Kawi2strokes.com Forum

My daughter may be moving to Syracuse and I'll most likely be helping her buy a vehicle. I could give her my deals gap tow vehicle (Nissan Xterra RWD) but I have an opportunity to look at a 2012 Subaru Impeza AWD with 24k miles. We are Floridians and have never driven in winter conditions.

Any thoughts would be welcomed. Buying a 4x4 is probably not in the budget (unless it's for me).
Also, would a small FWD suv be better than my RWD Xterra for her? I'm thinking even though the Impreza is a car, the AWD would be great up there.

Thanks in advance!

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1972 H2 750 (x2); 2003 Buell XB9S; 2008 ZZR 600 (fundraiser for charity)

I've owned a 2006 Impreza since new.... I friggin love this car!! Throw some Blizzaks or Gislaved Nordfrost 5 snow tires on it and 2 1/2 feet of snow is childs play!!

AWD over FWD , RWD and FWD both have pros and cons some sometimes you might wish you had the other but FWD imop has more pros for winter female driving.

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1975 S3 project bike
1974 H1 project bike
1972 Yamaha R5
1974 Yamaha RD350

I lived in Syracuse my whole life, I would get her AWD or four wheel drive for sure !!!!!
I can tell you she's going to need it,,, especially if she has never driven in the snow before , we get hit pretty hard at times here ,, and at it can be trying at the least to get around sometimes ...





This was Febuary 9th at 10 in the morning ,, pretty typical in the morning till the salt gets the roads clear,, tempeture pending and time storm hits ,, you can see by the snow banks in the second picture it comes down on a regular basis ..

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1977 KH 400
1976 KH 250/350 rat bike
1971 KV 75
1976 KV 75

My wife has a 2012 Impreza and I have a 2010 WRX - best vehicles in snow I have ever driven...period. I have owned 6 or 7 AWD and 4X4 vehicles...nothing comes close to the Subaru system. We both commute daily on one of the busiest stretches of highway in North America...when the snow flies - no worries.

For a rookie in the snow, I'd say AWD or 4WD.

And some advice. Please convey to your daughter that just because you can "go" (get moving) much easier with AWD/4WD than with a RWD or FWD vehicle, your stopping time is the same, and for the most part, so are the vehicles' handling characteristics. Slow and giving yourself plenty of room are what keep us alive 6 months out of the year up here......

I can't tell you how many people end up in the ditch because they think that their AWD/4WD vehicle has some magical, mystical power that makes the vehicle invincible in winter conditions.

More than ANYTHING is TIRES... TIRES TIRES TIRES. Purpose made, Winter/Snow/Ice tires like Blizzaks, Nokian Hakkapeliittas, etc. are what make the most difference when it comes to safe winter driving.

I'll take a front wheel drive with proper snow tires over a awd vehicle with marginal "all seasons" any day of the week.

Don't get me wrong, there are some "decent" all season tires, but they cannot hold a candle to a REAL (Siped) snow-tire. Even on an old school rear wheel drive car, the difference is just insane.

P.S.

Winter sucks.

We just went through our first winter with an Impreza. All I can say is it is an impressive car in the snow, but we did have a dedicated snow tire on it. The only time I could see it being any less capable in the snow vs a 4wd pickup or suv would be when it is very deep and ground clearance becomes a concern.

FWIW, I would not give her the Rwd Xterra if it is anything like the Pathfinders I have owned. They would go through anything in 4wd, leave it in RWD and it would get stuck with a minor dusting.

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That is just SOOOooooo True!!!! There is NO magic defense field around the vehicle just because it has AWD . . . it will stop just as badly as every other numpty that is travelling too fast in the snow

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Always remember, there will be greater and lesser people than yourself . . . you can learn from either!

Tons of Subaru's here - everyone I know with one loves it.

RBs right though, studded tires help somewhat.

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This is true. Where I grew up the hills were so steep and long, when your ball rolled down the hill you just said "screw it"...

My 01 Subaru Outback is hands down the best car I have ever owned. I run mine 120 miles a day on my commute and have put over 100K on it since 2012. I average 25 MPG at 80 MPH plus. The 2.5 4 cylinder has more than enough power. I use mine to tow the bike trailer with 2 bikes and carry all my stuff to DG and it handles the task easily. The original motor in in mine made it 254K and the replacement motor has 23K on it. If you buy a used Subaru with a 2.5 in it unless it is newer than 2010 or so they have an inherent head gasket issue in the normally aspirated cars. The hot rod WRX turbo charged cars don't have the head gasket problems.
But that being said usually once the head gaskets are replaced with the turbo type gasket, no more problems. Inspect the head gasket area thoroughly with the car on a lift and shy away from anything with a coolant or oil seep in that area unless you can make the people you buy it from change the head gaskets or drop the price of the car by a grand...to pay for the parts and labor. The 3.0 6 cylinder cars don't have the head gasket issues and they have timing chains instead of belts. The timing belts and water pumps are changed at 90 K intervals on the 2.5 cars.
Handling in the snow and ice is good and mine goes without a problem so long as the snow isn't too deep to push through...

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I Love the Smell of Blue Marble in the Morning!!!
Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA
Home of the Phoenix Project
Stay in it when it comes on the pipe, no need to be scared...