Winter beater SUV with AWD or full-time 4WD?

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein) 10/14/2013 at 16:59 • Filed to: None

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This summer I got rid of my prematurely rusting Mazdaspeed 6 and leased a BMW 135is. Which is not rusting.

Now here's the thing: I live in Madison, WI. We get lots of snow. I started looking at my options for a winter wheel & tire combo, and they're not terribly expensive, but I got to thinking that I could get a whole winter beater for not much more money than the cost of a set of winter tires & wheels. The city lays down mass quantities of salt on the roads to melt this snow. Sometimes in February or March the city completely runs out of salt, doesn't have the money to buy more, and starts dumping sand on the roads instead. None of which is going to keep the 135is in particularly nice condition, and I might want to buy it at the end of the lease.

My criteria are pretty straightforward:

Budget - $3500 tops

SUV or crossover - yeah yeah I know a regular car with snow tires is fine but I figure if I can get something with good ground clearance, maybe some towing capability, and already has trucky tires on it, that's more useful to me than getting something at regular-car height and buying snow tires for it.

Full-time 4WD or AWD - I'm not going off-roading. I want something that has an actual center differential and can move power around front-to-back while on snowy/icy roads. Limited slip diffs are even better.

Heated seats would be lovely. It's cold here.

So far I've found this '01 Infini QX4 with 180k+ miles. Unlike the Nissan Pathfinder of similar vintage it has 4WD Auto which is what I'm looking for.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/…

Any other ideas?

MonkeePuzzle > Textured Soy Protein 10/14/2013 at 17:01

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I'd usually say subaru, but I'm not sure that will meet your size requirements. Perhaps the Forester? Or is that too small?

HammerheadFistpunch > Textured Soy Protein 10/14/2013 at 17:02

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I would say subi, unless you need the capability of a truck. My experience has shown that the low CG makes them much better in the snow than taller suvs, plus they usually have VC LSD's in the center and rear for extra traction.

Nibby > Textured Soy Protein 10/14/2013 at 17:03

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Go with 4WD or Subaru AWD... I'd usually recommend Audi Quattro but for $3500 you're going to have a terrible Audi (in terms of maintenance).

hangus77 > Textured Soy Protein 10/14/2013 at 17:03

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You could get a manny-tranny Nissan Xterra for cheepsies:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/…

J. Walter Weatherman > hangus77 10/14/2013 at 17:06

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Those are part time 4wd. There is no center diff, so when you put it into 4high, the center is locked, so you have to be on a lose surface or you will get binding in the drivetrain during turns.

J. Walter Weatherman > HammerheadFistpunch 10/14/2013 at 17:06

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Seconded.

Textured Soy Protein > hangus77 10/14/2013 at 17:07

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What kind of 4WD system does the Xterra have? I want something that can basically function in AWD.

Textured Soy Protein > HammerheadFistpunch 10/14/2013 at 17:08

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I don't *absolutely* need the capability of a truck, but we do get pretty deep snow here so the extra ground clearance is useful. Also both I and friends have been in situations where an AWD car with snow tires has gotten high-centered and we were able to get it out using someone's 4x4 truck.

Textured Soy Protein > Nibby 10/14/2013 at 17:09

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Yes, my thoughts exactly re: Audis in that price range.

Textured Soy Protein > MonkeePuzzle 10/14/2013 at 17:09

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Not necessarily too small but I kinda would like to have truck-ish towing capacity.

hangus77 > Textured Soy Protein 10/14/2013 at 17:10

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It is part time with electronic locking rear diff, so maybe not what you are looking for totally. Prolly shitty on gas too...

HammerheadFistpunch > Textured Soy Protein 10/14/2013 at 17:11

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I've driven through some pretty deep snow in my forester. 8.9 inches of clearance is .2 inches off a 4x4 xterra...for reference.

Textured Soy Protein > HammerheadFistpunch 10/14/2013 at 17:14

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It's definitely an option...I guess depends on how much I end up wanting the ability to help friends out of tough spots without calling a tow truck. Deep snow can sneak up on folks and when we get a bad storm the response times for tow trucks around here can get pretty abysmal. Towing a friend out of a snow bank earns many beers in return!

HammerheadFistpunch > Textured Soy Protein 10/14/2013 at 17:31

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Im not trying to talk you out of a truck, but if you value driving dynamics in the snow, the subi is the better bet, if you need a truck for whatever reason...then go with it, just stick to skinny tires if you can.

