Vehicles in the Snow: Ranked.

"mazda616" (mazda616) 01/22/2016 at 23:16 • Filed to: Snow Cars

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I have owned five vehicles in my ten years of driving. Six, if you count my wife’s CX-5. I shall rank their snow driving abilities.

1 (The Best): 1999 Pontiac Grand Am GT1. This thing was a BEAST in the snow. Beast. During the infamous Kentucky Ice Storm of 2009, my Grand Am was the only vehicle in my family that was able to get out of the driveway. I went through foot-tall snow drifts with ease.

2. 2008 Mazda3 S Touring: Despite its small stature and low profile tires, this car was also a triump in winter weather. Several times, I made it to work and parked amongst the SUVs and trucks. I was often the only car (non-SUV/truck) there. Once, in college, I had to go pick my roommate up when his Jeep Grand Cherokee got stuck on campus.

3. 1992 Chevrolet Beretta : Same ol’ story. Front wheel drive, relatively heavy, low power. And more ground clearance since I never got around to lowering it.

4. 2016 Mazda6 i Touring: This car is fine in the snow, even with its 19 inch low profile tires. Traction control does its job without being too intrusive and there’s enough weight to hold things steady. Although, I’ve only driven it in the snow once (today).

5. 1995 Chevrolet S10 LS: The four-wheel-drive is broken. The tires are great, but the truck is small. Six inches of snow effectively stranded it. Scariest drive to work I have EVER had. Made me question any and all driving skills I’ve acquired since 2006. It literally can’t move from the parking spot it is in. Needless to say, I’m perturbed. If the fix is expensive, it’s going up for sale.

Bonus: Wifey’s car. 2013 Mazda CX-5 Sport FWD: Frontwheel drive automatic crossover equals GREAT in the snow. Who knew? 9 to 10 inches of snow with some ice underneath were no match for it in March 2015. Literally didn’t even spin. My 3 was good in the snow but didn't have the ground clearance, so it's a good thing the cute ute was taller.

Laserijk > mazda616 01/22/2016 at 23:47

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My ‘07 Mazda5 is, without doubt, the best car I’ve ever driven in the snow. Relatively light weight and a decent set of snow tires makes for no problems here in the winter in Western MI. It’s better than the AWD Pacifica we used to own, and better than the Volvo S60 even with its “winter” mode engaged.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > mazda616 01/23/2016 at 00:20

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I’m still shocked with how well the M3 does in the snow. RWD, kinda low, performance gearing, ultra high performance all seasons, it’s a recipe for disaster (and I did have a bad experience in another E36 on ice) but I can drive through snow that I probably shouldn’t be able to in it.

Spoon II > mazda616 01/23/2016 at 01:05

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Oddly, my S10 Blazer was one of the best snow vehicles I’ve ever had (and that’s in Newfoundland, Canada). It likely has to do with the increased ground clearance and much better weight distribution of the SUV body. That includes in 2WD mode. The thing was unstoppable.

PNO TECH > mazda616 01/23/2016 at 09:12

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1968 VW bug with actual snow/mud tires. In ‘96 we (SW Va) had a snow like this current one. Not only did my bug make it up my mountain past the stranded Broncos & Blazers, but when I went down the far (rural) side, I was the only non-tractor I saw actually moving. Except a monster truck: that doesn’t count!

JDMatt > mazda616 01/26/2016 at 11:48

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your Mazda 3 looks really nice in red

mazda616 > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 13:42

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Thanks. It was a good car. I miss it sometimes, but I do love my 6.