JDR76

We don’t need snow tires. Winter is 40 degrees and rain.

bagwell

ummm have you driven GT-R?

2 MPG difference is totally insignificant IMO.



anyway...OP - maybe expand your search a bit? I found this in Bend.... https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ckType=listing

Stroock639

fair enough, AWD is allowable when there's literally too much power for 2 wheels to handle lol... but that really mostly matters during the initial few mph and you lose the ability to smoke the rear wheels

Stroock639

yes i have... launching it made me and my friend very giggly

also i said basically every situation

mmarshall

So what sense do burnouts make? All they do is wear out expensive tires, gulp down fuel, and put a lot of stress on even more expensive engines, transmissions, and drivelines. Simple Juvenile showoffs.

geko29

I would go with RWD for sure. Better driving dynamics, less expensive to operate and maintain. If your winters are truly "40 degrees and rain" as another poster said, you're a perfect candidate for RWD and All-season tires. I've been driving exclusively RWD for the past 23 Chicago Winters, the first 15 of those on all-seasons. Now that I've been on snows for the last 8, I'd never go back, but then again we actually get significant snow and ice here. Did get stuck once when I drove my RWD Dakota through a 2+ foot snowbank, and had to shovel myself out. But then again, no GS is making it through that, not even an AWD with studded snow tires AND chains.

mmarshall

We don't get really deep snows in the D.C. area that often, but when we do (and they happen) my AWD Outback went through 2 foot snow, with Bridgestone all seasons, without even spinning a wheel. It's easy to see why Outbacks are the choice of the U.S. Ski team.

Being (now) retired, of course, all-weather capability is less important to me in a daily driver.

geko29

The laws of physics make this impossible. Modern Outbacks have 8.7 inches of ground clearance, the older ones had 7.3 inches. If you were really going through 2+ feet of snow, the chassis would be levered off the ground by the snow going underneath (this has happened to me also, very briefly so I did not get stuck), so the tires would have nothing to grip. 24 inches is more than a third the height of the entire car (66" for the current model, 62" for older ones), so we're talking snow that is level with the hood.

Driving after two feet of snowfall is a very different thing than driving through two feet of snow. But all this is completely irrelevant to the OP's situation.

mmarshall

It was very soft snow, and easily dealt with. I purposely avoided conditions that could damage the catalyst or undercarriage. Mine was a 2006, and had what clearance it needed. Like I said, the U.S. Ski team doesn't drive Outbacks for nothing. I agree that at least some of this is not relevant to the OP, but still, IMO, makes an argument for AWD.

What WAS a PITA with the Outback, though, the tendency for wet or softened snow to pile up inside the wheel wells very quickly and restrict wheel/suspension-motion in the wells.....I was constantly dealing with that.

Stroock639

well for one they help give a better launch since you're warming up the tires and laying some grippy rubber onto the pavement, and i just greatly enjoy the way my car just starts sliding around and making all sorts of tire screeching noises when i quickly put my foot down... it adds to the whole supercharged luxury hotrod appeal of it, plus RWD just gives all around better response and no torque steer (quite noticeable in the AWD E63 models i've driven)

alexis31

So if I get RWD just throw the best all season tires I can get ?
How did you handle last years snow storm ? I only drove in the beginning of it all when it was still slush

but I was also in an impala with FWD which didn’t do that well

JDR76

My GS is AWD and does quite well on all-seasons, even in last years insane storm. I also have the Highlander I can use. But when I didn’t have AWD, I just limited my driving in those rare snowstorms and managed with all seasons. I’ve done the snow tire thing and it just seemed like a waste, as many years we don’t get any snow, or just for a day or two.

LeX2K

RWD/AWD is exactly the same when it comes to stopping don't forget that. Also look into all weather tires (not the same as all season).

oldcajun

Right! There is a new grade of "all season" tires that have a symbol of 4 mountains that indicate they are better in snow than the traditional all season tires. I have seen the referred to as "all weather" but Tire Rack still lists them under their "all season" grouping but with severe snow capability. The Michelin CrossClimate + rates well in snow and wet roads so would seem particularly suited to the NW area.

fugee

Curious if you ended up gettng the RWD car? I'm in a similar boat deciding if i should get a RWD GS as well