Crossovers < SUV's

[roosterjuicer]

We just had a record snow storm last night (over a foot in places) plus lots of snow drifts following. I have spent the last hour and a half pulling several of my yuppie neighbors down the street with my suburban because their AWD CRV's, Escapes and Highlanders (in addition to all the normal cars) got stuck about 8 feet from their driveways.

Its amazing what a high torque v8 and some decent ground clearance can do for a vehicle. That just goes to show that a crossover or small SUV is fine for hauling groceries or taking your kids to soccer practice but when it comes time to do real SUV/Pickup stuff, there is no substitute for the real deal.

[acfsambo]

Agreed, but a proper 4x4 is even better (Defender, Patrol, Landcruiser). No low range, no deal.

[roosterjuicer]

i assume you are talking about the old landcruiser and not the new boat style type.

My suburban and all my pickups have had a 4 wheel low range.

defenders and the old land cruisers are great off road but they arent any good for towing and they dont have enough room to haul stuff so they are out for me. I think a Jeep Wrangler should be thrown into that list too.

however, this morning, i dont know if any of those vehicles would have done me any good helping my neighbors....although i know i would have been able to get out of the neighborhood just fine!

[Ferrer]

Did those neighbours have proper winter tyres?

[cmcpokey]

as an owner of a crossover, i will say that the times it comes in handy to have a low range are grossly outweighed by the fuel economy, comfort and handling the car chassis provides. i have had mine in snow, and it did well (not brilliant) but it never got stuck or had any major issues.

[roosterjuicer]

Did those neighbours have proper winter tyres?

no but a couple of them had chains. the problem wasn't traction though, it was depth.

I agree with you pokey but for my purposes a crossover is highly inadequate. I think the best thing to do is to have a cheap everyday car (camaro) and a cheaper winter real truck (suburban) both my cars combined cost quite a bit less than what my neighbors paid for one of their cars when they bought them.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Once again, I had a tough snow-storming night in a Fiat Croma, no AWD, no winter tires, no chains and no V8 torque.
Even if every now and then I had to watch out for some sliding (mostly when you was expecting it), the car did its job and took us home safe and sound.

I think the difference is made by who is driving in certain conditions, wouldn't be the first time someone thought to be mistake-proof just because he was driving what he thought was the right car.

That said, the honest Croma wouldn't have been so useful trying to recover other cars in that snow I guess.

[roosterjuicer]

Driving on roads, once your moving i think is not that hard as long as you are cautious and careful. sometimes getting going, like if you are at a red light on a hill can be difficult without 4 wheel drive. but that can usually be remedied with chains or good winter tires on a fwd or even rwd car.

but when your just trying to get out of your driveway and the culdesack (sp?) has 8-12 inches of snow in it, all the driving skill in the world wont make up for it

[LeonOfTheDead]

I was thinking more about knowing what you're doing rather than pure driving skills. Like understanding the basilar movements of the cars under braking, accelerating or cornering, and their effects on the trajectory or grip.
I kinda agree nonetheless.

[Ferrer]

In Sweden a standard front wheel drive S80 with studded tyres was more than enough to cross a frozen lake and we didn't have any problems at all to follow the Swedish Rally easily with the Volvo.

[cmcpokey]

no but a couple of them had chains. the problem wasn't traction though, it was depth.

I agree with you pokey but for my purposes a crossover is highly inadequate. I think the best thing to do is to have a cheap everyday car (camaro) and a cheaper winter real truck (suburban) both my cars combined cost quite a bit less than what my neighbors paid for one of their cars when they bought them.

you also have to realize, the only time i drive in snow is when i go to it. i guess when i lived in virginia 3-4 years ago i had to occasionally deal with snow. but having lived in florida and california the last few years, it is only when i go skiing. and the crossover is my wife's. i drive a pair of sportscars that would be absolutely useless in snow. in fact this morning i was sliding everywhere driving in to wok in the 30 degree cold.... sumer tires are a bitch.

[coolieman1220]

8-12 inches of snow in any vehicle is gods way of telling me stay home! We have a steep driveway to get into the garage. one time in about 3 inches of snow i was praying the G35 would make it up. RWD only. turned off my traction, let on the gas kept it around 1500-2000 RPM and it just skidded its way in. more snow packing and it would have been stuck. I can't wait to take the Q5 out in snow to see how it handles fresh powder. Quattro!

[blingbling]

uhh, the title should just be crossovers < SUV's in snow, not in general

[NSXType-R]

We just had a record snow storm last night (over a foot in places) plus lots of snow drifts following. I have spent the last hour and a half pulling several of my yuppie neighbors down the street with my suburban because their AWD CRV's, Escapes and Highlanders (in addition to all the normal cars) got stuck about 8 feet from their driveways.

Its amazing what a high torque v8 and some decent ground clearance can do for a vehicle. That just goes to show that a crossover or small SUV is fine for hauling groceries or taking your kids to soccer practice but when it comes time to do real SUV/Pickup stuff, there is no substitute for the real deal.

Where exactly do you live? I mean, yeah, I don't really like crossovers because they look ugly, but they can be useful. For the most part, unless you always get 1-2 feet of snow regularly, a crossover will just do fine, with snow tires of course.

But don't get my started on the Accord Crosstour and the Acura ZDX. I'm fuming over those two cars.

[roosterjuicer]

Gods country USA...cant you read? Just kidding, i live in lincoln nebraska. do we get 12 inches of snow every day? No. Do we get a decent amount of snow all winter long? Yes.

I think a crossover is fine 90% of the time but there are times when they just arent enough and then you have to go ask your neighbor to tow you down the road to where it has been plowed.

But yeah, 90% of the time out here for people who dont hunt or fish, a crossover is just fine. for me a crossover would definitely not be good enough because I hunt and fish so I often need to tow ATV's and Boats, I have to do a lot of offroading, often in deep snow and mud or across corn rows which will often break the independant suspension components on crossovers (im looking at you honda ridgeline) and I often have to carry a lot of crap and dogs to the point where even the suburban is not enough and a pickup is needed!