Ski Wheels [Automotive propellant necessary to begin ski day

billski

New member
I'd like to hear your recommendation for Ski Wheels. In particular, I'm in the market for a sedan which seats 5 adults comfortably and would be appropriate for 10 months of city driving and 2-3 months of driving into New England mts. for ski daytrips. I have sucessfully navigated with FWD for 25 years, but I am leaning towards AWD; I am not interested in a truck/suv. I stick to plowed or recently-plowed public thoroughfares only.

I'll leave it at that and see how everyone responds. thanks!
 
The obvious choices, where AWD is a longstanding company commitment applied to most models in the line, are Audi and Subaru.
 
The un-obvious candidate, much to my suprise, as pulled up by consumerreports.org is.... Jaguar X-type! Believe it, an AWD. Worst repair record not counting the Lada, but you sure arrive in style.
 
BMW 5 series and Mercedes E class would be better choices IMHO if you're looking in that direction. And both of those are available in wagon models which are more practical for hauling ski gear.
 
Tony Crocker":1a2qso2w said:
BMW 5 series and Mercedes E class would be better choices IMHO if you're looking in that direction. And both of those are available in wagon models which are more practical for hauling ski gear.

Oh, I absolutely agree. I was making a joke, Tony. Other AWD's included the Ford 500 and Infiniti G35X.

I am probably leaning towards a used A6 Quattro.
 
billski":31ugrvsx said:
Other AWD's included the Ford 500 and Infiniti G35X.

We had a 2003 G35 in the 2WD version. Great car -- that is, it was before my wife fell asleep at 80 mph with the cruise control on. :roll: Great passenger compartment integrity, too -- she totaled it, of course, but walked away without a scratch.
 
I got a Subaru Outback in October and my only complaint is that now I always end up driving to the resort or trailhead. The damn thing is pretty much unstoppable. During the 2 big storms we had in Denver I drove it to work and back in all sorts of snow and ice with no problem. At one point I even paralell parked it into a 2 foot snow drift and then drove it back out 3 hours later without the use of a shovel.

This is all without snow tires or chains mind you. I was going to get snow tires, but after learning it can get around in 2-3 feet of snow I'm disinclined.

It holds 4 adults comfortably with skis/boards on the roof and can hold a 5th adult for a short period. Also, if you are 5'8" or shorter you can sleep in it quite comfortably.
 
Tony Crocker":1v9qz286 said:
The obvious choices, where AWD is a longstanding company commitment applied to most models in the line, are Audi and Subaru.

Here is a funny one. My current is a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT wagon. It is the BEST DAMN ski vehicle I have ever driven. The symetrical AWD matched up with good snow tires is unstoppable. I am currently driving it on Dunlop Wintersport M3 in 205-45-17 and they are great.
My last car was a 2000 Audi A4 Quattro. It was good in the snow but the Subaru can do things that the audi could not.

Last year winter I was crossing an open field on a dirt road right near the NY boarder heading over to the Peak. I would rather take the much shorter back road than going an extra 15 miles to stay to the pavement. I hit a series of 5 or so drift lines that just kept getting bigger but I was already committed. The 3rd through 5th drift slowed the car a bit but hey, they rolled over the roof. I'm not positive at the depth of each drift but I would guess them to be about 3.5 feet. The road was fairly clear between each drift with only 2-6 inches of snow so I was able to get speed back up in the 50 or so feet between each line. The point is that the Subie came out the other side with flying colors and the only reason that I had to stot was to catch my breath and say a little prayer.... Other than that it took me a couple of seconds to clear the snow that was packed hard into the hood scoop.

I think that I will always have a Subaru in my garage.
 
billski":3ue0cpjo said:
I'd like to hear your recommendation for Ski Wheels. In particular, I'm in the market for a sedan which seats 5 adults comfortably and would be appropriate for 10 months of city driving and 2-3 months of driving into New England mts. for ski daytrips. I have sucessfully navigated with FWD for 25 years, but I am leaning towards AWD; I am not interested in a truck/suv. I stick to plowed or recently-plowed public thoroughfares only.

I'll leave it at that and see how everyone responds. thanks!

At the beginning of this past December my son and I did some turns out in the Salt Lake City UT area. We were originally going to get a FWD vehicle but with an impending storm switched to an AWD. It was a Toyota Rav 4 (with the V6 engine). It was terrific, both on dry/wet roads, and on snow. Take a look at it. Roomy too.
 
If I'm traveling alone or with one other I take my 2004 Audi Allroad. I can lift the suspension for deep snow and V6 Bi-turbo engine makes highway travel quite speedy. If I'm taking the whole family, I take our 2003 Suburban 2500. Tons of room and have never found any amount of snow it can't handle. The 40 gallon gas tank is needed at 12 miles per gallon with a tail wind. The Audi milage ain't much better at @18-20. Hope Al Gore is not logged on! I often rent a Subaru when visiting family in JH Wyoming. Once I lost all power in a rented Subaru coming down Teton Pass from Idaho and coasted all the way to the bagel shop in Wilson, WY. That was my best gas milage in a ski car.
 
Seek out an all-wheel-drive Volvo with Nokian snow tires. When I drove up a hilly, unpaved Adirondack dirt road in sleet and ice last January, people at my destination assumed I had a big SUV or four-wheel-drive truck. I was in a V70 with all-wheel drive. I get about twice the gas mileage of truck-car drivers, I'd guess. If you want a sedan, look for an "S" in the model (V means wagon). No offense against Subaru drivers -- I had one once, and they are good on snow -- but they're just nowhere near as substantial as Volvos. Or as roomy. Maybe the wee 40s and 30s are tighter, but the Volvos I've been in have roomy back seats and ample leg room. Hey, these cars and these tires are from Scandinavia, where they evidently know a thing or two about winter driving.
 
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