Takuro Spirit > Textured Soy Protein 10/14/2013 at 18:15

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Buy my Camry. I'm in Milwaukee.

/nothelping

/includessnowtires

/isstick

Textured Soy Protein > HammerheadFistpunch 10/14/2013 at 18:57

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The main driving dynamic I care about in the snow is not getting stuck. ;)

Neither a truck-based SUV nor a Forester is going to be particularly close to my 135is in fun-to-driveness. I'm perfectly happy to plod along through the snow in a truck as long as I'm not getting stuck. I don't want anything particularly huge, but when the weather turns bad I don't care so much about driving dynamics as I do about being able to get to work, the grocery store, or helping out friends who are stuck.

HammerheadFistpunch > Textured Soy Protein 10/14/2013 at 19:03

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Well, I can only talk to my experience which is this

my previous 2005 forester xt 5 speed with Pilot sport AS tires. AMAZING in the snow, stable, confident, fun and never stuck once even in 2 foot drifts. and this

My current EXTREMELY capably land cruiser with meaty 33's and locking diffs. Terrible on road snow driving ability (plows like a pig) but will take you off-road where ever you want to go. Seriously, you wont get stuck in a forester (more GC than the infiniti you were looking at btw at 8.3 for the QX and 8.9 for the forester)

Different strokes and all that, but in terms of which is i feel more confident driving 300 miles in a snow storm in? Forster, hands down.

MonkeePuzzle > Textured Soy Protein 10/14/2013 at 19:04

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fair enough, if its about towing and not just mass of vehicle. seems to me that jeeps are a dime a dozen, perhaps an older cherokee?

Textured Soy Protein > MonkeePuzzle 10/14/2013 at 20:02

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I looked at some Grand Cherokees but trying to figure out all the versions of 4x4 they come in has me stumped. Some are definitely full time. Not sure about the regular Cherokee though.

Textured Soy Protein > HammerheadFistpunch 10/14/2013 at 20:06

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Hmm very interesting. I definitely looked at Foresters but the only ones I found in my price range were base models in kinda rough shape. Might have to keep looking.

Speaking of Land Cruisers, I actually did find a '96 that looked a little rough around the edges but kinda piqued my interest. They were asking $4500 though.

Aaron Brown > Textured Soy Protein 10/14/2013 at 22:41

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My father had two Pathfinders and one QX4, all that same age group, and they all died at around 180,000 miles. They're cool cars before they die, but just be careful.

Textured Soy Protein > Aaron Brown 10/15/2013 at 18:03

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Were they '01-up? They got the VQ35 starting in '01 and I was mostly looking at those so as to at least be sorta kinda not slow.

ninequattroquattro > MonkeePuzzle 10/18/2013 at 13:03

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Find a Cherokee (XJ) or Grand Cherokee (ZJ or WJ) with an all time transfer case can be difficult.

Look for "4wd Full Time" on the transfer case bezel. It is more often found on upper level trim (limited) packages.

Stormyshore > Textured Soy Protein 09/13/2014 at 09:45

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I love my 2001 QX4, was great in the Chicago blizzard, good clearance too. Many cars could not get up the expressway ramps. 155,000 miles. Last Jan. when all flights were canceled due to snow, we drove the Infiniti to Florida, about the only SUV on the road that didn't get stuck or run off in the ditch. Not good gas mileage but a lovely SUV, wish they still made them.

Stormyshore > Textured Soy Protein 09/13/2014 at 09:45

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I love by 2001 QX4, was great in the Chicago blizzard, good clearance too. Many cars could not get up the expressway ramps. 155,000 miles. Last Jan. when all flights were canceled due to snow, we drove the Infiniti to Florida, about the only SUV on the road that didn't get stuck or run off in the ditch. Not good gas mileage but a lovely SUV, wish they still made them.

Stormyshore > Textured Soy Protein 09/13/2014 at 09:45

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I love by 2001 QX4, was great in the Chicago blizzard, good clearance too. Many cars could not get up the expressway ramps. 155,000 miles. Last Jan. when all flights were canceled due to snow, we drove the Infiniti to Florida, about the only SUV on the road that didn't get stuck or run off in the ditch. Not good gas mileage but a lovely SUV, wish they still made them.