how about an old subaru justy? loyale? anything with the subaru badge that is awd and cheap? awd civic wagovan? old tercel awd wagon?
how about an old subaru justy? loyale? anything with the subaru badge that is awd and cheap? awd civic wagovan? old tercel awd wagon?
FWIW, I live in Libertyville and since I've been driving have had five vehicles in the winter, all of various grassrootyness. I rank them like this:
When the Crown Vic had the correct tires for winter, it was actually better than the Volvo and as good as the Nissan, IMHO.
I would take the Saab against anything in the snow, providing it isn't pushing it (less than maybe 9 inches of snow)
Actually we had two maximas that were quite good in the snow or ice. Now we don't get much of that stuff here, but I could always to out of the house in one of those two cars. My nissan truck OTOH was a death trap on the icy or snowy roads without some chains.
my 96 escort was a great snow car. probably somewhere around 90% of the weight on the front tires. You could push the rear of the car around yourself in gravel parking lots.
And it was E36 M3ty.
Its important that snow cars be E36 M3ty.
My 00 suzuki vitara 4wd is the best winter beater evar, but I understand not every one else had the opportunity to get one of those for free.
I hope I can get a new transmission in it before fluffy white stuff falls this year.
I will second a 4wd Grand Vitara 99-03's were the best. Preference would be on the 02-03 because they had teh better exhaust and pcm that gave them 10hp more. The little things are an absolute beast and unstoppable in the snow. Our first winter with it was on almost bald stock Bridgestones and never had a single issue. Oncewe put tires on it? HA!
We had several inches of snow a few years back and we lived in a neighborhood with one hell of a steep hill at that time. I was driving a Chevy Cavalier with plain ol' all seasons on it and I was dreading that hill all the way home. I get there and I see all manner of truucks, SUVs and cars littering all sides of the road, as well as several still on their way up. I decide to try it since I will have plenty of company if I don't make it. Slowly and surely I climb. And climb. And climb. About halfway up a guy in a big 4 x 4 who had been spinning his tires the whole time I could see him shakes his fist at me in frustration, although he smiled afterward. I crept all the way up at just a little over idle and never slipped once. There was a small group of people at the top just watching and they all cheered when I made it up. It was then that I realized that there were NO other tracks in the snow at the top of the hill LOL. Yay for the Cavalier, awesome all conditions powerhouse that it was. 
81gtv6 wrote: It really is all about the tires, just like the rest of the year. Its the same as running and AutoX with all seasons versus something sticky.
depends on how steep the hills are... here in WNC they can get quite steep, and since there are fewer and fewer of us natives and more and more Floridians you need something that can move around the stalled / scared no-can drive folk... and yes the tire makes a huge difference .... had great snow tires on a 86 civic ... could go most places... just not my 9° driveway
The difference between FWD and RWD in the winter is that one goes off nose first and the other goes off backwards. FWD with four Blizzaks. For the win. Just drive my Liberty in RWD = awful. It has Trac-Lok too.
Mid 80s GM B-body. Put a demon winter tune on the carb and drive. Care nothing about the demise of the car. Don't pick something cool. It'll hurt more when it becomes rabid, and you have to Ol' Yeller it.
ford tempo.
they are the winter beater from hell. Everyone has one and for some weird reason, the won't die.
an early saturn would be a great ride as well.
Cheap to buy and cheap to fix are KING!
ignorant wrote: ford tempo. they are the winter beater from hell. Everyone has one and for some weird reason, the won't die. an early saturn would be a great ride as well. Cheap to buy and cheap to fix are KING!
true story my bro just sold a running one that needed nothing but a front pass. brake caliper to replace the seized one, still had snow tires on all 4 corners from its years of former winter duty, for $250.
166,000 miles.
holes in the trunk you fist would fit through.
sweet ride.
Bobzilla wrote: I will second a 4wd Grand Vitara 99-03's were the best. Preference would be on the 02-03 because they had teh better exhaust and pcm that gave them 10hp more. The little things are an absolute beast and unstoppable in the snow. Our first winter with it was on almost bald stock Bridgestones and never had a single issue. Oncewe put tires on it? HA!
Its funny, the vitara on passenger car tires will climb hills my brother's lifted F250 on all terrains and my 02 pathfinder in mud tires struggle to get up in 4 lo.
yet the vitara does em in 4 hi and just walks up it.
And it still gets 21 mpg (4 cyl) and will tow a 3000 lb trailer pretty decently.
I can't wait to get it running again.
+infinity on tires
+1 on light, I find that a lighter car will be easier to control once things get hairy
I also prefer manual over auto, as I can stay in more direct controll
surprised nobody said saab. Built in the land of the Midnight sun, I tried hard to get mine out of shape last winter, and even on worn out all seasons, the car just went
doesn't matter what you drive, invest in snow tires.
I live in Ontario, we get six months of winter per year! Every couple of years I pick up a cheap Mazda hatchback, put the best damn winter tires I can find on it, and drive on. Never get stuck. It was buried over the roof when a blizzard struck last winter - dug out the door enough to get in and warm it up, climbed out the snow no problem. Good snow tires are the secret, not those no-seasons.
