We got studded snow tires and loaded the rear end with six 50-pound bags of sand to weigh down the box. It went through four-yes, four-catalytic converters in one year. We had a 1999 before this one, and I'll admit it was a lemon.
Used Price: $7,000 to $12,000 (depending on condition) We'd be on the mountain when the lifts opened they'd spend the morning waiting for a tow.Īnd, of course, a minivan is so much better for loading gear-the low deck means you can fit a lot more stuff, and the gear itself sits low in the vehicle, further enhancing stability. My kids would wave at the spun-out luxury wagons as we sailed past. The humble Dodge would track those same curves with self-effacing ease.
#BEST CARS FOR SNOW DRIVERS#
Those big SUVs seemed to give drivers a false sense of security, so they drove too fast and underestimated how unstable their top-heavy rig would be going around curves. The secret to the Caravan was the low center of gravity and car-like ride. We'd watch the high-priced Suburbans and Grand Cherokees roar past us…and then a few minutes later see them spin out in the median. I used to love cruising up the winding up the beautiful Taconic Parkway through fresh snow (they were never very good about plowing that road), maintaining a solid 50 mph or more. On the rare occasions when the kids would get a snow day from school, I would take a day off from work and we'd load up the van and head north. We thrashed it all over the East Coast and Canada, but the best ski trips were to the Berkshires and Vermont. We got this car when my kids were young but old enough to go camping and skiing. Used Price: $3,000 to $6,000 (The last year AWD was offered was 2003) winter beater trim: 4WD, four-cylinder, five-speed manual. While nothing says “winter” like the honk-howl of a five-cylinder-Audi Quattro rally car, incoming!-we like a Canyon in O.G. They made this generation of Canyon until 2012, but your primo winter beaters are probably going to be the trucks from the first half of the run, which now go for $3,000 to $5,000. Third, the Canyon and its Chevy twin, the Colorado, are old enough now that the early ones are cheap. Second, it had four-cylinder (or five-) power, so it’s relatively economical-up to 24 mpg highway. So while any old truck will work, we like the Canyon for a few reasons.įirst of all, it was always less expensive than the full-size trucks and that’s still true now. I used to drive a rear-drive Dodge D150 in the winter, and with a limited-slip diff and a broken washing machine in the bed it could fishtail its way up any hill I cared to tackle. Four-wheel drive can be a bonus, but even rear-drive pickups can be a blast in the snow.
We drove it for 60,000 miles and didn’t have a problem. Also: Its heated front seats would cook a frittata. Fitted with winter tires, it’s like the Outlander didn’t even notice whether there was snow on the ground. It wasn’t exactly Mitsubishi Evo rally-car hardware, but you could tell it came from the same people-turn that dial and suddenly the family hauler could execute beautiful tail-out power slides across your favorite snowbound parking lot. But the V-6 Outlander had a console-mounted dial that let you manually lock in a rear torque bias. Most crossovers of this ilk are basically front-wheel drive, with the ability to occasionally send half the power to the rear end. And it had a badass all-wheel-drive system. It had a split hatch with a fold-down tailgate, like a BMW X5 or Land Rover LR3. It had an aluminum roof, for a lower center of gravity. I owned a V-6 XLS and it was the rare crossover that made an attempt to court people who care about cars. This generation of Outlander (2007 was the first year) is an underrated machine.
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