Topic: The best winter vehicle (on road use)

[Fobroader]

I remember back in '86 I had a remote starter installed in my F-150 4x4 and programed it to start in intervals of every few hours then run for 20 minutes. It paid off big time when we would snowmobile into our camps over the weekends at -30. At times my truck was the only one that would start after 3-4 days and I could boost the others.

People who have only experienced fuel injection have no appreciation for the fun it could be to start a carbureted engine. 

"Pump gas pedal 3 times if over -20, pump 4 times if under, turn key and don't touch the gas again until 1/2 second before it sputters, any later and you have to repeat the cycle using one fewer gas pedal pumps until you reach zero pumps, then hold pedal to floor until battery dies or it sputters to a start."  Repeat ad nauseum, etc."

My first car was carbureted....85 Bronco II. Yup, loved starting it on cold days, took more fancy footwork than a Lord of the Dance performance. 

[Snowman]

I remember back in '86 I had a remote starter installed in my F-150 4x4 and programed it to start in intervals of every few hours then run for 20 minutes. It paid off big time when we would snowmobile into our camps over the weekends at -30. At times my truck was the only one that would start after 3-4 days and I could boost the others.

People who have only experienced fuel injection have no appreciation for the fun it could be to start a carbureted engine. 

"Pump gas pedal 3 times if over -20, pump 4 times if under, turn key and don't touch the gas again until 1/2 second before it sputters, any later and you have to repeat the cycle using one fewer gas pedal pumps until you reach zero pumps, then hold pedal to floor until battery dies or it sputters to a start."  Repeat ad nauseum, etc."

Yep, bought isopropyl by the case....lots of bad gas up north back then.

[PJ]

Best winter car I ever had was a 91 Subaru Legacy wagon.  Even with winter all seasons (no match for todays winter tires) it was uncannyingly (sp?) good in the snow.  I would try to get it stuck on purpose and pick the steepest hills just to see if it would mess up but it always got through.  Bonus points for an air suspension that would raise it an inch or 2 to handle deep snow.

Definitely makes the top 5 list of cars that I used to own that I miss.

[phazotron]

Flooding a carburated engine at -25 or colder, lots of fun and way too easy
I always had a screwdriver, pen or pencil handy every time that happened so I could keep the choke open...which sometimes backfired back up through the carb!

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I always had a can of this in the shop somewhere for those times when I couldn't wait for the flooded engine to clear.

[EV-Light]

We've got tons of snow here in Winnipeg and I was able to test my Ford Taurus AWD (Dunlop SJ6 winter tires) for the first time. Works great, you can feel the front wheels losing grip and half a second later the back wheels kick in, I also feel like ESP+TC kick off after power has been transferred to the back wheels. The whole system 'slip and grip' set up actually works better than the Rogue I had before.

I've had my share of experiences with a Liberty (SUV), Rogue (CUV) and I can say that this is the best vehicle I've ever had for snow.

How do you like the SHO so far....its one of my guilty pleasures when it comes to automobiles??

I really love it, I have 18k km on it now and it's been trouble free. I've been to the dealer once for an oil change at 15K. According to the computer I have 93% of oil life left on it, I wonder if I will have to visit the dealer once a year from now on - which will definitely be a good thing for me.

[PJ]

Flooding a carburated engine at -25 or colder, lots of fun and way too easy
I always had a screwdriver, pen or pencil handy every time that happened so I could keep the choke open...which sometimes backfired back up through the carb!

Many many years ago I had a 76 Dodge Sportsman Van.  It didn't really like cold weather and I can remember driving around with the doghouse off and a screwdriver stuck in the carb to keep the choke open and the engine running.   And I also remember a few backfires right up beside me which really is hard on the nerves. Life with an old van with engine sitting between you and passenger can be interesting. 

[Fobroader]

We've got tons of snow here in Winnipeg and I was able to test my Ford Taurus AWD (Dunlop SJ6 winter tires) for the first time. Works great, you can feel the front wheels losing grip and half a second later the back wheels kick in, I also feel like ESP+TC kick off after power has been transferred to the back wheels. The whole system 'slip and grip' set up actually works better than the Rogue I had before.

I've had my share of experiences with a Liberty (SUV), Rogue (CUV) and I can say that this is the best vehicle I've ever had for snow.

How do you like the SHO so far....its one of my guilty pleasures when it comes to automobiles??

I really love it, I have 18k km on it now and it's been trouble free. I've been to the dealer once for an oil change at 15K. According to the computer I have 93% of oil life left on it, I wonder if I will have to visit the dealer once a year from now on - which will definitely be a good thing for me.

I just like the fact its a big azz car, with 360+ horses, awd and its sportish...cool car in my book.

[Angry Chicken]

- permanent AWD.  No slip-and-grip allowed!;
- effective seat warmers;
- effective, quick defrost and overall cabin heating
- easy to start in minus whatever (OK...minus 30 and above) w/o plugging in
- dependable
- fun to drive, even on frozen wintry roads (performance winter tires?)
- manual or manumatic transmission that allows you to select take-off gear

[tpl]

- permanent AWD.  No slip-and-grip allowed!;
- effective seat warmers;
- effective, quick defrost and overall cabin heating
- easy to start in minus whatever (OK...minus 30 and above) w/o plugging in
- dependable
- fun to drive, even on frozen wintry roads (performance winter tires?)
- manual or manumatic transmission that allows you to select take-off gear

Hmmmm my 2000 A4 1.8T had all of the above ( unlike the 2001+ with those damn unreliable coilpaks)
Yoko AVS winter tires and no stability control to turn the engine down.

