How to Choose a Safe Winter Vehicle for Snow

Snow tires? Check. Good auto insurance? Check. Here's what else you need to look for in a car to ensure it will protect you and your family on icy, snowy roads.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Choose a manual transmission over an automatic. With a manual transmission, the driver has more control over the car's traction. If you get stuck, you can pop the car into first gear and step on the gas, revving up the RPM's to get more "go." Cars with a manual also roll backwards on their own, so you can "rock" the car back and forth easily to get unstuck.

2. 
    
   Time to change this tire!

   Choose a car that comes with new, all-season or snow tires. Even if you can't afford snow tires, make sure your tires are new. Do the penny test- wedge a penny upside down into the tire grooves- if the tread is worn down past Lincoln's head, it's too worn for snow. Good tires assist with braking and traction.

3. Choose front or four-wheel drive over rear wheel drive. Four wheel drive assists in traction so you don't get stuck- but most four-wheel drive owners tend to get overconfident on the roads. Four-wheel drive does NOT mean better braking by any means! Choose four-wheel over all-wheel. The difference is that four-wheel drive only kicks in when the car detects loss of traction, but on clear roads, the car runs on just the front wheels. All-wheel drive cars use all 4 wheels all the time. The benefit of four-wheel drive is that your tires will last longer and give you much better gas mileage because it uses only 2 of the tires most of the time.

4. While not common in modern cars, choose a car with a rear engine. Some cars with rear engines include the Chevy Corvair and the VW Beetle. BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes also make rear engine models. The reason these cars are good in the snow is more even weight distribution- it puts more weight in the back of the vehicle (instead of a hollow trunk), giving the back tires more traction. This is especially useful for rear-wheel drive cars, which coincidentally, most rear engine cars are.

5. For snow driving, the heavier the car, the better. Choose a car that weighs at least 2500-3000 lbs. As described in the last step, weight distribution is important for traction. A car with high ground clearance (as found in many SUV's) is also important for unplowed streets and driveways, as well as getting unstuck.

6. What about slipping and sliding, and braking? Saftey featuers such as anti-lock brakes (ABS) and traction control are must-haves in good snow cars. Anti-lock brakes prevent wheel lock, which assists in braking suddenly without sliding across the road. Traction control helps the tires grip the road when the tires cannot otherwise cope with the torque applied by the driver. (Keeps them from spinning.)

7. Choose a car with Electronic Stability Control (ESC). This option uses brakes to guide steering when the car detects a slip, giving the driver more control in a spin-out or slip n' slide road.

8. Finally, there are several things you can do you the car you already have to winterize it for optimal snow driving. Make sure your breaks are in great condition. Replace your wiper blades and washer fluid, and make sure your air conditioning system works so that the defrost function will work properly. Carry a snow brush, ice scraper, and mini shovel in the trunk so you're always prepared.

Tips & Warnings

• Many drivers who have a car that does GREAT in the snow tend to get overconfident, driving more aggressively in the snow than they should. These are the cars that you see in the ditches and busted up in accidents. There is no car (besides a military tank) that isn't going to give you some problems in bad conditions. The best safety measure is YOU- the driver. Adopt safe driving habits and learn how to drive in snow, and stay far away from other drivers as much as possible.