What is your ultimate winter car?

[sneek]

I echo all the 911T votes.
Maybe add in a RT4WD of a Vehicross just purely out of being weird.
A friend had a vehicross in high school and it was an absolute beast in the winter. Torque on Demand was as the coolest sounding features I've ever heard of.

[J-hop]

Originally posted by rage2


Anyone want to tackle what the ultimate cheap winter car would be as well?

Sounds silly but my favourite winter car has been my old beat up GF8. Not much power as it's a NA but it starts without a block heater at any temperature, has a decent amount of storage room especially with a box on top and the biggest thing for me is the clearance. I don't need a truck but I need something that doesn't get hung up on snow as it's trying to plow a path down a mountain road the GF8 satisfies that perfectly.

A couple of years ago I was out near crowsnest pass and a friend and I were heading up a logging road to do some snow shoeing. Passed an area where a bunch of trucks were parked and didn't realize until a few minutes later I was no longer following truck tracks and was instead following two snowmobile tracks. Never been so impressed with such a cheap car. Had to keep it near full throttle for most of it but it kept going.

[flipstah]

2012+ 911 C4S + Thule Box.

Game over.

I have a feeling an R8 would be harsh ride. Bentley CGT would be nice as well.

Cheapest winter beater would be a Subaru WRX wagon.

[Buster]

R8 can only send a relatively little amount of power to the front.

[flipstah]

The E550 isn't doing too bad right now. Nice clearance, massage seat, heated steering wheel.

Just waiting for parts for my roof rack.

[zipdoa]

Originally posted by flipstah

Cheapest winter beater would be a Subaru WRX wagon.

People still want almost $10k for a bugeye wagon

I'd say the pinnacle of cheap/winter would be a B4 Audi 90. I've seen 4-5 of these go on Kijiji for $1500 or less this year. Torsen center diff, rear diff lock, B4 generation build quality, you can beat it.

In fact, I think they're such a good deal I'm going to go buy one right now and prove it.

[A790]

TBH, that Cherokee that I had dominated winter. Like, no contest: rain, snow, ice, whatever. Winter was its bitch.

I'd still have that Jeep if it had a conventional 6 speed auto instead of a 9 speed abortion.

[03ozwhip]

cheap...1994 JDM Celica GT4 ST205. I had one of these and by far with winter tires, it was the most planted car ive ever owned.

the only thing is it gave so much confidence that you just want to push it to the limit. if you haven't driven one, I recommend it.

[max_boost]

911 turbo is solid as said

Any BMW or 4 matic with blizzaks have been so amazing haha virtually dummy proof

[mzdspd]

I would love to say EVO X MR but I think the car would be too rough. So I would say a 2015+ STI with a good set of winter tires.

Fun car to slide around in and has all of the needed creature comforts for winter. Also is easily equipped with a roof rack.

[NoPulp]

+1 for F150 4x4
I've never had great tires on the two that I've owned, but I like the way they handled. I like having the weight and ground clearance. I also like how they'll drive through anything without struggle. Only issue is stopping sometimes... just give yourself space.
I liked my 98 ext cab the best, it was tail happy but very predictable. My 07 super crew is nice, but I find the weight is too far back so when it slides the whole truck slides.

2nd gen escapes are incredible! Very stable, good clearance, nice auto 4wd and traction control. Just boring to drive.

I've disliked any cars that I've drove in the winter. I just find that they're more affected going through snow/slush and get pushed around. I like bigger vehicles that just plow through it.

[mzdspd]

Lets not forget the Grand Cherokee SRT.. That would be a blast in the snow! I think the GC SRT is the winter vehicle choice for about half of Edmonton.

[tonytiger55]

Ulimate Winter car...
The Lancia Delta...



A manual transmission Subaru I would not mind.

As the ultimate cheap winter car...
My current 2002 Honda CRV with winter tires is not too bad. Its boring 99% of the time and I question myself regularly what am I doing with my life. But on days like last Sunday and Monday I am so glad.
Its manual transmission, I can feel a lot more with the road. Im also not relying too much on my brakes. I just shift down and let engine braking slow me. It’s useful at intersections where there is a lot of ice or downhill sections of a road.
Its front wheel drive, but if I need AWD I drop to the relevant gear to take the revs just above 3000 RPM. This engages the AWD and sends power to the rear wheels. Its pretty reliable too...

[R-Audi]

Originally posted by mzdspd
Lets not forget the Grand Cherokee SRT.. That would be a blast in the snow! I think the GC SRT is the winter vehicle choice for about half of Edmonton.

It has a strong rwd bias.... not great in the snow.



My choice would be an Audi RS7. I absolutely love those! Fast, 4 doors and lots of room! I need space for hockey gear and the occasional time I have to take the kids.

If high clearance was required.. then Id go 4Runner TRD Pro or Trail.

[spikerS]

meanwhile in Vancouver....

[flipstah]

Originally posted by zipdoa


People still want almost $10k for a bugeye wagon

I'd say the pinnacle of cheap/winter would be a B4 Audi 90. I've seen 4-5 of these go on Kijiji for $1500 or less this year. Torsen center diff, rear diff lock, B4 generation build quality, you can beat it.

In fact, I think they're such a good deal I'm going to go buy one right now and prove it.

Sounds like you want to do a $500 challenge.

[Sentry]

My E34 540i with studded tires, a manual trans, and welded diff was my favourite winter car so far. Loved it so much I'm picking up a spare diff tomorrow to weld up and toss into my E39 wagon. Do I "need" 300 horsepower in winter? Probably not. But it makes it more bearable and driving a lot less boring.



Both the E34 and E39s have a shit ton of steering angle and long wheelbase so you can hang them way out without losing control. Not to mention heated leather that gets seriously toasty seriously fast. Weight gives them traction for starting from a stop. Also very well insulated, no drafts at all, can make the car 30+ degrees inside when it's -20 outside given about a half hour of driving. "Warm enough" takes only 5-10 mins.

Did I mention you can pick one up in decent condition for about 3 grand?

[ercchry]

The rubicon was a beast in the snow, locking diffs ftw... but purely based on fun factor the e90 m3 is a blast, press of a button and all the nannies go away on the fly, so much power... so controllable

But no block heater, and that thick factory oil makes me cry a bit when I start it on days like today

[flipstah]

I figured out how to turn off all of the nannies on the Merc, so I can run this bitch sideways.

[NoPulp]

Originally posted by R-Audi
[B]

It has a strong rwd bias.... not great in the snow.

Yeah the early srt jeeps aren't good, 2 friends had them. Not sure why they came awd, they're so rwd it they should have saved the cost and weight.