed. I have a cabin in a national forest so ground clearance is important to me.
Soooooo, your Miata has also substituted as a clown car?
In the winter? My Porsche 924s. Perfect 50/50 weight. at around 3000lbs it has enough weight. I put 4 cooper snow tires, not all season but true snow tires on it and it is great in the winter.
The key to any car in the winter is getting real snow tires.
If things get really bad (say 18-24 inches of snow and the plows are no where to be found) I use the expedition. It just does not care about snow. In fact with the AWD system combined with the stability/traction control system actually rides / drives better in the snow than on dry pavement.
An interesting side bar to this that with those systems it seems to be critical to keep the tires inflated evenly at all four corners. The manual has different inflation pressures front and rear but I have found that this seems to make the ABS / traction control / stabilitrak systems fight its self. the truck seems to be fighting its self during acceleration and deceleration. Don't know why this is. It may be unique to my truck. If I keep tire pressures even all the way around and the drive line feels more free.
In reply to mndsm:
By the look of the top, it has. 
Stoopid previous owner.
Snow tires help, but all wheel drive with snow tires is MUCH better than front wheel drive with snow tires and MUCH, MUCH better than rear wheel drive with snow tires. I don't care how balanced the car is, all wheel drive with snow tires trumps everything else.
I have a '92 Audi S4 with snow tires. Only time I don't take it out is if there's 2 feet or more of unplowed snow, then the '90 Jeep Cherokee with snow tires comes out to play.
another vote for dedicated snow tires at all four corners on whatever car you already own.
here in the detroit area i have wintered with the following cars: '88 civic '95 integra GSR '96 probe GT '03 mazda6 '03 odyssey
never had a problem except ground clearance in the deep stuff.
Protege with Blizacks for the last 9 years. Before that 1990 Miata with Blizacks. You see a theme here? Blizacks on a bicycle will make for winter transportation.
I also agree with the concept of not having a beater for winter transport; last thing you want in winter is a POS old car that wont start or breaks down on the way to work. Winter is hard on cars.
docwyte wrote: Snow tires help, but all wheel drive with snow tires is MUCH better than front wheel drive with snow tires and MUCH, MUCH better than rear wheel drive with snow tires. I don't care how balanced the car is, all wheel drive with snow tires trumps everything else.
i don't see anyone disputing that; the point people are making is about tires. give me RWD with snows over AWD on all-seasons any time.
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