We have a single friend who owns a cottage and she's been using my wife and my household as her single "bubble" throughout the pandemic as permitted. We're heading up tomorrow, the three of us, for NYE for a change of scenery (she has been going up herself every few weekends, but my wife's work doesn't let us work remotely from up there, though she now has a few days off). Bringing everything with us and not going into any stores in town or en route.
The forecast suggests 10cm fell yesterday and another 10cm is expected tomorrow through midday. We'll be heading up in the evening. I'm sure major roads will be plowed, but the last ~2km just off the main road as we approach the destination may be... Ummm... Dicey.
I'm debating whether to take the Forester or the 3. Basically, the only pros fit the Subaru are higher ground clearance and I suppose more legroom for our friend (not my concern
). The Mazda will otherwise be more comfortable, will use less fuel (and actually has better range than the Foz despite a 17L larger tank since the Foz never gets below 10L/100km highway and likely worse in snow), and generally would be my preference.
With 5.5" of clearance, an accumulation of >14cm would turn that fresh fascia into a plow and the poor undercarriage could make cringeworthy sounds. We have no way of knowing the accumulation on the roads before we get there. Fresh untouched pow also likely wouldn't be an issue so long as there aren't awful tire ruts...
This will either be a huge mistake or an amazing test for the be AWD system and Hakkapeliita tires.
Any thoughts? Am I being utterly and completely reckless to try out the 3 for this trip?