Ski car?

gr wrote:
I notice several have mentioned manual instead of auto. Is this a
benefit? My Odyssey was my first with traction control and antilock
brakes, which were a giant leap forward for winter driving... so I
wonder if manual vs auto is still a concern.

Much less of a concern than it used to be, the electronics do help quite
a bit.

Terje

(Our last two cars have been automatics, before that we always had
manual trannies. It really helps when my wife is driving, it used to
drive me nuts when she insisted on leaving it in 4th gear on the highway
even when the engine was obviously crying out for some relaxing time in
5th. :-)

--
- Terje.Mathisen at tmsw.no
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"

I'm on my third Outback. It does amazingly well in snow. That said, as
others have mentioned, repair costs are substantial. It's an expensive
car to own - keep in mind you are buying a "luxury" car in many ways
with an Outback. But for me, it's worth the extra $100 or so a month
to know that I can drive to Stowe and not worry about getting
stranded, or go wherever, whenever in winter. One accident with a
Honda and you've paid back that $1200/year of ownership costs, IMHO.
Especially if it's an accident where you are injured and can no longer
SKI!

I haven't driven automatics for many years except for rentals (Mazda 6,
Fusion, Charger). The Mazda was easily the peppiest, but for
responsiveness when needed, such as hill acceleration and engine
braking - and beating the bratty kid trying to slide by on the right
off the light :-) - I'll go with a stick anytime. Perhaps the CVT cars
(e.g., Prius) matches it or more. I'd definitely not buy a Subie
4-cylinder AT.

Gene

On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:10:15 +0100
Terje Mathisen wrote:

gr wrote:
I notice several have mentioned manual instead of auto. Is this a
benefit? My Odyssey was my first with traction control and antilock
brakes, which were a giant leap forward for winter driving... so I
wonder if manual vs auto is still a concern.

Much less of a concern than it used to be, the electronics do help
quite a bit.

Terje

(Our last two cars have been automatics, before that we always had
manual trannies. It really helps when my wife is driving, it used to
drive me nuts when she insisted on leaving it in 4th gear on the
highway even when the engine was obviously crying out for some
relaxing time in 5th. :-)

--
- Terje.Mathisen at tmsw.no
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"

On Dec 15, 8:54*pm, gr wrote:
I'm looking to replace my front wheel drive Odyssey with an all wheel
drive something. Any comments of which might be better in snow or
reliability; Subaru, Toyota, Honda CRV?
gr

I love my Honda Element with Blizzak tires. Even with all-season
radials it is a nice snow truck. It is steady and plows through ruts
and powder with confidence.
Bonus: I can sleep in it, even with a big ski bag. And it cleans up
easy. Non-bonus: 25-27mpg.

wrote:
I haven't driven automatics for many years except for rentals (Mazda 6,
Fusion, Charger). The Mazda was easily the peppiest, but for
responsiveness when needed, such as hill acceleration and engine
braking - and beating the bratty kid trying to slide by on the right
off the light :-) - I'll go with a stick anytime. Perhaps the CVT cars
(e.g., Prius) matches it or more. I'd definitely not buy a Subie
4-cylinder AT.
Hi Gene,
My '03 AT 4cyl Outback does just fine. I wouldn't want to tow a boat
with it, but it climbs from sea level to 7000+ feet as fast as the speed
limit allows. I also get a little over 26mpg. Of course, I get more
conservative in my driving as get older, so maybe the youngsters would
find the Subie unsatisfying ;-)

Bob

Next time I'm back your way, I'll drag ya and we'll see about that
AT... ;-)

Gene

On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:07:22 -0800
Bob wrote:

wrote:
I haven't driven automatics for many years except for rentals
(Mazda 6, Fusion, Charger). The Mazda was easily the peppiest, but
for responsiveness when needed, such as hill acceleration and engine
braking - and beating the bratty kid trying to slide by on the right
off the light :-) - I'll go with a stick anytime. Perhaps the CVT
cars (e.g., Prius) matches it or more. I'd definitely not buy a
Subie 4-cylinder AT.
Hi Gene,
My '03 AT 4cyl Outback does just fine. I wouldn't want to tow a boat
with it, but it climbs from sea level to 7000+ feet as fast as the
speed limit allows. I also get a little over 26mpg. Of course, I get
more conservative in my driving as get older, so maybe the youngsters
would find the Subie unsatisfying ;-)

Bob

On Dec 15, 10:54*pm, gr wrote:
I'm looking to replace my front wheel drive Odyssey with an all wheel
drive something. Any comments of which might be better in snow or
reliability; Subaru, Toyota, Honda CRV?


