So I'm moving to Salt Lake City, Utah. I also need a new car. I drove a Subaru WRX for a while and my brother drives an STI, so naturally, I'm leaning towards getting another Subaru for AWD. But if anyone has looked at the used market shits crazy rn. Honestly hard to find a clean WRX for under 20k with reasonable miles. My buddy has a Fiesta ST, which is a kinda slow but reasonably fun little hot hatch. I can find them with pretty low miles well under 20k with ease. But it's FWD. Good little city car too. But driving up the mountain to Park City for example I am wondering if it'll be able to handle that in some snow. I'd get snow tires and chains and all this shit, so I think it would be fine. But let me know if anyone thinks that's crazy.
May 26 2022 11:28PM
Call me crazy but awd vs fwd would be my least concern. A wrx with 4.9" of ground clearance is the bigger issue if you're worried about deeper snow. The Fiesta is even lower at 4.5" lol.
No idea what the roads are like to park city but if they're anything like the ones to snowbird/alta/brighton/solitude, you'll be fine. The SLC locals on here like to make a big deal but in reality those roads are pretty mellow compared to other ski roads I've been to.
May 26 2022 11:31PM
Turd__AuthorityCall me crazy but awd vs fwd would be my least concern. A wrx with 4.9" of ground clearance is the bigger issue if you're worried about deeper snow. The Fiesta is even lower at 4.5" lol.No idea what the roads are like to park city but if they're anything like the ones to snowbird/alta/brighton/solitude, you'll be fine. The SLC locals on here like to make a big deal but in reality those roads are pretty mellow compared to other ski roads I've been to.
i mean the roads get plowed, clearance isn't an issue.
Driving to PC is chill, but for BCC/LCC its nice to have 4wd/awd. otherwise you have to use chains on FWD when it snows.
May 26 2022 11:52PM
Subaru makes other cars than the wrx.I mean get whatever you want honestly, but all wheel drive is nice to have if you're driving to the mountains. Buying a car to live near skiing that you're going to have to put chains on seems crazy to me but whatever. Really only see it places people live a long drive from the snow and that's their car, the car they've had so they deal with it. Within most ski towns everyone has awd or 4wd. I get SLC isn't a ski town technically but idk. If you're going there to ski regularly seems worth it.
fwd can be fine in the snow. I commuted on icy roads for years with fwd. Never had chains never had an issue. Steep grades out west can be a little dicey. Def can be done but chain control is a thing. If you don't chain up and crash you might snag a ticket.
May 27 2022 12:20AM
A fwd car with winter tires will do better in snow than an awd car with winter tires. Awd and winter tires is nice but if you wanna save on gas and spend less on the car then fwd will be fine. I usually take my Prius over the A4 even with a fresh foot of snow bc gas mileage and haven't gotten it stuck once.
May 27 2022 4:35AM
Tires are key and also knowing how to drive helps. FWD will be fine like others have said. Drove a little RWD mazda truck for years to resorts in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming for numerous seasons without many issues. Having some weight in the back and good studded snow tires kept my ass on the road just fine but of course that was back in the mid 90's. More traffic to the mountains now and seems like it is a race to get to the lot to get 3 more spaces over from where you park. Just be safe out there.
May 27 2022 4:54AM
jompcockA fwd car with winter tires will do better in snow than an awd car with winter tires. Awd and winter tires is nice but if you wanna save on gas and spend less on the car then fwd will be fine. I usually take my Prius over the A4 even with a fresh foot of snow bc gas mileage and haven't gotten it stuck once.
Did you mean to say fwd with snow tires is better than awd without snow tires? Because 4 snow tires being powered in awd is undoubtedly gonna be better than 2 snow tires in fwd for acceleration.
May 27 2022 5:43PM
May 27 2022 5:45PM
FWD with snow tires is better than AWD with all seasons in my opinion, but AWD with snow tires is the absolute best and it is super nice to not have to put on chains. I know some people get used snow tires from West Valley at diamond tires which are barely used and sold at a massive discount if you need some.
May 27 2022 6:54PM
It just depends on where you are- AWD gets exempted from chains on I90 and they require chains like all the god damn time. Another thing is when you go skiing all day and it’s snowing hard having FWD is going to be stuck in your parking spot really easily if there’s 8” of fresh from the day. There’s nothing worse than skiing all day and being exhausted, getting to your car and having to dig yourself out enough to get chains on just to leave, drive 25 mins down the pass to bare pavement to pull over and take them off. It’s a hell no for me not going back to that.
May 28 2022 12:50AM
CaseyIt just depends on where you are- AWD gets exempted from chains on I90 and they require chains like all the god damn time. Another thing is when you go skiing all day and it’s snowing hard having FWD is going to be stuck in your parking spot really easily if there’s 8” of fresh from the day. There’s nothing worse than skiing all day and being exhausted, getting to your car and having to dig yourself out enough to get chains on just to leave, drive 25 mins down the pass to bare pavement to pull over and take them off. It’s a hell no for me not going back to that.
This is a good point. I live at a ski resort currently. We got some big dumps. The amount of times i shoveled any snow from around my car before yoloing it out of my spot was pretty low.
Fwd can be decent but putting on chains is annoying. If you live near anywhere that does chain control and ski it just doesn't seem worth it imo. Especially to buy a new car. I get rocking what you have but if they do chain control up to the mtns there I feel like OP woukd be crazy to actually buy a non awd 4wd rig.
May 29 2022 4:45PM
Turd__AuthorityDid you mean to say fwd with snow tires is better than awd without snow tires? Because 4 snow tires being powered in awd is undoubtedly gonna be better than 2 snow tires in fwd for acceleration.
Yeah I fucked up. Basically snow tires vs all seasons makes more of a difference than awd vs fwd