Best car for Oregon Winters.

MolaJoe · 12-02-2005, 07:05 PM

With our pending move to Columbia City, I'm looking to get something new for my wife. My mom and dad who are also moving to Oregon, are looking to trade in the old Ford Taurus and get something more appropriate for the winter weather. I know front wheel drive is a plus, but what about AWD. Do you think an AWD car like a Subaru is better than a car with traction control? Also, anyone having any good recommendations on brands and models would be much appreciated. Looking to keep it smaller like a Toyota Rav or the like. My mom and dad were thinking a Buick Lucerne with traction control might be better than an AWD like a Ford 500. Love to hear from you experts that are out there everyday this time of year. Thanks in advance!

SPAZZ · 12-02-2005, 07:08 PM

Try the subaru OutBack. You cant beat them. If you need assistance in finding one let me know.
I work for subaru.
No I am not a sales man. But I can get you a good deal.
If you have any question gets ahold of GBS.

Enjoy-Brian

Norski · 12-02-2005, 07:27 PM

What Spazz said you can't go wrong, we have a Outback, and I have tried to get it stuck, and it's like a Time-X watch just keep on going. and to boot 28 MPG.
If we need another it well be a Subaru.
"O" Yea we live in SNOW COUNTRY, than the furance.

ampersat · 12-02-2005, 07:30 PM

I had a Subaru Brat and it was awesome in the snow. These guys have thought about snow and cold. The car was front wheel drive and the 4wd would lock in the rear two. Also, the parking brake locked the front disc brakes instead of the rear drums (which are more likely to freeze up in the cold weather). What's more is that when you turn off the car, it turns off the headlights on it's own (no annoying dinging or other measures to make you turn them off). That was back in '85. I'd trade my 4x4 Dakota for an Outback in a heartbeat.

baltz526 · 12-02-2005, 07:35 PM

my wife has a rav4, and loves it.

fish_on · 12-02-2005, 07:36 PM

What Oregon winters? I come from Idaho originally and to me there is no winter in the metro area. Any car that will run will be sufficient for living in Columbia City.

bllelk · 12-02-2005, 08:00 PM

Mola, Welcome to Columbia City. Sin city of the Oregon Panhandle and ifisher hotbed.
We brought our 96 Subaru Outback from Pocatello, Idaho and have found it will do it all except pull our 5th wheel or the Arima. We clam with it at Sunset Beach or Seaside and it will pull my drift boat. Mileage isn't the greatest at 25 mpg but it does have 162,000 on it. Warren Automotive can fix just about anything on it for you.
Good luck
Fish On, an inch of Oregon snow is a lot worse than a foot of Idaho snow. It turns to ice right away.

FireCat · 12-02-2005, 08:28 PM

Get her a Jeep Wrangler, dont forget Jeeps helped us win a War, Use the Japanese product for mowing your lawn!

backlash442 · 12-02-2005, 08:41 PM

Yeah funny about Jeep which is now owned by the Germans no less.

Many of those Japanese cars are built right here in the USA. Oh and Chevy (or is that Chebee)Suburbans are built in Mexico and Canada. Go figure.

letsfish · 12-02-2005, 09:10 PM

I can speak from a lifetime of experiene. If you aren't doing anything special why change?
Dustin is right

Quote:

What Oregon winters? I come from Idaho originally and to me there is no winter in the metro area. Any car that will run will be sufficient for living in Columbia City.

