Better winter vehicle for Colorado mountains.

[EBBS_03_Cobra]

lol.. I watched my mom get owned by two inches of snow in her old GTO. We had to leave it in a Walmart for a few hours before we could get it back home. I was the only person outside washing the underside of a car in the middle of winter that day.

You're in CO, get used to snow, and get a 4X4.

 

[jfsram]

I drive a snow tire equiped Mustang in the winter but this is Ontario Canada.

It makes it a 90% better car in the snow than a Mustang with summer performance tires but it's still limited by ground clearance. Which truthfully is only a problem on an unplowed road right after a snow storm. Not a common occurance.

I do it and deal with it. Just for the fact you have some concern over it. Get a front wheel drive with 4 snows and be done with it.

Engine braking is seriously overrated. Unless you are dealing with an extremely steep hill you just brake, coast to cool brakes, brake and repeat. Engine braking barely pulls speed out unless you pull it into a gear low enough to rev the snot out of it.

 

[ZincGT]

There is a reason behind why so many mustang owners put their cars away for the winter........

 

[pho_phizzat]

Dude get a subaru or a evo/ralliart or even a jetta, they are awd, youll see alot of them in CO, but they are awesome in snow and very economical,

i used to drive my old mustang in the winter here, wyoming, with studded tires and sand in the trunk, its wasnt bad at all, i used it to commute 120 miles each way to work all through the winter on a back highway that never got plowed and it was fine,

now the stranger being 2wd make sure you have alot of weight in the back, maybe an old engine block or my ex wifes mother,

 

[04SVTF]

Lived in CO my whole life. RWD 2wd is a bad idea IMO. Been stuck many of times. Just get an older jeep or 4wd ranger.

 

[Niks97cobra]

Get a 4wd. I love my 4wd Explorer. We don't get much snow down here, but I feel much safe even in the rain in the Explorer compared to my Cobra with nittos.

 

[THE_STIG]

Out of those two terrible choices, the truck. Makes more sense putting weight in the back because it has a bed designed for it, plus you get the added ground clearance.

 

[Tractorman]

Ford Escapes are retarded awesome in the snow. I would even say it's better than my 4wd Ranger, although it still has shitty tires on it. You can also find 01-06's for dirt cheap, get pretty good fuel economy, and they're pretty sporty to drive for an SUV.

 

[Rotzs99]

After about 16 inches of the fluffy stuff fell yesterday I decided to test out the new tires and added weight. With 360lbs of bags over the axle, I got stuck once right in front of my house. If my right rear wheel gets stuck it's all over. Had to put it in drive and get out and just push. Otherwise it did pretty well once moving

Needless to say, there is no way I'm taking this thing up the mountain on powder days. I'm seriously on the lookout for a 4x4 Exploder.

 

[sunburned]

4wd jeep cherokee. its an awesome DD

Bingo. They are a dime a dozen and fun to mod/drive, especially if you live out west. See sig for details.



I just saw your above post. Screw an explorer, seriously get a Cherokee. 97-98 are the best ones. Don't get ABS because the rear axle sucks.

You'd be absolutely amazed at the stuff I've seen a stock cherokee go through offroad. I'm talking rocks, streams, mud, etc.

 

[swoosh_stang]

Frankly man, both of those vehicles suck for daily driving in the mountains in the winter.

 

[Black Sex]

suzuki samurai. awsome for 4wheeling or daily driving in the city. good gas milage. Ive had 3 of those. Or a toyota truck/4runner. Had both of those. Tough drivetrain, dependable, and good on gas

 

[Black Sex]

you obviously know what its like to drive in the snow. now add hills into that factor. I live right where Iowa, Nebraska, and S. Dakota meet and it is real hilly here. 4x4 is the best thing to have. Flat ground is ok to have just fwd or rwd, but our city is so hilly it sucks and you almost need 4x4

 

[gnats]

Between the 2 of those, I would choose a subaru. Forester, or outback. More reliable, awd, better on gas, more reliable, last longer

 

[capnkirk52]

Listen to everyone else on here... At the very least get something with Front Wheel drive, but AWD/4x4 is the way to go.

 

[T-Bolt]

AWD Explorer FTW. I loved mine in the snow. I hate to sell it, but I need space for the new car. Make sure to get the 5.0, because it will run FOREVER. My 2000 has almost 200k on it, and the only thing wrong right now is the A/C needs recharging (keeps coming on and shutting off when any climate control is on) and the original power steering pump is starting to whine. I love them, and if I needed another DD, I'd buy one.

 

[fiveohhhstang]

I have driven my Mustang GT through 5 Montana winters. I have a set of studded snow tires for it and it works great for me. I don't understand the people who think you HAVE to have 4wd in the snow. I've never had an issue, and we get PLENTY of snow.

I had a 2wd truck in high school and even with snow tires and sand bags in the back it sucked. I would never drive one in the snow again.

Since it seems you have the choice to buy something, it might be nice for you to get a 4wd vehicle, however it's not imperative imo.

 

[VenemousShadow]

Yeah, my first winter in Denver we had a blizzard where we got over 2 feet, had a Cadillac CTS, lets just say, RWD + Whiteout + Someone who never drove in Snow = Bad Idea. I put the thing into a snow drift lol. The following summer, I got rid of the Cadi, bought another Cobra and a lil Saturn for the winter, moral of the story is the FWD is good in snow (AWD/4WD is better tho)