sigh... just caught this.

No. just no.

I owned a cj7 in Utah for four years, and an Izuzu trooper in Colorado for 2.

While fun, they were an unnecessary luxury. The 4WD capabilities were for offroading. Even then they were overrated. Once after climbing Elephant Hill and getting out to take pictures of my awesome driving capabilities, parked on top was a VW Rabbit. (He probably didn't cross the rivers I did, though).

I locked the hubs and used 4H probably twice in the 4 years I owned the Jeep during winter snowy conditions (and that was because it was so crappy in RWD), and never in Denver (even though the Trooper had self locking hubs). Rain? fahgetaboutit.

99.9% of the time you can navigate safely on snow covered, icy roads safely with any car.

For the 0.1% of the time when you really need 4WD to get through snow: stay home. The lack of experience when this time comes will kill you just as easy (maybe easier) than in a 2WD car, and probably take others with you. The tendency of 4WD owners to behave recklessly in snowy conditions is phenomenal. Seeing them in the ditch after a storm is worth it though.

Sorry, I'm an old fart who's calling you on your fartiness.

 

Well, like for me, if you go to Lake Tahoe for skiing, the DOT will have chain controls and require AWD/4WD (or chains) on certain sections.

So whether or not they are truly needed, in this situation, it's a procedural requirement with huge time savings so you can get past without having to put on chains. Nanny state yes, but this is the society we live in.

(Just like on the bridge tolls you can use FastPass or still pay cash, but the cash lanes have a queue)

 

Driving to ski resorts or over mountain passes in a snowstorm when chains or 4WD is required would constitute the 0.1% of the time.

If my job required winter travel through mountain passes, I'd either have chains, 4wd or both.

Otherwise, I'd sit it out.

But we're talking about driving city streets. Stay home if you're not sure.

 

I know in snow I could get around in the Fit (if I had to) but why? (seriously, why?)



I will also be the first to admit that most of my 4WD/AWD's are recreational toys first and transportation second.

As far as the guy (he was early 20 sumpin) hitting my CR-V, I was under the same conditions as him, and I'm pretty sure my CVT was not engaged, so as far as I know, I was in FWD only at the time, and YES to tire technology..it was my Nokian's that kept me moving and and probably not the AWD?

And YES 4WD's do make the most glorious wrecks, on many occasions I have been given a "Pop Physics Test" totally attributed to being overly confident with 4WD, nothing ever too serious

Whenever my wife starts to talk about selling the CR-V, I just show her this picture....in the end I promise to take her back up to the top of Haller Pass and I get to keep the CR-V one more year!<jk



Regardless of what you like, I will always have a 4WD/AWD around, over the years I have logged thousands of miles of Off-Road use, I do get off the pavement whenever I can, many don't. The occasional snow in town, that just allows me to 4-wheel close to home and keep from having to drive up to the mountains to get into snow that week. Granted I don't do much beyond logging roads anymore, this is how a CR-V was able to replaced a CJ5 (better heater too) Steve244, sounds like you don't have much use for 4WD/AWD, that's cool, I do.

 

Your second car's a sports car (or other RWD)?

It's your only car?

If I moved back out west, it would be tempting. But if I never set tire off paved, maintained roads I couldn't justify one. Your trips up logging roads are value returned. I'm not sure tooling around Bellevue would be. And if Queen Anne Hill ices up you're not going to do that no matter how many wheel drive you have.

In GA, unless you go "mudding" they're just a status symbol.

 

Great video! The little Fit that could!

 

What I meant was, if it snows why risk my new Fit when I have the CR-V, and my other 6 cars are motorcycles!

EDIT: I see what your saying now, I was talking about my situation...sorry, If I only had the Fit, I would weenie out and get a set of studs for it, my Civic went everywhere I wanted with them, hills too, they made the Civic "point and shoot" I'm spoiled rotten, when there is a hang up ahead on a hill, I want to just drive around it, I work in a valley and live on top of a hill, remember.. 1inch of snow/snot brings this town to a FRIGGING standstill, literally. If your one of the lucky ones to get up the hill and out of the valley first, you might get home in time for supper, I got hung up on Orillia Rd S behind unprepared drivers for three hours once...never again!

 

Here is a video showing you how well FWD works in Seattle, notice that it doesn't, you will also notice there is just enough snow to turn it white...that's all it takes to paralyze this town, IMHO the tire technology that works here is called STUDS

Snow Driving In Seattle [VIDEO] - 107.3 KFFM

 

um, at 1:06 is an AWD something or other that slid off the road. Exactly what was your point?

Oh, that Seattle needs more studs.

Sorry. I'm laughing with you, not at you.

edit; I think most of the problem cars in the vid were driver inexperience or poor winter tires (or both).

 

At 0:26 did you see the RWD U-Haul pass the FWD Mini, the video just backs up what I was saying in my earlier post in this thread. That seeing the OP's video of a Fit getting around on the level in the snow is great news for the majority of the people here, but from my own personal experience, FWD becomes absolutely useless for me if I can't get home when it snows while I'm at work. If my car doesn't go forward when I come to a hill, I have no use for it, it's just that simple and the under steer alone is totally unacceptable in my book.

What I did with my '89 Civic was leave the studs in the trunk and put them on as I needed them, just like somebody might do with chains. I didn't need them all the time, but when I did they where the only thing that work for me, without myself ending up in one of those "Seattle Drivers Suck in the Snow" videos. I have friends that don't have any problems with FWD in the snow because their route allows it. All Season tires and FWD for me with all the hills, shaded ice covered valleys, some with off-camber surfaces and roads littered with abandoned vehicles that kill my momentum, all add to the frustration.

EDIT: A friend of mine that's a full time auto mech and sports car enthusiast put it to me this way, it is just his opinion, but here it is...

"you can have an axle that steers, and you can have an axle that drives, but as soon as you have one axle do both, you have just overloaded it's plate" I tend to agree with him, at least as far as driving in the snow with FWD is concerned.

You know how I love photos, here is one of my Civic right before I sold it, great car...sucked azz in the snow without studs

 

I think that gold civic sedan is my favorite of all the civic sedans ever made. The last generation 06-2011 is a close second

 

I would not want to drive a Fit in the snow if I don't have to. It's not made for it. But I did managed to drive it for 35 miles in a blizzard to get home. A trip that normally takes 40 min, took over 3 hours. I have to walk the last quarter mile home. Because my subdivision wasn't plowed and drifts were over a foot high.

The next time I hear a blizzard warning. I'm staying home.

 

You could have made it. I did. But I'll never do that again. Best to stay home.

 

The worst rating for the All-Season Yokohama Avid ENVigor's on TireRack is their snow rating...

I run the Yoko's most of the year, but slap the snow tires on in January-mid-March for the chance of the worst snow...and the traction is twice as good with the Blizzaks in the snow...