This is a very moderate and mild climate. You may need to chain up once in while(I've had my car four winters almost five and the chains have been used once) but not enough to justify going AWD or Four-wheel drive. You don't even need studs unless you are going over the mountains a number of times each year.
That bit of black ice on Hwy 30 the other night is a once a year(if that) occurence. And black ice is an equal car destroyer,4WD,AWD,etc. The rule on black ice is avoid it. Ice in the valley usually can be avoided if you wait a couple of hours(or follow after the deicing agent truck

)
Now if by "an Oregon Winter" you are talking gorge or Eastern Oregon.... Then you should have the folks from there pipe in.

bllelk · 12-02-2005, 10:08 PM

The winter before last we were iced up with over 6 inches of ice here in Columbia City for four days. It is a fairly steep hill from up here down to Hiway 30. Drove to work in Portland in the Subaru. No problem.

greenbuttskunk · 12-02-2005, 10:09 PM

subaru outback, hands down. Spazz hooked me up with ours. For a "family" car, it's TOPS!

Cool Texan · 12-02-2005, 10:26 PM

We like the Subaru's....would have bought one, but theres not enough legroom for us except the Forrester...which has no backseat legroom. Nice looking cars though.

fish_on · 12-02-2005, 10:51 PM

OK if I HAD to have a car for our so called winter it would be like everyone else a Subaru, the AWD can't be beat.

The last 2 winters and ice storms I drove a 2wd PU no chains no studed tires and went to Bend and K Falls 2x/month, the weather is nothing to be afraid of you just have to know how to drive in the crap.

But a PDX winter still isn't anything like -40 with 30mph wind and 3' of snow. When we get 4" of snow and 3" of ice it is just getting fun around here.

Quiet Riot · 12-03-2005, 12:03 AM

I grew up at 5000 ft elev in Idaho. I'd rather drive my 69 mustang through deep snow (as i did in highschool) than drive on the ice around here. Luckily it only has freezing rain once or twice a year around here, I just stay off the roads cause the drivers around here scare the heck outta me.

To the original question, I have a lincoln ls with an awsome traction control system (i'm not a fan of traction control to begin with) and you would have to work really hard to get it outta control with it engaged. With that being said it still isn't a good snow/ice car even with the top of the line all weather siped tires on it. An inch or two of snow is no problem but any more or ice and i'd rather drive my 400hp 69 mustang with 12" wide rear tires.

We had a subaru station wagon in ID that was a great commuter vehicle for snow/ice and reliability as stated by those above. If the subaru fits your needs size wise it is a good choice, and much better than the traction controlled option cars for snow/ice driving. But for my family (even living up an 800ft elev winding road above St Helens) the small size and limited winter around here didn't justify the subaru's for my family here.

The subaru wagons/brats of the day would even out climb most all our 4x4 pickups if ground clearance/overly rough terrain wasn't in the equation. I'll put chains on my pickup or studs on the wifes lincoln if i really need to travel in the one or two bad days of winter we get around here. Otherwise I'll just sit on my little hill and have a brew while watching people slide all over the road down below.

jd

Sweet Melissa · 12-03-2005, 05:07 AM

225,000 miles+ on my '93 Legacy, and going strong. Ran great in the snow and ice down in KFalls, runs great in the mud and sand up here. Back seats fold down for hauling relatively good-sized loads, too.

Downside for our growing family is that a couple of car seats in the back will render it pretty useless for hauling anything besides us and the kids.

Smj · 12-03-2005, 05:37 AM

We got an '05 Honda CRV for the wife last December and took a road trip to Utah in Jan. just after the break-in miles. We enjoy the car, one difference in the CRV and the Subaru(We had just donated a Sub. Loyale with a 140,000m on it), is visibility. The CRV is taller than the Subaru. I was tired of not being able to see around, over or through all the mid-size SUVs on the road now. Hondas 4WD system and steering control seem to be as good as the Subaru. On the trip back from Utah we hit black ice at 70mph and the VSA, or me and the VSA(light on the dash flashes when VSA activates) kept the car straight down the road. This fall we had the thing in some pretty hairy, steep, rutty, rocky muddy stuff in the coast range mushroom hunting. As far as I could tell the CRV system was just as good as the Subaru system. Hondas dependability and resale being second to none was also a consideration when we bought the CRV.

Smj

FISHON67 · 12-03-2005, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Get her a Jeep Wrangler, dont forget Jeeps helped us win a War, Use the Japanese product for mowing your lawn!

