Ranger compared to Subaru in snow

[Elgorr4]

In general the weight distribution of pickup trucks limits how well they can handle in the snow, even with a decent 4wd system, good tires, and terrain management. An AWD wagon is the best vehicle for snowy roads. Our pickups also have a much higher center of gravity which hurts the handling. The only advantage of the pickup is that my vehicles routinely get buried with 30"+ of snow, and it requires less shovelling to pull the ranger out because it has much higher clearance. I drive in the snow way too much, and I really wanted and SUV or AWD minivan but the ranger just ended up being the most practical vehicle for me, so I put up with the lack of snow performance. With good tires and careful driving it gets me where I need to go regardless of conditions but not without some stress.

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[gwhalin]

In general the weight distribution of pickup trucks limits how well they can handle in the snow, even with a decent 4wd system, good tires, and terrain management. An AWD wagon is the best vehicle for snowy roads. Our pickups also have a much higher center of gravity which hurts the handling. The only advantage of the pickup is that my vehicles routinely get buried with 30"+ of snow, and it requires less shovelling to pull the ranger out because it has much higher clearance. I drive in the snow way too much, and I really wanted and SUV or AWD minivan but the ranger just ended up being the most practical vehicle for me, so I put up with the lack of snow performance. With good tires and careful driving it gets me where I need to go regardless of conditions but not without some stress.

Ground clearance of an Outback is I think better or the same as stock Ranger.

 

[WingShot]

I loved my Subarus when I was young and single. The turbo wagon was the greatest ski car ever and was unstoppable. But alas, not enough room for the Princess, two dogs, and all the gear I seem to travel with. Plus, it won't tow our camper! I'm not in a position to have both, so the Ranger fits my lifestyle better now.

 

[brroberts]

Have a 1998 2wd Chevy 2500 and had a 2002 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport. Lived in Alaska 25 years. Both had snow tires and the truck got 800 lbs in the back. Drove both all winter up icy hills. The truck worked just fine as long as you drove well, the Subbie was absolutely great. I still use the truck. The Subbie was the biggest piece of mechanical junk I’ve ever owned. It was a money pit I replaced with a Corolla that has been very reliable and low maintenance. My 2wd Ranger was driven 160 miles yesterday on gravel and pavement with factory tires and no extra weight in light snow without a problem, but it was flat land.

 

[12Bravo20]

Here is a better comparison as far as 4 wheel drive vs all wheel drive in a similar sized vehicle. The Renegade is similar in size to the first gen Liberty.

The Liberty used a similar (if not the same) 4x4 system as the Wranglers did at that time. It was your typical 4x4 that you had to lock it into 4 wheel drive.

The Renegade, along with Compass and 2016+ Cherokee, are all wheel drive. How the systems are set up, they are basically front wheel drive vehicles until you put it into 4 Hi or 4 Lo,. then it becomes all wheel drive. Now the 16 Cherokee would actually engage all 4 wheels when taking off from a dead stop in 2 wheel drive mode.

It was night and day difference between driving the 20002 Liberty in the snow versus the 18 Renegade or 16 Cherokee. No matter the drive system, you still need good tires and have to know how to drive in snow to keep from getting stuck.

My oldest son has his Subaru WRX and my youngest son's wife has a 16 Crosstrek. I know the Crosstrek does well for her. Her and my son have taken the Crosstrek and Compass off roading and on long winter trips up to Minnesota. Both are very comparable on off-road and winter performance.

I won't lie, I will probably miss the Cherokee in the snow. But I am at a point where I need a truck more than a SUV.

 

[Tbone]

I have plenty of experience driving and commuting in a Subaru with snow tires and now also have a Ranger Lariat Tremor. Does anyone have the ability to compare a Subaru Forester to the Ranger with snow tires in such an application (commute is 30-40 miles each way, live in the western US with a decent amount of snow). I'm trying to decide which vehicle to put snow tires on and if it's worth keeping the Subaru. I don't like snow driving at all in general and safety is my primary concern. Thanks much.

I have an XLT Tremor and live in the Sea2sky corridor in BC, its been snowmageddon lately. It's worth pointing out that the stock Grabber A/T's are snow flake rated tires. I've come from a Frontier and the Ranger with those tires has a massive upgrade in grip. It's been an absolute joy having this truck through the winter so far, I drive in 2H unless I get significant loss of traction, then I stick it in 4H and it chews up everything. Been an absolute gong show on the 99 this year fyi with insane amounts of snow and I've been super impressed with the trucks level of grip compared to previous trucks ive owned.

 

[mlosi762]

I as well came from owning a Forester XT before buying my Ranger. As others have said, the AWD in the Subaru, with proper tires, is a beast in snowy conditions. After owning my Ranger for 2 years, we finally got a decent amount of snow this week here in Northern Virginia, so it was my first time really testing the truck in it. While my Ranger is no slouch, I believe the Subaru handled the snowy/slushy roads better.

