Do you need all-wheel drive for winter weather? The #carexperts from CR explain why having safe tires matter more than anything else.
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Here in northern Colorado my daily driver is my Miata. It’s fun to wave at the Jeeps that have slid into the ditches when it snows.
Once when it had snowed in Texas instead of Taking my Land Cruiser I took my Camry V6 with FWD and I was sliding past jeeps going under the speed limit. It was kind of fun.
All season tires are fine for those who live where it never snows and is never icy and for those who can stay home when when it snows or is icy. Real winter tires of the sticky compound type when temperatures fall are far safer than all season tires. Even the new “all weather” tire type doesn’t hold a candle to “real” winter tires and I have to wonder how they qualify for the mountain/snowflake sidewall symbols. It’s not just about getting moving. It’s important to be able steer and stop well. And full time AWD is not just for getting moving. AWD can help rotate/claw the front end of a vehicle through a turn that would cause the front of a RWD vehicle to slide out and the rear of a FWD vehicle to slide out. I get the feeling that the two “youngsters” on the right side of the table don’t have much experience driving on snow and ice.
You’re correct Teslas and other electric vehicles tend to hydroplane often when it rains due to worn out tires.
Another reason is that most EV’s and hybrids come with low rolling resistant tires made with hard compounds for the purpose of improving range. Low rolling resistant tires are generally more prone to hydroplane. Another factor is that the treads on LRR tires are often narrower which means a smaller contact patch. The Prius my wife drives felt dangerously unsafe until we replaced the original LRR tires with non-LRR tires. The replacement non-LRR tires are the same size but their treads are much wider. The Prius now feels much more stable and even rides more comfortably although with a significant loss in fuel economy.
Been here in midwest. Majority residents still spend every morning after snow storm shoveling to get traction. Meanwhile my snow tires 2wd eat 1ft of snow.
IMO the best tire for winter driving is: MICHELIN CrossClimate2.
It is not an All Season Tire.
It is an All WEATHER TIRE.
Trust me these tires are fantastic for all year round driving.
I put a set on our 2007 6 cylinder Camry for my wife and she loves them.
She can plow through the snow with the car.
The car is only a FWD too.
So I am getting a set for our 2022 AWD RAV4 Limited Hybrid this winter.