Our Subaru Outback was made in Indiana, right here is the good ol' USA.

It has worked very well over here in the snow and I think that it would be a good choice for the icy wet roads of the Willamette valley.

Grumpy_one · 12-03-2005, 09:03 AM

When it comes to family safety, I dont care where the car was made. We have a 98 Honda CRV that my wife drives with our two kids. Sorry I cant compare it to a Subaru Outback, but I can compare it to my 76 CJ-5 and 03 Dodge Ram 4X4, and it's a great little car for Oregon winters. Cant beat Honda reliablilty, we havent had a lick of problems with that car whats so ever. Had it since it came off the showroom floor. When and if that car ever dies, it will be replaced with another CRV. Good luck. If your buying new, check out Costco, it was great when I bought my truck.

Orca · 12-03-2005, 09:04 AM

Subi's.

No Wishin Just Fishin · 12-03-2005, 09:10 AM

F350 Crew Cab Diesel is the only way. If someone hits you, you at least have a chance of staying alive.

Chrome Bumper · 12-03-2005, 09:38 AM

Welcome to C County. It is good to have something that sits up a little for visibility. Any of the cars mentioned above would be good, had a subaru once and was not impredded.s. Rented a Ford escape for a month of Louisiana disaster recovery work, that was a decent car. If you commute you will be seeing some black ice. Any car will work though.

At home I have a 160k 94 police package taurus(Let my teenage boys finish off that one when they get licenses) it would be a good one to be in in an accident, wife drives a 160k 94 montero, she loves it but the mileage is getting up there, it seems top heavy, and a e250 cargo van , 150k, also a good one for bumper cars weighing in at 6500# and it get around surprisingly good out in the forest.

If you are commuting to Portland you need something that will go far on a gallon of gas. How far do you drive for a pound of hamburger?, I keep looking at the diesel bug, but honey bunny says no.

Chrome Bumper · 12-03-2005, 09:40 AM

Oh those dakota crew cabs are pretty sharp too.

fish_on · 12-03-2005, 09:44 AM

For the commute to Portland we run VW TDI Diesels, 46mpg 600-700miles/tank.

1pump · 12-03-2005, 10:15 AM

On the way home from the coast yesterday I was chasing a Mercedes E320 4-Matic through the nastiest of nasty rainstorms. That would be a sweet winter car. 'Course, you could buy 2 loaded Outbacks for what one of those cost. Not to mention you'd need the extended warranty for the Benz.

MolaJoe · 12-03-2005, 10:35 AM

This exactly what I was looking for. Great advice everyone. You get force-fed so much bogus lip from salesmen, it's hard to know what to believe. I've owned many trucks, including 4X4's, but I have never owned an AWD, or car with traction control. I know winters aren't that bad in this part of Oregon, but we will be doing plenty of traveling, especially my mom and dad. My mom and dad want to do the 4 door sedan type car, so I'll look more into some of the ones that are built like a tank. Still not really sure if they need the AWD, but if it helps them out of a tight spot even once, and they're going to buy a new car anyway, why not get at least one with good traction control. The sales guy's give us the pitch that good traction control is as good or better than AWD, but hard to believe these clowns sometimes. As for my wife, I think she's narrowed it down to Subaru, Honda CRV, or the Toyota Rav4. I would like something that sits higher on the road though, winter or no winter. My wife also wants a Nissan Murano, but out of our price range. Besides, personally I would rather buy American. It does get hard trying to figure out though, what is made here in the states or overseas, regardless of make. More than likely we will both be commuting into Portland. Safety is of coarse the main issue anytime you're on the road, even in summer. For me, my Hemi Dodge Quad Cab truck fits me perfect.

Costco? Didn't know Costco even sold cars. I'll look into that for sure. Thanks again everyone. Keep the advice coming.

