I have a Subaru Outback and love the AWD. This is my first car with it, always had FW drive. I have only had one car with winter tires and while there was a noticeable difference I have never had issues with all seasons. I currently have all seasons on my Outback with no plan on changing that. I am amazed at how the Outback just blows through everything without issue. I have purposely stopped on steep streets and then given gas and the car just pulls its way up it. One poster mentioned all seasons on an AWD in the snow made it feel like a RWD vehicle, that is not my experience at all. I have driven a few RWD vehicles in the snow and it can be a nightmare, I do not find it even close to comparable.
Personally I do not think I will buy another car that does not have AWD, I am that impressed with it. For city driving though it is not really that necessary I have never been in anything I could not get myself out of with any previous cars that were FWD. A lot of it has to do with the driver.
+1.
I have the Impreza though I do run snows in the Winter. I've tried to get myself stuck and never any issue getting out... (Slid myself sideways into 1.5-2ft of snow, came to a complete stop, and had 0 issue getting out without any pre-flattened tracks).
I did also notice that you have a lot more control over/around streetcar tracks...
I can only imagine how much better it would be with snow tires but not interested in dropping the money for winter tires when I have never had a real need for them.
Normally winter tires don't cost me much money. I go through a couple sets of summer tires and a couple sets of winters on a typical car. If I wasn't buying winters, I'd need to buy more all seasons. It still costs something as we have two sets of rims and have to store them, but the total cost is damned low over the life of the car (and we get an insurance discount for them so they it may actually cost me nothing).
Thank you all for your inputs and sharing your experience.
My wife decided on a FWD Hyundai Kona with invoice price, and I'm trading in my FRS (no more RWD). I'll be picking up winter tires and steelies soon.
Congrats on the Kona, it's a nice looking vehicle. Winter tires will make a world of difference.
I get 10% off my insurance premium for running snow tires which saves me about $210/yr. The tires pretty much pay for themselves after 4 years + the safety aspect.
it doesn't have a true Limited-Slip rear axle, but an "electronic" one that applies the brake to the slipping wheel rather than power. It is a cruddy compromise and I wish it had a proper LSD for even better traction..
So you have an open diff with traction control...
As a formula 1 fan, its pretty easy to predict which tire manufacturer will produce great consumer tires.I have an eight year old BMW 3-series RWD. I used to have dedicated winter tires for it, but when it came to replace the summer tires I went with UHP All-Seasons and ditched the snows. Why?
- I work from home so I no longer need to drive absolutely every day. I can afford to wait until the streets are plowed.
- The all-season tires I chose are of a new design, and are rated highly. Not all tires are created equal, you need to do research to find which ones are good. For anyone interested I chose Michelin A/S3+ which is classified as an Ultra-High Performance All Season. The UHP designation means that there is a summer bias but the R&D they put into the tire means that the snow performance is more than acceptable for plowed streets, light snow, slush and some icy conditions.
- The RWD car has a 50:50 weight distribution so it doesn't have a featherweight rear that will slide all over the place.
Cons to the car: it doesn't have a true Limited-Slip rear axle, but an "electronic" one that applies the brake to the slipping wheel rather than power. It is a cruddy compromise and I wish it had a proper LSD for even better traction.
If I had to drive every day I would get dedicated Winter tires, but as it is, I find the Michelin's to be better than expected. Technology marches on... All-Season tires are much better than they used to be (provided you don't cheap out), and that you recognize the limitations of the tires.