Winter is Coming: What Are the Best Cars for Winter Driving?
Lisa Steuer McArdle
· 3 min read
Winter driving
is a tricky proposition no matter what kind of vehicle you have. Depending on your needs and what kind of roads you will be traveling, you may need a vehicle with four-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, or all-wheel drive. Each option has its merits. However, some
car brands
fare better in the snow and ice than others. There are many factors to consider, including vehicles that offer all-wheel drive as well as creature comforts such as heated seats, heated mirrors, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alerts. Let's take a look at a few vehicles that are ideal for winter driving and traveling on ice.
A top winter driving pick: The 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee AWD
According to
Kelley Blue Book
, the Jeep Grand Cherokee has been one of Jeep's best sellers for good reason. It has crossover appeal as well as reliability. The Cherokee provides ruggedness as well as comfort and styling. The 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee comes with optional AWD, which is added to the base Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. This option will add $2,000 to the $35,715 base price. In the Laredo models, Jeep offers its Quadra-Trac I 4WD system.
This full-time system evenly divides torque to each axle all the time. It has 8.6 inches of ground clearance for getting over those snowdrifts without bottoming out. It also has heated mirrors, which is helpful to remove snow or ice build-up, a blind-spot monitor, and rear cross-traffic alert.
Some additional options that can be added include heated front seats, heated steering wheel, and remote start for those wintry mornings.
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2021 Subaru Forester
The 2021 Subaru Forester offers AWD standard and an impressive 8.7 inches of ground clearance. In addition, it also comes standard with adaptive headlights and automatic high beams to help you see the road even in the worst conditions, a rearview camera washer, which can come in handy for removing ice and snow from your field of vision, and pre-collision braking.
You'll have to move up to the Premium trim to get blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. Those features come standard on the Sport grade and above. It is powered by a 182-horsepower 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine. Subaru isn't known for its creature comforts, but what it lacks in comfort it more than makes up for in reliability.
2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid
The 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is offered standard with AWD on the entry-level LE. There is 8.1 inches of ground clearance and LED headlights and taillights, forward-collision warning with emergency braking, and automatic high beams that eliminate blinding on-coming traffic when you forget that they are on.
To get blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and heated mirrors, you will need to upgrade to the Blind Spot Monitor package. Blind-spot monitoring is important on ice and snow-covered roads because it helps the driver see obstacles that may have otherwise been invisible, therefore, creating dangerous driving conditions.
Other features such as heated seats, heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, and adaptive headlights require additional upgraded packages adding to the cost of the vehicle.
For winter driving, these are just a few of the many options for finding a vehicle that not only meets your family's needs as far as room and comfort, but also gets you safely to your destination.
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