I just thought this was interesting. I know my Outback works great in the snow and ice ( about six months of the year for me) but I had no idea about these other vehicles. I wonder if this is really accurate?

 

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6-ERc-DfhA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

it is an interesting video - but - keep in mind that it was made with affiliation to Subaru to impress the "general public" with the Subaru AWD system.

 

I would be more impressed if it was done independantly - IE: no affiliations with ANY automakers and the results were still as shown.

 

that said, gotta love that the Legacy could climb with supposedly only one wheel getting traction. (we dont get to see both sides at once so it is hard to say if it really was only one wheel)

I saw this video several years back. Pretty interesting......looks like something you would see at an auto show at the Subaru display.

One of my neighbors bought a Highlander because of the "4WD". They got stuck on our hill in the snow. I drove around them in my sedan after trying for about a half hour to dig through the hard packed snow on the road to help them get through to the pavement so they could get some traction. They gave up and just went back home.

Virtually no other manufacturer competes with Subaru in tests like that. There are vehicles out there that can - Audi has quite a few. But not at the price point that Subaru offers. If build quality, traction, reasonable size and fuel economy, and affordable price are what you want - you really don't have any other choice.

 

As many others will state - when it snows around here - Subaru's are one of the few things moving *effectively* with almost no chance of getting stuck if you aren't totally stupid with your driving. I relish those days - I love passing the 4WD Volvo's/BMW's and trucks/SUV's in my '91 Sport Sedan. I just find it hilariously ironic that I can go anywhere in snow/ice with my low, sporty, turbo and just wave at all the suckers who are stuck. I live in an "affluent" neighborhood or at least very near to one and It's not uncommon to see Masarati's and other very high end vehicles - so when it snows it's just a mess of stuck BMW's, 2WD Audi's, and tons of SUV's with gigantic rims and summer tires .

 

GD

Virtually no other manufacturer competes with Subaru in tests like that. There are vehicles out there that can - Audi has quite a few. But not at the price point that Subaru offers. If build quality, traction, reasonable size and fuel economy, and affordable price are what you want - you really don't have any other choice.

 

As many others will state - when it snows around here - Subaru's are one of the few things moving *effectively* with almost no chance of getting stuck if you aren't totally stupid with your driving. I relish those days - I love passing the 4WD Volvo's/BMW's and trucks/SUV's in my '91 Sport Sedan. I just find it hilariously ironic that I can go anywhere in snow/ice with my low, sporty, turbo and just wave at all the suckers who are stuck. I live in an "affluent" neighborhood or at least very near to one and It's not uncommon to see Masarati's and other very high end vehicles - so when it snows it's just a mess of stuck BMW's, 2WD Audi's, and tons of SUV's with gigantic rims and summer tires .

 

GD

 

that visual is just too funny!

We have a friend visiting from NM right now. She is looking for something to replace her aging SUV. We were driving between here and Crested Butte yesterday and she suddenly said, " there are so many Subarus here!" there are also a lot of Highlanders, Mazdas, Volvos, etc., but no comparison to the number of Subbies of every description. We are on our third, and every one has been great. I haven't had the 09 in any real snow yet, nor have I had any good tires on it yet. This is the first auto, and the first with the newer traction stuff. It will be interesting to compare come November.