quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
When going to popular ski resorts like Lake Tahoe, how much clearance does a car need in order to drive on the highways and roads during snow season assume that the roads are cleared during and after snow storms?

Can a normal height AWD car drive around okay? Like a WRX/STI or AWD Camry or AWD Lexus IS300? AWD with all season tires and 4"-6" clearance?

Or does one really need an SUV/truck? AWD with 8-10" clearance? RAV4 or Outback or Tacoma?

Funny how things change. Back in the 70s I used to go skiing in the Colorado high country, driving up there from Denver metro in my friend’s 62 Chevy Bel Air (bubble top). You should be fine in all but the most severe driving conditions. I imagine the state highway department, in the Tahoe vicinity, is all over it when the snow starts falling; I know that in Wyoming and Colorado they are.

I live in the Colorado mountains, on the mountain, 20-30min from the freeway, at the end of a half-mile unpaved driveway that has 500ft of elevation change between the mailbox and the front door.

My 20yo 4x4 has never had anything but all-season tires on it, and I've never owned any dedicated snow tires, and even a 2wd FWD Volvo sedan can get up my driveway in all but the worst weather (4-5 days a year).

Further, less than, shit, I don't know, surely less than 5% of all the Colorado people I know use dedicated snow tires. Almost no one. Do some? Of course. Are they better? Definitely. Are they necessary? Meh.

ymmv

I grew up in the Snow Belt around Cleveland, OH and my transportation was a 1970 VW Beetle. That car was wonderful in the snot as long as you minded by the "rules for rear engined cars". One is that when turning do NOT apply the brakes when you initiate the turn, because if you did use the brakes you were going to go straight no matter what you did with the steering wheel. Rule Two was that you NEVER lifted off the throttle mid turn, do than an a spectacular spin would result. Pay attention to the Rules and that Beetle would go thru any snow that wasn't higher than the running boards. Later on I had a 1978 Chevy Monza and that car amazed me with it's ability to muscle thru deep snow, I used to call in my Half Track.

So, I thumb my nose at folks who think that you cannot drive in the snow unless you have AWD. Because I have NEVER in my life had an AWD vehicle and have spent many many years driving some heavy snow conditions. Heck, spent 5 days driving a Taxicab in Columbus, Ohio when the Blizzard of 78 hit. BTW, those old Checker Marathons were fantastic in the snow, they handled a lot like my old Beetle with the same trailing throttle oversteer and the same sweet ability to do a smooth power slide. The only time I got stuck was when I tried to "feel" my way thru wind driven white out stream and "felt" my way right into a ditch.

In this part of North Carolina we have occasional winter snow falls. Most of the time annoying but not problematic. Usually the snow fall amounts by lets say Pennsylvania standards are lite, sometimes moderate and ever decade or so one memorable occasion. This past December we acquired a Toyota Highlander with AWD. The option of AWD is of benefit for the every now and then of snow occurrence.

In my younger days of long ago making weekends from Camp Lejeune NC to Western PA during the winter months was a fools journey NC-VA-WVA-Maryland and PA, but we did learn how to handle road conditions.

Now in my seventh decade, when it snows we stay home unless its absolutely essential to wonder out into the elements.

Did you cross shop the Subaru Legacy with the Camry AWD? I haven't read much about the newer AWD system from the RAV4/Camry, but it's perhaps worth a look to see how it performs in the snow.

I'm sure the Subaru AWD is probably more mature. I don't know how new the Camry AWD system is or it's just based on existing AWD systems they do. It's a Toyota, they have well performing AWD systems, and likely it's mostly okay for my needs. But I will look into it more.

I've only bought Toyota cars for the past 20-30 years. So Camry is a natural fit for me. And my shop only services Honda and Toyota.

So, I'm going to try to find user reviews for snow use. But mostly I was concerned about clearance because the new models seem to set fairly low. Sounds like the front end would plow snow to some extent as long as I have enough power and traction.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
thanks guys. camry v6 awd it is then. i can get an extra set of rims with snow tires.

You throw a decent set of snow tires on that frt wheel drive Camry and you will do fine.