Some of my friends have moved to the country to escape the high real estate prices in DC. I drove out there Sunday and found myself driving up and down some pretty crazy inclines. I was sweating bullets and downshifting into first and second a lot.
I think to continue visiting, I’m going to need 4-wheel drive, or at least a set of chains for the tires. They’ve been warned they won’t be seeing me out at their place again till the snow melts. Not that there is snow out there now, but I’m actually pretty scared to drive it again without 4WD. My new car fantasies now entail getting a hybrid Ford Expedition instead of a BMW M3 SMG.
I was even joking about how they are going to need to stock their pantry really well since it could be a week before they can leave their home during a blizzard.
I’m also friends with a hobby goat farmer out thattaway. Going to her place isn’t so bad since she’s not on the side of a mountain. I can get away with just using chains for the small steep part of her hill. I was at her place in the summer and made a mental note to myself about this. As it was, I saw a mutual friend last night and mentioned the first family and the harrowing drive. She offered to take me out there in her Subaru Outback. That’s one way to do it, borrow a car.
It’s almost better to have your friends move away completely than in a no-man’s land where you could go visit them, but it takes over a hour and adds this weird expense of a different vehicle. I know I’m just going to feel guilty not seeing them too frequently due to the distance.
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Before you go out shopping for a new car, try snow tires on your current one (even if it’s just the front wheels).
4WD/AWD is not the safety net that most people think it is. It just lets you get into more trouble faster. I know of a LOT of Subaru owners who run snow tires on their cars.
Ever notice how many 4×4s, SUVs, etc. you see in the ditches during snowstorms? It’s because the drivers think that pushing the 4WD button on their dash makes them invincible, and they can keep driving as though the road is dry.
What a while way to impose on your friends: move some place that requires them to buy a new, more expensive car!
But dakboy makes a great point. I’ve seen many all powerful SUVs in ditches, on the side of the road and wrecked after a snowstorm while little putt-putt sedans continue to whizz by. I think it has more to do with the tires and the driver than the vehicle.
You mention me, and no linky? I had no thought of imposing on my friends by moving, just a desire to leave suburbia. While my primary car is at the moment an SUV – an XTerra – I’m buying a civic for a commuter car. I drove my mom’s civic around the new neighborhood – and didn’t really have any difficulties, or even fear. Granted, getting up the really steep hill in winter will be an issue if it snows, but there is a back, downhill way out.
I hope Maps doesn’t abandon us for months – but we’ll still be coming into town on occasion.
from my experience back wheel drive autos really sux in snow