awd

New to PA, Am probably going to by the wife a new auto this Sept. We have never driven in snow, from GA, looking at an Outback or Highlander. I think AWD is important but will not really need the 4WD, not going off road. trying to stay around 30K. Suggestions?
C.

You have mentioned two very good rigs, but look at the American SUV's also. GM has a few very highly rated vehicles, as does
the new Ford lineup. Hyundai and Kia also have some very well rated products. Jeep has always been a four letter word to me, so if you like them, great, not for me.
Not much junk out there anymore, but do yourself a favor and buy the Consumer Reports Car Guide and check on Edmunds.com, Autotrader.com and Motor Trend.com.

Winter driving is not hard, remembering to SLOW DOWN when slippery is the key. All wheel drive won't help a bit if you have no traction.

after all is said and done you might find the subaru outback is the best choice....

its symetrically balanced drivetrain is a key in longevity , naturally consistant service and matainance can extend the life many times over.

four spare wheels and dedicated snowforce tires is another responsible need ......

we now have three of em

i have an older gmc safari and matching chevy astro awd vans and they are just fantastic in the snow. cant get them stuck but alas they dont make em anymore.....newer gm's are junk in my opinion....

also the 16 mpg isnt fair

We currently have 2 Outbacks. Had a third, but sold the oldest one (1997) to our neighbor a year ago. We absolutely love em. Nice and compact, but can fold the seats forward and get alot of junk-in-the-trunk. I think the mileage rating is 28 or 29mpg for ours (2003 & 2004) but consistently get over 30. I guess it depends on how you drive.
Just replaced my first set of tires on the 2003 last fall. The 2004 will probably get its new tires this year.

AWD just makes the shocker moms drive faster when they shouldn't -- false scene of security

AWD will not help you S T O P any faster and stopping before you hit something is the key!

buy what you like - then buy a set of Blizzack Tires mounted on a second set of rims - switch on to them November 15th and off in April -- you will have more traction than 95% of your complicating traffic - A pleasure to drive in the winter



Drove my RX8 to the shop on a 1/2 inch of shush and didn't think I would make it - (slippery)
Put on the Blizzacks and the next night in 6 inchs of snow I was driving around the AWD cars stuck on the side of the road

Kind Regards
Sting

Junk in the Trunk---

DVC500 at last wrote:We currently have 2 Outbacks. Had a third, but sold the oldest one (1997) to our neighbor a year ago. We absolutely love em. Nice and compact, but can fold the seats forward and get alot of junk-in-the-trunk. I think the mileage rating is 28 or 29mpg for ours (2003 & 2004) but consistently get over 30. I guess it depends on how you drive.
Just replaced my first set of tires on the 2003 last fall. The 2004 will probably get its new tires this year.

Here is what you need

You must know that here in PA. ,the first snow flake shuts all infastructure down. Hospitals close, police stay home, 3 mile island goes into melt down mode and gov. ED Rendel travels to Punksatawnee to stay in Phils den until Feb. 2 to look for his shadow, if he see's his shadow this scares him into sending more tax money to Philadelphia

AA, you didn't have your pumpkin beer this morning did you? Outstanding video

Where are you going to be at? If you're in town where it's mostly flat and you have access to main roads FWD is more than enough.

Realistically unless you're in the middle of no where with the exception of a few days most people will never really need anything more than FWD especially if you have snow tires/studs, you might have a few days where the AWD/FWD is nice to have......

Most people that have problems in the snow is because they can't stop and AWD is irrelevant for the most part. The only reason I say "for the most part" is because you can use the forward momentum to stop a crash. For example I went around a corner once in my FWD car and started sliding towards the curb. The reaction for most people in that situation is to hit the brakes, mine was to turn the wheel a little more and punch it which straightened the car right out in the direction I wanted to travel.

If "you" think an AWD is important.....look at the Chevy Equinox. My parents bought a used one 2 years ago and absolutely love it. It's a 2007 and had 27,000 miles when they bought it. I think they paid $18,000. It's just a small SUV. For me personally, I want a 4WD. The wife has a Chevy Trailblazer and I have a GMC 1500 Crew Cab. Just my 2 cents.

Ga.--OK,you're going to buy the wife something new--what are you driving--I wouldn't live where I do without my 1500 4X4, or actually, anywhere.--of course this is farm country--I always ask--how many bales of hay can we get in that thing?

What ever you buy get a spare set of wheels and winter tires. We try to push this at the shop, most people say they can go fine. For the most part they are right It is the stopping or turning in an emergency that is the problem. We usually see the people again as they walk up from the body shop next to us with the phrase "lets talk about winter tires again." Day late and a dollar short but atleast no one has been hurt.


Eric

whistlenut wrote:You have mentioned two very good rigs, but look at the American SUV's also. GM has a few very highly rated vehicles, as does
the new Ford lineup. Hyundai and Kia also have some very well rated products. Jeep has always been a four letter word to me, so if you like them, great, not for me.
Not much junk out there anymore, but do yourself a favor and buy the Consumer Reports Car Guide and check on Edmunds.com, Autotrader.com and Motor Trend.com.

Winter driving is not hard, remembering to SLOW DOWN when slippery is the key. All wheel drive won't help a bit if you have no traction.

Not to stir the pot but I would avoid all these choices. Nothing good from GM, ford is questionable. Hyundai/KIa enough said. and chrysler well we won't go there. Consumer reports does not give actual info on 100K and beyond, I don't think anyone does. If you are going to swap your car every 80K then any of those choices are fine, well except for any chrysler, I would not recomend them even if you were going to swap them ever 10k



Eric