Topic: Worst Winter Car?

[Bubba]

So do our readers or expert auto contributors have an opinion as to which is the BEST vehicle for winter driving ?                            With or without winter tires.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

 

Aside from the Bombardier, 2008 Subaru Outback Touring with the manual transmission and limited slip differential.

[saint_satan]

Believe it or not, my worst winter driver was a '97 Honda Civic Si.  Admittedly , I only had all-season tires but the low ground clearence and the crappy Bridgestone Duelers meant the thing would barely budge in more than 5cm of snow.  At least my '84 Camaro could power through the snow drifts when I go it going.  It was total crap too.  My '87 Tempo was actually pretty good.  The '97 Civic was my last 2 wheel drive car.

The best I had, around town, was a 1st gen CR-V.  Not much on the trail, but I found it a lot more planted than my Cherokee.  While the Cherokee that can handle deeper slow and mud, the shorter wheel base and higher centre of gravity of the Cherokee means it likes to shimmy a bit laterally.  The CR-V always went were it was pointed. Probably has a lot to do with the 215s vs. the 235's I have on the Cherokee.

[Railton]

An MGB? My brother had one that couldn't cope with English weather, never mind real snow!

I drove my 1969 MGB through a couple of Winters here. Wasn't too bad. Now the 240z I had just outright refused to start when cold. Hands down, the owrst cold weather starting car I've ever owned.
Railton

[Flinter]

I think johngenx hit the nail on the head with a 2-wheel drive pickup.  Thats the winner.

 I totally agree. Winter traction was something you could only dream about in my father-in-law's '77 Datsun pickup. That thing was beyond scary on snow and ice,  even with winter tires and a couple of hundred pounds of sandbags in the back. Other than that, it was actually an amazingly useful and likeable little truck.

I had a 2wd Ranger and Toyota pickup. Both had studded snows and about 50kg of weight in the back. If it was snowing a lot, I'd let the snow accumulate for a bit more weight in the back. I also had a set of chains, just in case.

I've got to agree with the 2WD pickup. Not pleasent unless you had good tires and weight in the rear. Back home in NL nearly everyone drove a truck and in winter you just threw a old Ski-doo Elan in the bed. The Elan was affectionately known as "the dozen" back in NL since it had a 12hp motor. If you got the truck stuck badly you just drive the dozen home. 

http://www.snowgoer.com/output.cfm?id=1815805

1971 Ski-Doo Élan
Manufacturer: Bombardier Ltd., Valcourt, Québec
Powertrain Specs
Engine: Rotax Type 247 radial fan-cooled, piston-port single
Displacement: 246.8cc
Carburetion: One Tillotson HR73A diaphragm pumper
Compression Ratio: 7.5 to 1
Ignition: Magneto and breaker points
Lubrication: Pre-mix at 20:1
Power Output: 12 hp
Exhaust: Single pipe with muffler
Drive Clutch: Bombardier Round Shaft
Driven Clutch: Bombardier
Chassis Specs
Type: Welded and painted steel chassis with steel stirrups and bumpers; polycarbonate cowl
Weight: Claimed 246 pounds dry
Front Suspension: Mono-leaf springs
Ski Stance: 23 inches
Rear Suspension: Three sets of three bogie wheels with torsion springs
Track: 15- by 114-inch 3-ply molded rubber with steel reinforcing rods
Brake: Pivoting arm drum type on driven clutch pulley
Fuel Capacity: 4.4 U.S. gallons
Standard Equipment: Decompression switch (for starting), rear storage compartment, safety reflectors, electric start on 250E
Price: $595 manual start, $695 electric start, MSRP excluding freight and other charges

[kard00d]

Believe it or not, my worst winter driver was a '97 Honda Civic Si.  Admittedly , I only had all-season tires but the low ground clearence and the crappy Bridgestone Duelers meant the thing would barely budge in more than 5cm of snow.  At least my '84 Camaro could power through the snow drifts when I go it going.  It was total crap too.  My '87 Tempo was actually pretty good.  The '97 Civic was my last 2 wheel drive car.

The best I had, around town, was a 1st gen CR-V.  Not much on the trail, but I found it a lot more planted than my Cherokee.  While the Cherokee that can handle deeper slow and mud, the shorter wheel base and higher centre of gravity of the Cherokee means it likes to shimmy a bit laterally.  The CR-V always went were it was pointed. Probably has a lot to do with the 215s vs. the 235's I have on the Cherokee.

I found my Cherokee extremely planted, so the CRV must have really good.  I had the 242 xfer case with full-time and a limited slip so it was a beast in snow and on the road along with good snow tires.   Foot of snow no problem.

The Cherokee is longer and has lower CoG than Wrangler, thanks to the unibody.

I would think all the modern CUVs with ESP and traction control must be pretty good winter.

[blur911]

I've got to agree with the 2WD pickup. Not pleasent unless you had good tires and weight in the rear. Back home in NL nearly everyone drove a truck and in winter you just threw a old Ski-doo Elan in the bed. The Elan was affectionately known as "the dozen" back in NL since it had a 12hp motor. If you got the truck stuck badly you just drive the dozen home. 