2003 BMW 330xi ( pre-xdrive) the same provided one turned the stab control off.

Both cars had HOT seat warmers and manual transmissions. The BMW had fixed torque split  of 38%F and 62%R  the A4 of course had a Torsen that was set to 50% each way and could change.  I preferred the BMW way, which at the time was also the Porsche way.

They both has headlight washers as well...a good thing for winter imho.

[5 Wheel Drive]

- permanent AWD.  No slip-and-grip allowed!;
- effective seat warmers;
- effective, quick defrost and overall cabin heating
- easy to start in minus whatever (OK...minus 30 and above) w/o plugging in
- dependable
- fun to drive, even on frozen wintry roads (performance winter tires?)
- manual or manumatic transmission that allows you to select take-off gear

You just described my Forester!  Being a manual, the torque split is 50/50. The heater and defrost work great, the wires in the bottom of the windshield help keep the wipers from icing up.  The butt warmers are awesome. I only use the highest setting on the coldest days, and even then after 5 minutes I have to turn them down.  They get too warm.  Subaru's stability control isn't t too intrusive either.  It will allow me to slide the back end a bit before the nannies kick in.

[tenpenny]

Flooding a carburated engine at -25 or colder, lots of fun and way too easy
I always had a screwdriver, pen or pencil handy every time that happened so I could keep the choke open...which sometimes backfired back up through the carb!

We had a Pontiac with an olds 350 4bbl, it didn't like wet weather, it could be a proper bastard to start without flooding it when you had a cold wet day.


Sent from my Vic20 using Java Moose

[KD]

- permanent AWD.  No slip-and-grip allowed!;
- effective seat warmers;
- effective, quick defrost and overall cabin heating
- easy to start in minus whatever (OK...minus 30 and above) w/o plugging in
- dependable
- fun to drive, even on frozen wintry roads (performance winter tires?)
- manual or manumatic transmission that allows you to select take-off gear

Hmmmm my 2000 A4 1.8T had all of the above ( unlike the 2001+ with those damn unreliable coilpaks)
Yoko AVS winter tires and no stability control to turn the engine down.

2003 BMW 330xi ( pre-xdrive) the same provided one turned the stab control off.

Both cars had HOT seat warmers and manual transmissions. The BMW had fixed torque split  of 38%F and 62%R  the A4 of course had a Torsen that was set to 50% each way and could change.  I preferred the BMW way, which at the time was also the Porsche way.

They both has headlight washers as well...a good thing for winter imho.

Coilpak issues were the main reason I sold my 2003 Lincoln LS V8.  They started fouling up at around 40K, then every few thousand kms after...all covered under warranty, but as they could never solve the issue, I ended up trading in to avoid the consistent PIA. 

My mother's 2004 X-Type had headlight washers and they along with the heated windshield were nice features for sure! 

[Firm]

Flooding a carburated engine at -25 or colder, lots of fun and way too easy
I always had a screwdriver, pen or pencil handy every time that happened so I could keep the choke open...which sometimes backfired back up through the carb!

Many many years ago I had a 76 Dodge Sportsman Van.  It didn't really like cold weather and I can remember driving around with the doghouse off and a screwdriver stuck in the carb to keep the choke open and the engine running.   And I also remember a few backfires right up beside me which really is hard on the nerves. Life with an old van with engine sitting between you and passenger can be interesting.

Sounds interesting!

My 84 Camaro is a fun one to start in the cold....Same fancy footwork stuff. Then the choke will run rich for a few minutes and the car will spit black carbon from the tailpipes all over the ground (and anyone parked) behind it.

[jamie1]

Didn't think cold starts would be a problem in Australia.

[johngenx]

I was so happy that my old Hondas had manual chokes.  (any you young 'uns even have a clue what a choke is?)  The Yank machines with automatic chokes suffered terribly when it was very cold.

[Rupert]

It's something that you can pull out of the dashboard to hang your handbag on.

[ktm525]

The full time AWD with lockable transfer case and locking rear differential on the Land Rover LR4 makes it damn near unstoppable on snow. The "snow" setting on the traction surface selector is just the icing on the cake. In the snow setting it allows a little more yaw but most importantly is feeds the power in so it puts down all the power the surface can take. With good tires you would have to be a complete fool to stuff it in a snowbank. The settings work like magic for my wife but I prefer the setting to normal and the traction control off. 


Oh and it has a ton of heat stuff. The most unique perhaps is the electric defrosting windshield. The heated steering wheel is a bonus and front and back has seat heaters. Land Rover also put in a separate rear heating system that keeps the third row and rear frost free even on -30 days and a full load of heavy breathing passengers.


The Ridgeline is still too FWD bias and it tends to want to understeer. With traction control off you can bring the rear around and it feels much much better. Again it tracks very well on ice/snow and is very unflappable.

[sailor723]

I was so happy that my old Hondas had manual chokes.  (any you young 'uns even have a clue what a choke is?)  The Yank machines with automatic chokes suffered terribly when it was very cold.

People will find it hard to believe but my TR6 always started well in the cold with it's manual choke. Mind you, I'm talking east coast cold not the prairies. 

[Firm]

I was so happy that my old Hondas had manual chokes.  (any you young 'uns even have a clue what a choke is?)  The Yank machines with automatic chokes suffered terribly when it was very cold.

People will find it hard to believe but my TR6 always started well in the cold with it's manual choke. Mind you, I'm talking east coast cold not the prairies. 

Yeah, the british stuff with manual choke tends to do pretty well in the cold. My TR6s were the same. My mom has an 80 MGB with a manual choke (conversion) which she still drives all year round.....This is Toronto, so it doesn't get that cold. But I do recall starting it one morning a couple years ago at -28...No hassle, and that was without a block heater or anything like that.