Your SUV may look tough and tough. But when the snow piles up or the streets are icy, a beefy look alone isn’t enough to get you home safely. The biggest factor of difference when the weather turns sour is – even if you have all-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
1. AWD and 4WD are useful, but not enough
Drivers tend to choose SUVs when they want a vehicle that is well equipped to handle tough driving conditions compared to more typical passenger cars. Along with more ground clearance, most SUVs offer at least . Both types of transmission can provide power to all four wheels. This power delivery often offers a traction advantage on slippery or loose surfaces over rear wheel drive or front wheel dive. However, four-wheel power delivery alone is often not enough to handle the tough winter road conditions.
measured the performance gains in the showdown between all-wheel drive and a front-wheel drive sedan with winter tires. Typically, all-wheel drive SUVs would have a significant performance advantage in wintery conditions. But according to Consumer Reports testing, the winter-tired two-wheel-drive sedan was able to keep up with and even match the snow and ice performance of all-season SUVs.
The test also compared a single SUV using all-season tires and winter tires consecutively. You can guess the result.
“We conducted braking tests on a 2015 all-wheel drive Honda CR-V, the best-selling compact crossover (at the time), with its original all-season tires, then with winter tires. The differences in stopping distances were considerable.”
How to know if your SUV’s tires are rated for severe snow service
There’s an easy way to check if your SUV’s tires are officially rated for severe snow service. These tires carry a symbol resembling three mountain peaks with a central snowflake on the sidewalls. If your tires have that symbol, your SUV is ready to make the most of its winter performance.