Ha, I remember doing that with my dad's old F150 and a TNT340 back in northern NB when I was a teenager. You either had a snowmobile or a lobster crate full of rocks in back of a pickup. 

Now they usually don't get enough snow to bother.

[tenpenny]

I drove a rental Mustang back in 1988 through the winter...drove from F'ton to Saint John in a snowstorm, and discovered when I got home that the highway was closed when I went on it (which explained why the roads weren't plowed very well)...as SirOsis can attest, driving that road when it isn't plowed, up the hills, in a rwd rental (and therefore all season tires) was certainly an experience.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I drove a rental Mustang back in 1988 through the winter...drove from F'ton to Saint John in a snowstorm, and discovered when I got home that the highway was closed when I went on it (which explained why the roads weren't plowed very well)...as SirOsis can attest, driving that road when it isn't plowed, up the hills, in a rwd rental (and therefore all season tires) was certainly an experience.

That must have been a LONG drive. The Petersville hill was always a PITA at the best of times.

I only had to break out the chains twice on the highway, once was on the Petersville hill, once was on the Hanwell road heading towards Harvey.

[Mike]

Yeah, any D vehicle on all-seasons or summers would be no good.  A Miata without winters is a nightmare and even with winters its low ground clearance makes it not a good choice in London right now.

2WD pick-up and Jeep are winners.  New Mustang GT and Camaro SS can't be great even with snows.

[evil_twin]

Drove my old 2005 Mustang GT for 5 winters on Blizzak tires and, though not 'great', you could get around.

Vmango and I even survived a godawful drive through a blizzard on the way to Collingwood one winter in that thing.  Not an experience to repeat.

HOWEVER, it was 1000% better than the old GMC Sierra 2WD pickup I had in university.  That thing had semi-worn all-season tires and was AWFUL in the winter.  2WD Pickups definitely get my vote.

[Mike]

Drove my old 2005 Mustang GT for 5 winters on Blizzak tires and, though not 'great', you could get around.

Vmango and I even survived a godawful drive through a blizzard on the way to Collingwood one winter in that thing.  Not an experience to repeat.

HOWEVER, it was 1000% better than the old GMC Sierra 2WD pickup I had in university.  That thing had semi-worn all-season tires and was AWFUL in the winter.  2WD Pickups definitely get my vote.

Your drive sounds like mine two winters ago.  I was at a family dinner for my girlfriends on December 23rd 2008 in Mississauga.  It snowed all evening and night (about 25cm).  I had to be home in Markham for a 11AM brunch with my family on the 24th.  I left at 1AM in my RX-8 (with snows) and drove home.  It was the most white knuckled drive of my life.  The snow ruts on the 427/401/400/407 left by the transport trucks were so deep my car was dragging its rear suspension the whole time.  The car was basically trying to lift it's rear tires off the ground as I drove.  Any application of the gas over 60KM/H sent the tail sideways and the traction control light on.

[aaronk]

A military-spec Deuce and a half has got to be one of the worst. Despite 6-wheel-drive, the solid rubber tires freeze and basically turn into blocks of ice, making it all but an out-of-control freightrain on wheels. That being said, I'm sure an original VW Beetle would come pretty close to being the worst. If you were referring to cars you could go out and buy on a lot today, I'd have to say a Pagani Zonda, Gumpert Apollo, or any of the other insane RWD supercars. What do they average, like 0.5" ground clearance and track-rated slicks? Most every other 'average' car is fine in the winter with a set of snows.

[ovr50]

The older 2WD pick-ups are probably the worst there is for winter driving; but I can recall a couple of others I had that were problems in winter as well. Such as, the 1968 Ford LTD hardtop w a 390/4bbl. Even with winter tires on the back (only did 2 winters in those days) and some weight in the trunk it was a handfull in snow and ice, mainly due to a huge front end weight bias with that big engine/too much power. I also briefly had a '67 Mustang w the 6cyl which I bot exclusively as a winter driver. Not sure what I was thinking, as it was a POS as a winter car. 

[Schmengie]

  The lightly-built rear-drive econoboxes back then were even worse. I had a '67 Renault R10 that was a hairy handful on anything but dry pavement. That was by far the worst winter car I've ever owned. My '76 Datsun B210 was a close second followed by my '78 Mazda GLC. I had to load the trunk with sandbags to get any semblance of traction in those vehicles. The winter tires of the day were only slightly better than useless.

[Bubba]

I'm sure an original VW Beetle would come pretty close to being the worst.

I had winter tires on my '75 Beetle and it was unstoppable.  A great winter car, despite the lack of heat.

[johngenx]

I had winter tires on my '75 Beetle and it was unstoppable.  A great winter car, despite the lack of heat.

My Dad had a '57, and I think that the car could actually decrease the ambient temperature.  An outside temp of -20C meant -40C inside the car...

[safristi]

  Isn't that like a great Girlfriend except for the lack of a **gina.............

[Mike]

No real windows or roof.....465lb-ft driving the rear steamrollers tires

[aaronk]

No real windows or roof.....465lb-ft driving the rear steamrollers tires

Man, forgot how much I liked the shape of the original Viper. A winter car it is not, but it sure is a looker.