Irish Pennant · 12-03-2005, 10:40 AM

I have a Chev Astro AWD and a Jeep Cherokee 4WD. The AWD is better because its always on and it works. With the jeep I will put it in 4wd after I have slid a couple times. The jeep is better when I want to go off road. To sum it up; AWD for commuter driving, 4wd for everything else.

Grumpy_one · 12-03-2005, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Costco? Didn't know Costco even sold cars. I'll look into that for sure.

start here costco auto

Chrome Bumper · 12-03-2005, 11:50 AM

Since you have a truck, go 2wd rav or crv and save on fuel and maintenance. Not a Subaru fan after 60k in one. If you want to be safer SLOW DOWN. See ya on the commute, I turn at the liquor store/ cop shop.

Pickles · 12-03-2005, 12:39 PM

TDI TDI TDI

Zodiac-Fisherman · 12-03-2005, 01:00 PM

Subie WRX Sti, or Mitsubishi Evo Mr Edition hands down!!!

Chrome Bumper · 12-03-2005, 01:13 PM

Stop it pickles, my wife said no!

MattPark · 12-03-2005, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Since you have a truck, go 2wd rav or crv and save on fuel and maintenance. Not a Subaru fan after 60k in one. If you want to be safer SLOW DOWN. See ya on the commute, I turn at the liquor store/ cop shop.

Slowing down isn't going to help the other car coming at you at 60 mph to not hit you. Other drivers are the biggest danger.

Chrome Bumper · 12-03-2005, 02:56 PM

If you want to be safe stay off the streets. Going slower however does allow you to better see and avoid that car coming at you at sixty miles an hour, and reduces the impact when you meet it or some other stationary object or being.

Bucolic buffalo · 12-03-2005, 04:41 PM

Subaru, no doubt about it. I have owned Subaru's since 1979 and they go everywhere. Not too good for tall people but I am a short person. I have never had to chain one up in snow. Just once on ice to get out of my driveway when I lived on Chehalem Mountain near Newberg to get out of the driveway. With that said we bought a CRV this summer for my wife to drive and my daughter drives the current Suby to work.

Mr. Fisherman · 12-04-2005, 04:11 AM

My buddy and I tried to kill his dads buru many many many times. We had it high centered, stuck. stuck again... stuck again... We were teenagers and can I tell you that when we got a car stuck IT WAS STUCK!. Especially that car... It was so capable off road that when we finally did find it's limits we were usually in for a long long walk. but I digress.
The most impressive vehical I have ever had the privilage to drive on these slick oregon ice covered roads hands down is my Nissan Titan pickup. Lots of room, great visability and if an idiot happens to plow into me I have a lot of metal to aid my cause. I was so impressed last year during the first ice storm encountered when I bought it. I was able to stop much quicker (and without any additional effort or stress) than the other vehicles around me. In fact I was able to stop so fast that I had to get back on the gas several times to keep people from sliding into me. Taking off was the same way. I don;t know exactly how they did it but this truck drives like a sporty car... it is smooth and handles awsome. Oh, and with 305 HP it is fast and has absolutly no problems towing my 22' boat.
I enjoy driving it as much or more than I did my 1967 Mustang Fastback.
No I do not work for Nissan, I am just a very satisfied customer.
The mileage isn't as good as the outback but I sure enjoy burning the gas. I drove all the trucks in it's class and it is hands down the best buy for the money in my humble opinion.

PM me if you want more info...

Fish_N_Russ · 12-04-2005, 09:47 AM

HOW you drive is much more important that WHAT you drive. You can drive the safest car around and be careless and get into trouble very easy. Also load distribution makes a lot of difference in your traction, whether you have 4wd, AWD or whatever.

FireCat · 12-04-2005, 10:44 AM

Get her a Jeep Wrangler, dont forget Jeeps helped us win a War, Use the Japanese product for mowing your lawn!