 

[mtbikernate]

my wife had a 2002 Liberty prior to her subie. The Liberty didn't really get pushed hard in the snow (we lived in TX most of the years she owned it), but it did have an all wheel drive mode (labeled full-time 4wd, in addition to the usual 4hi and 4lo modes). Of course it functioned a little different than the subie's system, but it worked and my wife used it regularly in the wintertime.

every time I drive the subaru on slippery roads, I'm impressed by how it handles in corners. it's a little unintuitive at first, but if you give it gas when sliding in a turn, it'll track through pretty well. biggest thing that impressed me about that car was a few years ago. wife was working nights at the time and was working when a good sized snowstorm hit our area. it dropped 14" in my neighborhood while she was at work. she came home at 0-dark-thirty in the morning that morning and while the roads were slippery, she did pretty well until she got to the turn-off into our valley about a mile from our house.

she almost parked the car at the church there and walked the rest of the way because there was only one set of tire tracks in the snow at that point, and she was uncertain about whether she could get through that snow. She went for it, and her crosstrek motored right through it.

I couldn't get my Honda Fit out of the neighborhood for about a week after that snowfall due to clearance concerns. The neighborhood itself got plowed, but the valley road leading to it didn't get plowed for about a week. It was at that point that I realized I ought to have awd or 4wd and some clearance.

 

[staryoshi]

Not much I can add, Subaru AWD, ground clearance, and handling are superb for wintery commutes, especially with snow tires. I have a 2014 Forester but no Ranger to compare it to... Yet.

 

[staryoshi]

Ground clearance of an Outback is I think better or the same as stock Ranger.

8.7" is pretty much the Subaru standard, which is close to rangers 8.9" in 4wd and more than 2wd. Wilderness adds about an inch

 

[Peragrin]

Here is a better comparison as far as 4 wheel drive vs all wheel drive in a similar sized vehicle. The Renegade is similar in size to the first gen Liberty.

The Liberty used a similar (if not the same) 4x4 system as the Wranglers did at that time. It was your typical 4x4 that you had to lock it into 4 wheel drive.

The Renegade, along with Compass and 2016+ Cherokee, are all wheel drive. How the systems are set up, they are basically front wheel drive vehicles until you put it into 4 Hi or 4 Lo,. then it becomes all wheel drive. Now the 16 Cherokee would actually engage all 4 wheels when taking off from a dead stop in 2 wheel drive mode.

It was night and day difference between driving the 20002 Liberty in the snow versus the 18 Renegade or 16 Cherokee. No matter the drive system, you still need good tires and have to know how to drive in snow to keep from getting stuck.

My oldest son has his Subaru WRX and my youngest son's wife has a 16 Crosstrek. I know the Crosstrek does well for her. Her and my son have taken the Crosstrek and Compass off roading and on long winter trips up to Minnesota. Both are very comparable on off-road and winter performance.

I won't lie, I will probably miss the Cherokee in the snow. But I am at a point where I need a truck more than a SUV.

Had a 2002 Jeep Liberty, a 2016 Jeep Renegade and now a 2021 Ranger.

the liberty I had absolute confidence to punch through what snow I was in. (that had a full off road package)
The renegade I had great confidence it wouldn't take me places I didn't want to go. (stand drive drive train, didn't push it much past mud.
The Ranger well I can handle rear wheel drive in th snow. might have to get some weight for the bed though. (without 4 wheel drive engaged) with it engaged it handled just fine.

 

[VAMike]

Ground clearance of an Outback is I think better or the same as stock Ranger.

on paper it's just a little bit lower than the truck (except for the latest model), but in snow there's a practical difference between 8.x inches all the way across vs 8.x inches at the pumpkin and 11 or whatever everywhere else.

that said, I'll generally agree that the awd wagon is going to handle a bit better, and the 500-800lb lower weight will be easier to stop. they're close enough that whichever one has snow tires vs all-seasons will probably win.

 

[Bravohook]

I have plenty of experience driving and commuting in a Subaru with snow tires and now also have a Ranger Lariat Tremor. Does anyone have the ability to compare a Subaru Forester to the Ranger with snow tires in such an application (commute is 30-40 miles each way, live in the western US with a decent amount of snow). I'm trying to decide which vehicle to put snow tires on and if it's worth keeping the Subaru. I don't like snow driving at all in general and safety is my primary concern. Thanks much.

I use my Ranger to commute 66 miles each way. I live in the Flathead Valley of MT and commute to Eureka 5 days a week. Ranger does ok in the snow. I try to keep it in 2wd as much as I can but some days you just need to 4wd it. My impreza was awesome, added studded snowtires and it was a tank. The 4wd system is the biggest factor. The scoobys are symmetrical awd vs 4wd in the ranger. Scooby you get 50 50 front and rear drive power. In the ranger its more of a 70 30 till your front wheels start slipping then the brakes kick in to send power to traction wheels. I'll get winter tires for the ranger next season but so far the factory hankooks are pretty good. I did run them down to 25 psi and that helped alot.

 

[the5Gmartian]

I have a similar situation but with my wife’s volkswagen, after driving both my ranger and her Tiguan, I have to say the VW was very impressive. The one thing that really stood out to me though, was the ground clearance. It really makes a difference with all of the snow banks and messed up plowing jobs here in the DC area.

 

[Langwilliams]

I've never felt the need to add weight to the bed of this ranger, my other 2 rangers were 2wd. This is a interesting solution for adding weight. It can be strapped down in case of an accident an stores easily

https://www.amazon.com/ShurTrax-CLW...DVWG/ref=dp_prsubs_3?pd_rd_i=B005IZDVWG&psc=1


There's a hard plastic version called weight mate traction device. It has a high limit on how much weight you can stack on it. My friend ordered one for his Ram 3500. He said in a light slushy snow the torque of that ram put out made it squirrelly when slick out.

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