Why the Mazda MX-5 is a Great Winter Car
People living in regions where temperatures dip below the freezing mark for few months a year understand the concept of a winter car all too well.
Needing to negotiate snow, ice and frigid temperatures, a winter car needs to be robust, reliable and sure footed. This leads most people into buying good all-around vehicles or a cheap, well used, affectionately nicknamed winter beater. The latter is usually only driven during winter months in place of a much nicer, high performance ‘summer’ car.
SEE ALSO: 2014 Mazda MX-5 Review
So what makes a winter car good? Well, conventional wisdom states it shouldn’t be a convertible as too much heat can escape through the roof. It shouldn’t be sports car as they are too performance orientated and temperamental and can’t handle cold temperatures or slick roads all that well. Finally, it definitely shouldn’t be rear-wheel drive as there’s no way to get any traction in the snow with one of those archaic drive line designs.
So the fact I’m proposing a rear-wheel drive, convertible sports car is a great winter vehicle may seems mildly insane. Ok, I’ll admit, maybe it isn’t the world’s best winter vehicle, but the 2015 Mazda MX-5 actually does a decent job when the weather gets cold. Most scoff at the idea that such a little roadster works well when the weather turns frightening, but I intend today to prove it’s a capable, fun ‘winter beater’. Follow along with me on twitter @mikeschlee and check back here regular for updates throughout the day.
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A 20+ year industry veteran, Mike rejoins the AutoGuide team as the Managing Editor. He started his career at a young age working at dealerships, car rentals, and used car advertisers. He then found his true passion, automotive writing. After contributing to multiple websites for several years, he spent the next six years working at the head office of an automotive OEM, before returning back to the field he loves. He is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA). He's the recipient of a feature writing of the year award and multiple video of the year awards.
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Michael Schlee must be getting paid for writing because every Miata owner in New England knows the rear-wheel drive Miata is not good for winter driving! The car, with the factory summer tires has next to zero traction in 2 inches of snow and forget ice of any sort! Even with snow tires on the Miata - the car doesn't perform much better. I live in New Hampshire and I'm on my 4th Miata. I drive a 2016 Miata Club and I'm making payments on it up the ying yang. When I moved to the White Mountains I took a chance and instead of buying snow tires which I know would suck in substantial snow I purchased tire chains instead! They're legal in New Hampshire without restrictions and the tire chains I have mount within seconds. I keep them stored in the trunk when not in use. They work in my situation as I rarely have to be anywhere on time. So when the weather forecast here calls for more than a few inches of snow I head out and pop the tire chains on. You can't drive over 30 mph with these so highway use is restricted, but city driving is fine. The tire chains I have are Thule CU-9 Size 80 which fit the Mazda factory summer tires (Michael Schlee must be getting paid for writing because every Miata owner in New England knows the rear-wheel drive Miata is not a good four-season vehicle. The car, with the factory summer tires on has next to zero traction in 2 inches of snow! Even with snow tires on the car doesn't perform much better. I live in New England and I'm on my 4th Miata. I drive a 2016 Miata Club making payments on it up the ying yang. When I moved to the White Mountains in NH I took a chance and instead of buying snow tires which I know would suck driving in substantial snow with I purchased tire chains instead! I rarely have to be anywhere anyway so I drive in 1 inch of snow with the summer tires and when the weather forecast calls for more than a few inches of snow I head-out and pop-on the tire chains! These are Thule CU-9 Size 80. They fit the Mazda factory 205/45R17 summer tires that came with the https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8ec5e3a1108e2828ecd46aef6d37044bf1b2b4be29710cc74390b7f86f3181e0.jpg car.
Michael Schlee must be getting paid for having written such - because every Miata owner in New England knows the rear-wheel drive Miata is not good for winter driving at all! The car, with the factory summer tires has next to zero traction in 2 inches of snow and forget ice of any sort! Even with snow tires on the Miata, even four Blizzaks on - the car doesn't perform much better! I know because I used to own four of them which I had on one Miata I owned. I live in New Hampshire and am on my 4th Miata. My current Mazda is a 2016 Miata Club which I'm making payments on up the ying-yang. When I moved to the White Mountains in December I took a chance and instead of buying snow tires which I know would suck in substantial snow I purchased tire chains instead! They're legal in New Hampshire! The tire chains I have mount within seconds! I keep them stored in the trunk when not in use. They work in my situation as I rarely have to be anywhere on time. So when the weather forecast calls for more than a few inches of snow in my neck of the woods I head out and pop the tire chains on! You can't drive over 30 mph with these so highway use is restricted, but city driving is good, fun and easy to get around! The tire chains I have are Thule CU-9 Size 80 which fit my Mazda 205/45R17 factory summer tires. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8ec5e3a1108e2828ecd46aef6d37044bf1b2b4be29710cc74390b7f86f3181e0.jpg