Need advice from my northern friends
 

Last winter’s ice storm and snowmageddon here in central Texas convinced me that I must have a winter vehicle. My commute to work is 94 miles round trip thru the hill country. Been looking online at AWD crossover SUV’s for less than 20k. They’re going fast! My question is whether or not AWD is really necessary for these conditions because the pickings r slim. Is FWD sufficient? Thanks in advance

All you really need is a good set of winter tires. Just remember, doesn't matter the car or tires, ice is ice and if you're not careful...

With that said, yes AWD or full time 4x4 (like a Jeep), certainly does much better than just getting into a FWD in terms of getting around without slipping as much.

Front wheel drive is fine. My commute is 101 miles. wore out 2 Honda civics. In Montana!

Subaru Outback used....

lived in wisconsin for 4 years. green bay frozen tundra specifically. I used a cheapie saturn sc2 for my winter beater for a couple years leaving the genesis coupe and ford f1504x4 in the garage. salt doesn't rust the plastic saturn but will everything else.
never had an issue there but they do a great job plowing/salting. not sure about texas.

I had a 2004 gto with dunlop wintersport 3s on it that would go better in 6" or less snow than my 4wd 2500hd 2020 gmc duramax. A good set of tires is all you really need if you are confident in your driving skills. The days that you would see more than 6" of snow in Texas will be slim to none not really worth buying a car over that in my opinion. Now if you wanted to also not drive your car in the rain then that is different. There hasn't been a storm yet that I put my truck in 4wd for although we did get 42" of snow in one storm last year but it was on the weekend and the roads were clear when I had to go to work.

no you dont need AWD. i've never been stuck in any vehicle here.
imho it's a waste of money and not needed at all.

Best traction I’ve had in the snow was a 82 Toyota Tercel, with very, very narrow all seasons. Was able to drive up onto huge snow piles, not kidding… no parking on street? Hey, look there’s a pile of snow!

All wheel drive and four wheel drive have their place, but the right tire on a front wheel drive car, will be as good, if not better (and at a lower price point).

I read a good quote on this somewhere a while back - AWD is good to help you start moving in poor conditions, but once you’re rolling it’s not really any better than FWD (except arguably when going up a snowy hill). As others have stated, the tires are more important. And here in TX, you probably need to be more concerned with the other people on the road that drive just as crazily in winter weather as they normally do, and/or drive with false confidence just because they have A/4WD.

And I should note, I’m not a northerner now, but I grew up there and learned to drive in snow from the get go.

Originally from California and now in Iowa. From my experiences, you do not need crazy setup for snow in Texas. It happens so rarely that any money you spend on it will most likely be wasted. Also, I too thought AWD was needed for snow. After doing 2 winters in Iowa I can tell you I get along just find with RWD in the snow. Everyone saying tires are important is right. Traction is what allows you to turn and keeps you from sliding off the roads. I'd say you should be find with an all season tire in Texas.

AWD gets you moving. While that's not a huge concern in most places, in some places, like here, it makes all the difference.

Just starting in an intersection on ice, frost, compacted snow (which is ice) or snow can be next to impossible without studs on a RWD car like this. True winter tires can help, but the disadvantage with the weight bias really hurts you. Throw an incline in there, even very slight, you'll just sit there spinning wheels. Manual trans helps a bit to help feather the clutch and short-shift, but again, just starting is usually half the battle here in Alaska. Once you are rolling, then it's about braking and cornering, but all sorts of little things throw a wrench into your plans, like a vehicle ahead that slows down where you have to come to a stop or nearly a stop, and now you have to accelerate again. You also need momentum for some places and inclines. With RWD, hitting the gas doesn't do anything but spin or brake the wheels. I was at an intersection a couple years ago, making a left turn onto another road, when a car came sliding and spinning through the intersection against the red light. I was in my AWD BMW and I hit the gas, which let all four of my studded tires claw the surface and launch my car out of danger. That's the **** we have to be prepared for. Or if someone behind you is locking up and about to rear-end you. You might be able to slowly feather the clutch with RWD and winter tires on ice, but you won't produce the acceleration rate you need to get out of harm's way.

So yes, in some places AWD makes a huge difference. IMO, it's mostly the vehicles that don't have a lot of weight on an axle. Most light cars, some trucks, as the vehicles get heavier, less of an issue.

There's a slight advantage with engine braking, it brakes all the wheels, rather than the rear two, this can help you maintain traction.

If I lived in Texas and I had to daily it every day, I'd throw some good wet AS on for winter. They would do well enough if you get a little snow if you are careful.

The problem is ice storms really just F-everything up. I go to Texas at least every 3 months, was stationed in Fort Sill and I've been in both places for some nasty ice storms. There is no safe driving in freezing rain, unless you are on studded tires. Back when we had a bad ice storm in Texas a few years back on a work trip, I had to thaw the car out for a few hours to get ice to come off of it, and then I drove to the airport. I was real careful and just feathered the throttle, etc. There were no cars on the freeways or byways. There were parts of cars strewn everywhere though, a bumper here, a wheel over there, total Armageddon scene.

Many places down south get snow get snow on warm ground and it turns to slush, then it's just about penetrating the slush, but wet slush can be just as bad as glare ice, where nothing really grips enough. If they don't get this, they'll have the sun come out and bake the roads and remove the ice from the cleared portion. Unless you are at ski-resort elevation, it's typically never a lasting issue or reason to get AWD.

If you go far enough north, like up in Fairbanks, when it drops to -20 and colder on ice and snow, traction actually goes way up with winter tires. It's more like driving in the dry at that point. That's when you truly don't need studded tires anymore, since the surface is more like sandpaper. But if you try normal tires, they are like hockey pucks and you just go spinning out.

But back to freezing rain, we get that a lot here too. We get more and more warm storms with the pacific ocean warming and a warm "blog" that hangs out in the gulf of Alaska, but due to our sun angle, the ground remains cold, so anything that falls as rain, turns to ice. Then there's freezing fog, which we get too, and lastly, frost. Most places don't get cold enough or high pressure enough to get frost on the roads, but we do, and that's what "black ice" is. The effect is very similar to freezing rain. In all of those conditions, you are basically pretty F-ed unless you have studded tires. Winter tires help a little...but you gotta slow WAY down to like half of the speed limit or less, again, unless you are running studded.

FWD is fine for most conditions, your weight is on the axle, where it should be for accelerating traction. It's infinitely better than RWD with the engine in the front.

And we have track events and I get to have fun in my car in the summer. New for this winter, I found an awesome deal on some studded Toyo G3 Observe Ice tires, so I'm running those on my winter wheelset. Previously, I had some high performance Blizzaks, but they were real crappy and I could only drive when it was cold and dry, vs. when we had snow and ice. I'm usually able to take it out at least a few times in the winter due to drier or warmer stretches, but not much last winter. I just want to be able to get a few miles on it for the fluids and everything else, so looking forward to this winter, should be unstoppable.

It's all about the tires. You don't need AWD you need a vehicle with a good set of tires.

While a good, true AWD system (BMW xdrive, Audi Quattro) can really help, a good set of all-season or winter tires is really the ticket.

Nothing but studded tires would help with ice however.

Honestly, is it really worth it if you get an ice storm once every 5 or even 10 years or more? I know if there is a major snow or ice storm where I live, I'm just staying home.