#Snow

SUVs and crossovers are the dominant body styles on the road today, and, public perception aside, they are, in essence, tall station wagons. As with the wagons of yore, there’s a large cargo area and seats that can be folded any which way to make efficient use of the space. This is great—until the bags of potting soil stowed back there burst or the family golden retriever has shed his bodyweight in fur all over your car’s cozy cabin.

Winter is either around the corner or already unleashing its full, snow-spewing furry. There’s no escaping its cold embrace. But life doesn’t stop just because it’s frosty and slippery outside.

What is traction control? Well, before we get into that, let’s talk about traction itself.

“Driving this car in the snow is pretty darn cool,” said Dan Hassler, suspension and steering dynamics engineer at Honda, though, truth be told, he’s probably a little biased, having played a key role in developing the second-generation Acura NSX.

I’m a firm believer that there’s no such thing as an all-season or all-weather tire.

Updated November 2018

Subaru has earned a reputation for being one of the ultimate winter-friendly manufacturers. But how good is a Subaru in the snow?

Sailun Tires has been around for 12 years, but you can be forgiven if you haven’t heard of them.

Updated March 2019

Chaos ensues at local tire shops when the snow belt states get their first flurries of the season.

Winter-tire technology is advancing at a rapid rate. Today’s winter rubber is so superior to snow tires of yesteryear that the two can’t even be compared. This is great news for those who live in regions with nasty winter weather as more and more passenger vehicles are rolling off of showroom floors with summer tires or low rolling-resistance tires, neither of which are well suited to handle the white stuff.

While it isn’t the first time this has happened, BMW’s M3 will be a sedan when the next generation arrives and the latest spy photos show it in its most recent prototype.

This winter season, are you worried about the driving habits of other drivers, or the weather affecting your car’s driving characteristics?

Snow and ice on the road can make for a slippery drive home, and the snowflakes falling from the sky can limit your visibility, so it’s no wonder that there’s a definite increase in insurance claims once winter starts.

Here’s an idea: sponsor a blizzard and name it after a line of cars. That way when it snows, the weather man will be forced to advertise them, how could it possibly go wrong?

Some cars handle better than others in snow and as high-performance beasts go, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII is certainly among the best.

The Evo, as it is commonly called by enthusiasts, is a lot like the Subaru WRX STi. They’re both beefed up rally versions of their manufacturer’s humdrum sedans. Stiff suspension, power-a-plenty and a rigorous all-wheel drive systems make these the go-to for off road racers.

That really doesn’t mean anything, though, if you’re caught in a snowy pile up on the highway like the driver in the video below was. Thankfully for him and his car, he understood that driving on an embankment and dinging up his ride was better than stomping on the brakes and sliding out of control. According to the West Virginia Metro News, about 30 vehicles were involved in the crash.

Unfortunately for so many others around him, winter defensive driving is an easily forgotten skill that can save you money and your life. Just remember that front- rear- or all-wheel drive cars cant do diddly without a driver’s due diligence. Stay calm, dress warm and keep a kit in your car in case you get stuck.

That said, there’s a reason our review of the 2011 Evo MR features us hooning around in the snow: it’s damn fun. You don’t buy this car for comfort, you buy it because road gripping, lane churning performance and precision are an enthusiast’s bread and butter.

You can watch the video below, and as always— drive safe. Warning: there is a lot of swearing in the video.

The last thing you want to do on a cold and snowy morning is spend 10 minutes chiseling the ice off your car’s windshield (especially if you’ve forgotten your gloves inside). Save your frostbitten fingers with the AlphaTherm Windshield Washer Fluid Heater System.