What kind of car do you use in the winter in Ma?

[Mr.X]

While this is not necessarily a diving question - I do notice a lot of 4WD Subaru and similar when I am in Cape Ann. As I commute a bit on I-95 I am thinking of getting a new car with some decent mileage and decent traction during those slushy, icy Cape Ann/Gloucester days.

So, does anyone drive a hybrid Prius, or have I got-out-of-trouble stories revolving around a Subaru? I did take my VW out there during Feb. to go diving and while it's not the greatest, it did OK on the roads.


X

 

[reefseal]

IMHO, best all around dive vehicle for New England, Honda Element AWD. Rubber floor mats are perfect for wet salty gear and for the sand/salt from your feet. Just take the floor mats out and hoze off. I put the back seats up and have ample room for my gear and buddy's. The tail gate is great for resting tanks on. You can even change in and out of gear (wet suit/dry suit) in the back when it's freezing outside. Mileage is good too.

p.s. Seats are waterproof. I'll drive after a dive in my wetsuit to a 2nd site.

 

[fencingfish]

Thought the Honda Element was ugly as ugly could be before I met reefseal. After piling all our gear into his Element, driving to the site, suiting up with the handy bench, and throwing all the nasty gear back in afterwards, now I'm sold

 

[noreastDIVER84]

I have family that lives in the mountains of Vermont and they do have Subarus, but the key thing is more than one. They have about 5 of them, 2 are daily drivers, the others are for parts. They have had quite a bit of trouble with them. They are great when there are no issues, but there are issues, and parts were not cheap. I will say that when you live in the snow and drive it every day 4wd or AWD is not neccesary. Look around in areas like that, when there is that much snow, the roads are cleared quite well and there is no need for it. I am living on Long Island and I do have a 4wd truck, but more for the beach, and love to laugh at the people who get SUVs and think they are invincible in the snow because of 4wd, but I would say it is an equipment solution for a training problem, and a solution it is not. I watch all these people go off the roads and rear end other cars, etc. All because these people think that 4wd means they can drive like there is no change in the weather. I only use th 4wd to get out of my driveway in the winter when there is snow, and just leave all my dive gear(lead included), and some sandbags in the back of the truck and never need the 4wd.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

2 words of advice...SNOW TIRES.... I am originally from California and though all season tires would work ok when I moved to MA and later NH. I was wrong, I did the slip n slide down 128 a few times and eventually got knocked off the road by a 4WD truck driving the speed limit, in 4 inches of snow. Ouch!

Snow tires will give you the extra traction and control needed on poorly plowed roads (most of MA). Not only for accelerating, but braking as well. For a few hundred bucks, it is a wise investment and will make any FWD car road safe. I do like Honda's though, I own a Pilot.

 

[ScubaGypsy]

.........does anyone drive a hybrid Prius.......

I'm in Newport, RI which is abit milder than the Cape Ann area although last year we did have our share of snow as well (pic 1). My brother lives in Westboro, MA, has a Prius, and they receive appreciably more snow than us. My brother-in-law lives in Paxton, MA and also has a Prius. I have a 2009 Prius after previously having a 2003 Prius (pic 2). I've never been stuck or immobilized with the Prius and in fact, have never had any repair issues. I block the front grills during the winter and also have an engine block heater as the lower temperatures reduce my gas mileage down from 55 to 45 mpg or so. There certainly are times where a 4WD large SUV might be nice but for 99+% of my driving the Prius is ideal. If you are running along I-95, a Prius is just fine.

I also added JDM full cargo mat and WeatherTech extreme cargo and floor mats (see Amazon) to protect the interior from my dive gear. Though there are other larger vehicles, it is nice to travel from RI to High Springs with two sets of doubles and full dive gear for two and a passenger for under $100!

 

[gypsyjim]

2 words of advice.. SNOW TIRES.... I am originally from California and though all season tires would work ok when I moved to MA and later NH. I was wrong, I did the slip n slide down 128 a few times and eventually got knocked off the road by a 4WD truck driving the speed limit, in 4 inches of snow. Ouch!

Snow tires will give you the extra traction and control needed on poorly plowed roads (most of MA). Not only for accelerating, but braking as well. For a few hundred bucks, it is a wise investment and will make any FWD car road safe. I do like Honda's though, I own a Pilot.

I heartily agree, although it's 4 STUDDED Snow tires that get the job done! Good studded snow avoid a lot of problems here in upstate NY, where I put a lot of miles on in snow and ice.
A good strong battery, keeping the tank full all the time, and quality studded snows are insurance well worth the few extra bucks, come winter!

 

[dave4868]

I'm in southwestern New Hampster where the winter driving conditions tend to be a bit worse than the North Shore of Massachusetts. I've found that front wheel drive with good all-season tires was fine for most storms. My Camry's (3) always got about 30 mpg on the highway and managed snow quite well.

In the past, I've also run snow tires for winter. They definitely provided better traction than all-season tires. If I was commuting at higher speeds, I'd want them.

A couple years ago, I picked up a used 5-year-old Subaru Outback mostly because I need to pull a small boat trailer out of dirt boat launches, but also to have improved winter driving with the full-time all-wheel drive.

The all-wheel drive cuts the highway mpg to about 28 at 60mph, and even down to 25 at 70mph. City mpg is about 20-23, perhaps slightly lower with snowy conditions.

However, the Outback's all-wheel traction is really super in snow, so I would definitely get another one someday, if I'm still stuck in the snowbelt....

Subaru's are very popular up here. This is my second one. I've seen and heard of no unusual mechanical problems or costs.

My Outback holds all my scuba gear, and I bring LOTS of stuff! It will also hold a second diver's gear, if one can pack well....

With two sets of gear in the Outback, being comfortable using the sideview mirrors will be very important!

Dave C

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

This was my last car without snow tires....

Not sure what my better half is thinking - what an idiot! or gee glad I was not in the van!. I brought 2 sets of snow tires later that week.

 

[Mr.X]

I thank everyone for their personal experiences and recommendations. It's not easy trying to bridge the gaps of outstanding fuel economy, performance and super safety on those dense NE interstates compounded by big truck and goofballs in AWD traveling 70/80 mph in 2 - 3 inches of snow.

AUDI, the Tiguan and VW TDI have all come up in my discussions with the wife. The former are probably a little too prissy for the abuse I would eventually heap on the car while diving. I saw the Toyota RAV and Highlander which were pretty nice. Now, I have get behind some of the new Subarus.

I do find ScubaGypsy fuel bill from RI to Fla simply amazing! Wow. <100.00 in fuel.

Quick addition - OUCH!!! - Grumpy...I will be buying an extra set of rims and snow tires!!! They are great. Had them when I skied a lot in Vermont.

Cheers,

X