Originally posted by Spire
I find this to be completely untrue. I live in Montreal where the winter is significantly worse than michigan.
Ahh yes, you are correct. But Michigan is a whole state, unlike montreal which is a city...right? I could live down south....where they dont get hardly any snow, or I could live up north....where we get a ton more than you do. Well I happen to live up north where this year we got just over 300 inches of snow.....I read up a little and it says we get 170 annually, and you get 92 annually. If i'm not mistaken.....170 is a bigger number than 92.
Originally posted by Spire
I can safely say that the number of times that our caravan has gotten stuck in snow or ice is 0. We have a Hyundai which is low to the ground and does get stuck. 4 wheel drive is NOT a necessity for winter driving. It does improve traction, but only in acceleration. An ESP will work just as well on a 4x4 and a 2x4. SUVs used in cities are in general a waste. Period. Snow is cleared 90% of the time and when it is not most cars will make it through easily. There are those that use the SUVs capabilities, but that is something to the order of 1% of city SUVs.
I bet if you talked to people who frequently drive in the winter, they would say that 4 wheel drive would be a good thing to have....maybe not a need but a good thing to have. My mom drives a front wheel drive can and dosent have any problems, my dad drives a 4 wheel drive truck and uses it often in the winter. I do hate people who drive SUV's just to show them off or to be cool and dont ever use them for what their meant for, and yes, it is a waste.