Jeep Wrangler 
I didn't buy it for that, but it sure works.
ignorant wrote: ford tempo. they are the winter beater from hell. Everyone has one and for some weird reason, the won't die. an early saturn would be a great ride as well. Cheap to buy and cheap to fix are KING!
My parents had a silver 87 when I was real young. I remember the door handle came off in my hand once. I wasn't throwing a tantrum or anything, it just came off. My grandmother had a black 88 for 7 years. She sold it for a new Lumina when she got a recall informing her that there was a possible problem with the ignition that could cause a dash fire
What you need is something like this:
mad_machine wrote: surprised nobody said saab. Built in the land of the Midnight sun, I tried hard to get mine out of shape last winter, and even on worn out all seasons, the car just went
Best snow car I ever had was a SAAB 96 with the V4 engine. With good winter tires and that flat bottom you could go anywhere. With enough momentum even big drifts weren't a problem.
My car has been the perfect winter beater ever.
'98 Subaru Impreza + Blizzaks = Snow Domination
I've heard people say the Blizzaks lose their magic after only a few weeks of a bad winter, but mine have been soldiering on for a couple of years now, and they haven't done me wrong yet.
Another vote for Subaru with or without snow tires.
I drive mine year round.
Three winters that I lived in Detroit, I drove for my personal car a 97 Cavalier Z24 until I upgraded to the Impreza, and for work I drove mostly Lincoln Town Cars. No-seasons on 'em all. No problem with any of the cars. Nothing stopped the Cav. The Subie is a TON more fun to drive in the slick. As for the Town Car, if you know how to drive it just keeps going too. There is a special kind of fun working as a chauffeur second shift, and heading back to the office at 2am in a 10 passenger stretch with 6 inches of snow on the ground. Empty roads + drifting a limo = win Back to the original question, something already rusted and the drive configuration you're most comfortable with and good tires is the way to go.
Gearheadotaku wrote: Brains, Ballast, and proper rubber will get you through the white stuff. Chevy S-10 86-93 RWD 2.8 V-6 5-spd FTW
I did that for years and only had trouble once - when someone stole the ballast out of the back of my bed!
My 2wd 2500 hd isn't bad with the wieght in it, although carrying almost 500 helped a lot. The 88 turbo 740 isn't bad, just my driveway is an issue and it's a steep driveway. The h22 Accord with 4 iPikes was pretty sure footed.
Growing up in PA and ONT my winter car was a RWD Caprice with an open diff, 255mm summer-only rubber, and it was terrible... but I never really had any trouble. If the snow was bad enough that I couldn't get through it, everything was closed down anyway. Then it was time for a cup of cocoa and a good movie.
East Coast Mojo said: We had several inches of snow a few years back and we lived in a neighborhood with one hell of a steep hill at that time. I was driving a Chevy Cavalier with plain ol' all seasons on it and I was dreading that hill all the way home. I get there and I see all manner of truucks, SUVs and cars littering all sides of the road, as well as several still on their way up. I decide to try it since I will have plenty of company if I don't make it. Slowly and surely I climb. And climb. And climb. About halfway up a guy in a big 4 x 4 who had been spinning his tires the whole time I could see him shakes his fist at me in frustration, although he smiled afterward. I crept all the way up at just a little over idle and never slipped once. There was a small group of people at the top just watching and they all cheered when I made it up. It was then that I realized that there were NO other tracks in the snow at the top of the hill LOL. Yay for the Cavalier, awesome all conditions powerhouse that it was.
Ah, the underestimated magic snow power of the FWD Quad4 Automatic GM. My Skylark was likewise a winter hammer, even good on E36 M3ty tires, and once I got some new, cheapo M+S allseasons, it was a tank. Just get any FWD Q4 GM vehicle and it will be cheap, you won't care about it, it will be dirt cheap to fix, and it will laugh imperiously at winter while others struggle. Also, the heater will fry you real nice. Lots of ground clearance on em too. Detroit knows all about winter, just as much as Swedes do.
There are two things about winter driving, though. One is technique. I noticed people who get stuck tend tiptoe up to snowdrifts. Me I sorta chuck the car at them, so that by the time I bog down, I'm through. Stuff like that makes a lot of difference. Whatever you buy, don't forget to "test" it on an empty parking lot early in the a.m.
Two, get yourself an automatic. The slushbox wins at winter, since it's so much easier to avoid wheelspin from starts. Don't forget the torque convertor doubling your torque from a start, so you can just feather the throttle through snow and it all sorta chugs along. Winter, I think, might be the only time that autos are better than stick. Stick is more fun in the winter, though.
I'm not even sure I should worry about winter driveability anymore. Seems like lately we (in Ohio) get maybe two bad weeks in January, and any other time of year you could probably get by with any car.
+10000 on the Subaru. My friend has a bunch of them. He mounts snow tires on his wagon. We were climbing a mountain in 5 inches of snow when SUVs and tractor trailers were piled up on the sides. All four wheels were spinning and we were trucking.
Apparently, that big bastard will push snow with the bumper up to the headlights.
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