We got way off topic here, so here's my car-specific comments (most
with 4 snow tires):

VW Passat - not so great in snow or slick roads
Chrysler Mini-vans - surprisingly agile and sure footed
Ford Focus - like a little tractor
Pontiac Vibe - a little better than the Focus
Toyota Camry - best of the bunch
Toyota Corolla - surprisingly good with no snow tires
BMW 320 - helpless
Chevy Impala - pretty decent w/ all season tires
Ford Crown Vic (yes, Police Interceptor model!) - pretty decent w/ all
season tires

On Dec 21, 8:11*am, highpeaksnordic wrote:
On Dec 15, 10:54*pm, gr wrote:

I'm looking to replace my front wheel drive Odyssey with an all wheel
drive something. Any comments of which might be better in snow or
reliability; Subaru, Toyota, Honda CRV?

We got way off topic here, so here's my car-specific comments (most
with 4 snow tires):

VW Passat - not so great in snow or slick roads
Chrysler Mini-vans - surprisingly agile and sure footed
Ford Focus - like a little tractor
Pontiac Vibe - a little better than the Focus
Toyota Camry - best of the bunch
Toyota Corolla - surprisingly good with no snow tires
BMW 320 - helpless
Chevy Impala - pretty decent w/ all season tires
Ford Crown Vic (yes, Police Interceptor model!) - pretty decent w/ all
season tires

gr-
all of the cars you listed will be fine in the snow if you equip them
with winter approved tires. Awd/4wd will be better than 2wd - if
equipped with winter tires. Front wheel drive with 4 winter tires is
better than awd/4wd without winter tires.

The bigger difference will be frequency of repair, reliabilty & repair
costs. The Toyota and Honda products are the ones that break the least
and cost the least to operate. There may be a particular car from
another manufacturer that can compare to Honda & Toyota- but not a
complete line of cars.

I would choose the Honda or Toyota that fits your individual wants and
needs the best and buy it. Then purchase 4 winter tires and 4 winter
wheels and go ski!!

Joe

highpeaksnordic writes:

highpeaksnordic On Dec 15, 10:54*pm, gr wrote:
I'm looking to replace my front wheel drive Odyssey with an all wheel
drive something. Any comments of which might be better in snow or
reliability; Subaru, Toyota, Honda CRV?


highpeaksnordic We got way off topic here, so here's my car-specific comments (most
highpeaksnordic with 4 snow tires):

highpeaksnordic VW Passat - not so great in snow or slick roads
highpeaksnordic Chrysler Mini-vans - surprisingly agile and sure footed
highpeaksnordic Ford Focus - like a little tractor
highpeaksnordic Pontiac Vibe - a little better than the Focus
highpeaksnordic Toyota Camry - best of the bunch
highpeaksnordic Toyota Corolla - surprisingly good with no snow tires
highpeaksnordic BMW 320 - helpless

I have never gotten stuck in my BMW 330xi. Last year I drove three miles
in 18 inches of fresh powder on a very hilly road. I had a big bow wave of
snow coming over the hood, but the car did not waver.

Our driveway has a 90 degree turn followed by a 20% grade for about 30 feet,
again, for 7.5 winters the BMW has made it up every time.


highpeaksnordic Chevy Impala - pretty decent w/ all season tires
highpeaksnordic Ford Crown Vic (yes, Police Interceptor model!) - pretty decent w/ all
highpeaksnordic season tires



--
Andrew Hall
(Now reading Usenet in rec.skiing.nordic...)