dont need an SUV. just get all weather(not all season) or a set of dedicated snow tires
I recently bought a Nissan Micra SR after 2 decades of driving an SUV. It's been a while since I've driven a car in the winter in Canada, and I've never owned a subcompact car. The last one was a Saturn Ion that was a stick shift, and I put winter tires on it and found that driving a stick shift in the winter (the Micra I bought is one as well) made it easier to stop on ice but more challenging when it came to getting going.
Should I purchase an SUV to drive in the winter, or can I winterize one of these to be safe on the roads in the winter? I live in Regina, so it does get fairly snowy/icy, and they don't often plough our residential streets. Is it easy to get stuck? I would post on the local subreddits, but subcompacts aren't super popular here, and I figured it would be easier to find someone with experience driving a standard transmission subcompact asking nationwide.
For context, I am in my 40s, would consider myself a good winter driver (incident free), and I put on around 100km/day owning and operating a residential cleaning business. I drive on the highway a few times a week.
Sorry if this is over descriptive. Had a joint right after work lol
dont need an SUV. just get all weather(not all season) or a set of dedicated snow tires
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Get yourself a good set of winter tires, and overestimate your ground clearance, and you'll be fine. We had a Versa for 6 years in Montreal without any issues. My wife even learned to drive with that car.
I think Montreal is worse than Regina in the winter. Isn't that where some of those crazy YouTube videos come from?
99 Honda Civic Dx, commuted all weather between Barrie and Toronto. 10 years, no issues. I've passed many SUVs in the ditch, upside down, etc. Need good snow tires such as Michelin X-Ice.
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Been drivng a manual Versa then a Fiesta for a good while now. A good set of winter tires will get you going, keep you going and stop without too much difficulty. You won't be keeping up with AWD/4WD vehicles, but you won't be flying into a ditch and digging yourself in like overconfident people do in those vehicles. Driving wise, be aware of your ground clearance, a small light vehicle can get beached. I carry a shovel for those situations. Also look out for steep driveways where you can the weight shifts enough to let one wheel spin. Lightly tap the brakes with your left foot to help stop the spinning wheel and shunt some power to the other wheel. Note: most modern cars will automatically slam the throttle shut via a brake override program from automatic cars even though we have a 3rd pedal. If you have trouble going up hills and nobody is around, try reversing up the hill. With the engine now at the "back" on top of the drive wheels, going up hill that way will shift more weight onto them and might find some more grip that way. Also check your tire pressures, especially if you've downsized for winter tires. Most places will air them back up the same as your summer set, that can be too much. For example my Fiesta ST's 17" wheels call for 39/36 psi. I run 15" winters with a higher load index. If I aired them up the same, I'll spin even on flat ground at the slightest hint of snow. The correct pressure is actually 33/32 psi. I use this chart to figure it out https://tirepressure.com/metric-tire-load-and-inflation-table . Find your size, then match the pressure for the weight. Go to your new tire size and find your weight then match up the psi. Note: it won't match exactly but you don't want to under inflate your tires so always go up on the weight. Other than that just keep up normal maintenance as prescribed in severe schedule in the manual and keep the usual winter equipment like a warm jacket / sleeping bag, some food like trail mix/granola bar, shovel and a jug of cheap kitty litter mixed in with some ice melt/salt for when you're really stuck.
If you have good winter tires and a brain you’ll be good for 99.99% of winter driving. Have chains on hand (and know how to use them) for the other 0.01%.
I drove a 2019 Impreza with a good set of winter tires. The AWD made a huge difference compared to a Pontiac Firefly I'd had in the 90s.
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It's not so much what you drive, it's how you drive it.