When I said this It was in joking way, But I will say that you Sabaru owners have a great Ice and snow rig. My wife is a flight attendant and she has been going to the airport in all kinds of weather and she has a 98 honda with studs all the way around. Ice, snow you name it it gets her there. I would say a front wheel drive will get you through about 90% of oregons winters, unless the snow is to deep or there is one inch of ice on everything then its time to just set by the wood stove. The Jeep in the pic is my oregon weather vehicle. the rearend locks up along with the front end. It handles snow and ice great. But if push came to shove I would probably get my wife a nice Sabrau Legacy. or Volvo allwheel drive.

HeavyMetal BankFisherman · 12-04-2005, 02:17 PM

I drive a Taurus with a V8. It is frontwheel drive. It handles fine on wet roads. In the snow it won't go anywhere without chains. With chains on in the snow I can go anywhere. Patches of ice are another story.

Like Quite Riot stated. Those early Mustangs could make it through the snow. I remember driving through the snow in a 68 Mustang to go winter steelhead fishing on the Nestuca in the eighties. Those were the days.

reeldick · 12-04-2005, 03:17 PM

It doesn't matter what you drive in Oregon's non-winter. Two days a year of ice--stay home. Going over the passes---chain-up if it's bad.
Other than that you have to learn to drive in wet conditions, make sure you have good tires.
I grew up in Minnesota and lived in Alaska. This weather is a piece of cake.

wannacatchem · 12-04-2005, 03:30 PM

MolaJoe.....its Columbia City. I don't think the county even owns a plow. If it snows that much your street ain't gonna get scraped until the guy lives above me comes and does it. I drive a Geo Metro with bald tires, never been stuck. Been sideways a time or two, never stuck

uhmw · 12-05-2005, 09:48 AM

I got a brand new f-150 super crew cab - 26,500 $ carrys 6 adults and with the canopy-1000$ more, all their stuff under lock and key- I just added some big meaty tires for the deep snow on the unplowed roads leading to the cabins in gov-camp- Cars AWD start to have problems when the snow is deep, Its not the snow you have to worry about Its the giant snow walls and chunks that the plows make. I remember a few years ago when we got lots of snow in down town pdx the plows cleared every other street leaving about a two foot drift to contend with. Then it froze solid and turned into a wall. I also had to laugh a littel when I encounterd some folks trying to get their subaru up to badger lake

f-150s are on sale now at tomason on 99e. besides you can throw that big slimy king salmon in the back with all that wet gear and not even smell it. Do the math and see how much your going to save on gas by how much you wont be able to do. The smaller v-8 gets better milage but get the big one if ya want to pull 10000 lbs and need 300 horseys for fun. As for a car my vote goes with the audi s-4 with the 310hp v-8 (kids wont fit in it, looks cool and it goes like a bat out of hell in-snow, rain or dry)

FastActionRodTip · 12-05-2005, 09:55 AM

Subaru Forester, hands down...top rated SUV in it's class, 5 star crash ratings, way above average for reliability, awesome traction and good mpg...i got my sights set on one

FishiinShawn · 12-05-2005, 10:04 AM

Quote:

I got a brand new f-150 super crew cab - 26,500 $ carrys 6 adults and with the canopy-1000$ more, all their stuff under lock and key- I just added some big meaty tires for the deep snow on the unplowed roads leading to the cabins in gov-camp- Cars AWD start to have problems when the snow is deep, Its not the snow you have to worry about Its the giant snow walls and chunks that the plows make. I remember a few years ago when we got lots of snow in down town pdx the plows cleared every other street leaving about a two foot drift to contend with. Then it froze solid and turned into a wall. I also had to laugh a littel when I encounterd some folks trying to get their subaru up to badger lake

f-150s are on sale now at tomason on 99e. besides you can throw that big slimy king salmon in the back with all that wet gear and not even smell it. Do the math and see how much your going to save on gas by how much you wont be able to do. The smaller v-8 gets better milage but get the big one if ya want to pull 10000 lbs and need 300 horseys for fun.

Exactly my thoughts, I would def. stay away from the Titans though. My wife is also much more comfortable in the truck, after she got used to the size, because she says it feels much more secure. Not as afraid of other cars hitting her, see much further ahead past other vehicles. Seating for 6 is great. And the salmon blood washes right out the back

Barviewrocks · 12-05-2005, 10:17 AM

Have any of you VW TDI owners towed a drift boat with that great torque? I would be interested in your experiences and capability pulling short distances, up the ramp, and stopping with a drift boat in tow.

Chrome Bumper · 12-05-2005, 01:07 PM

He's got a hemi in his pickup, probably better for towng.

FishinTechnician · 12-05-2005, 01:23 PM

Legacy just received a top "gold" rating with one other mid-size vehicle by the Insurance Institute. Made list of safest top ten vehicles. If you are over 6' they can be a little tough to get in and out of. We bought a 2003, primarily for the wife, and so far it has been a great car.

Cool Texan · 12-05-2005, 01:32 PM

My wife and I are both 5'11....the Outback and the Forrester just wouldnt work. If they made them a tad bigger we'd be driving one today probably.

MolaJoe · 12-05-2005, 03:01 PM

For me, I already have my Full size Dodge Quad. The boat will come later next year. With the Hemi in there, it will just about pull a house. Also, just put on new 18's, BF Goodrich All-Terrains. Dang, these tires sure are sticky. My concern was more for my wife. She hates driving the truck, way too big for her. I'm not really worried that much about the few ice and snow days, as just having something safe for all around wet and sucky bad weather days. We are both pretty tall, so we'll have to get in the Subaru's and check them out first. The 2006 Rav4 is stretched out a bit more this year, and she likes the look of it also. Great input guys!!!

uhmw · 12-05-2005, 03:39 PM

Oh for the wife -get her a 69 wild cat and tie some tires to the front and back bumper. or was that for my teenage daughter? A4 awd 1.8 liter audi miser on fuel looks cute and fun to drive. Buy them used for dime on the dollar. or get the s-4 audi w/ the 4.2L v-8 for a real rocket sled.

Chrome Bumper · 12-05-2005, 03:56 PM

She would probably like any of the small SUV that sit up a little. You can see through traffic and the rain better on hwy 30. My old sube was too low. All the japanese makers make a nice one, front wheel drive will suffice. The ford escape is pretty good too. The mini-mini van type things out??. Then the nissan extera is in there too.

If you want the best then the volk tourag, or a mercedes or porchse ute.

My vote is for the Toyota or honda 2wd four banger. Have her put a couple hundred thousand miles on it and just try to take it away from her.

You always have the big rig for snow and front wheel drive will get you around in ice and rain, if not, then braking is insuffcient and you should not be on the road.

The best thing you can do is get something manuverable(think parking) with good visibility. Check to crash ratings.

Fishen Fool · 12-05-2005, 05:15 PM

I'm old and 6'4" tall and don't have any trouble getting in and out of my Outback, my wife has one too, and if i remember to put the seat back first, I have no problem with her's either.

Waterfish · 12-05-2005, 05:40 PM

Mild winters in Oregon? Depends on where you live. Up here in the mountains near Zigzag where I live we get lots of snow and ice. My wife and daughter used to slide off the road once or twice every winter (ending up in the ditch with no damage). Finally they got Subarus, and I haven't had to rescue them since. Now we have three Subarus in the family. Whether you get a Subaru or other brand, there is no question that AWD is far superior to FWD or rear-wheel drive.

If you live in a part of Oregon that doesn't get much snow, then you probably live somewhere that gets a lot of rain. AWD is great in the rain too! I've driven non-AWD cars and trucks and hydroplaned on water with some scary swerving. An AWD car will hydroplane too, but when they do there is still much more control than a hydoplaning two-wheel drive car. Rain or snow, AWD is the way to go!