Ranger compared to Subaru in snow

[halligan1201]

My 2013 VW Tiguan, even with it's touring tires still on it right now, does a million times better on road with snow and ice than my Ranger (Lariat Tremor). It's not even close. When I put the winter wheels and tires on the VW it'll be that much more of a gulf between them. I expected this. The Ranger is a 4WD truck. The VW is all-time AWD. It's a no-brainer on which is better... Until the snow gets deep enough. The VW even drives circles around my girlfriend's Subaru Crosstrek in snow and ice. I've never driven a better vehicle on snow and ice.

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[12Bravo20]

The problems I had with both the 2002 Jeep Liberty and 2018 Jeep Renegade was with deep snow. Both vehicles are pretty light weight. Both had front skid plates and a deep enough wet snow would build up and lift the front tires up enough to loose traction. Now this is with snow deep enough that I was pushing it with the front of each vehicle.

My youngest son and his wife have to deal with that too. Though the Jeep Compass Trail Hawk does a little better since it has more ground clearance. My other son will definitely have to watch it with deep snow in his WRX since it sits pretty low.

My last 4wd truck was my 97 extended cab heavy half ton. It had the 7" long bed and also had a home made front brush guard made form 3" steel pipe. That thing was heavy and sucked the fuel down but it got around just fine during the winter.

 

[Langwilliams]

weight is a big factor. I had a Mercury Mariner, fwd v6 an it was fine in the snow for around here. My daughter bought an escape with the 4 cylinder an it wasn't as good in the snow.

I grew up with rwd cars driving in the snow. My friends an I were "drifting" before it was cool. big empty department store parking lot, add some snow....instant drift track. Throw in some parking brake an boom you're doing "Rockford files" U turns.

 

[VAMike]

Doesn't anyone put their significant others back there to add weight ? I do it in the interest of safety and avoiding driving distractions. They do need to dress warmly though.

you tell your significant other you need them in the back because of their weight, and you still have a significant other? I found out all the way back when I was still in my teens (at least for me) that the best option is to never, ever discuss weight. at all. ever.

 

[Hawkeye]

you tell your significant other you need them in the back because of their weight, and you still have a significant other? I found out all the way back when I was still in my teens (at least for me) that the best option is to never, ever discuss weight. at all. ever.

Thank you everyone for your comments and please continue to leave them.

This one above is TRUTH. I'm still laughing.

 

[Fritz]

I had a 2017 forester on 16” blizzack snow tires. It was great.
I now have a 2019 ranger on 16” Firestone winter force tires. It’s also great.
In between I had a 2500 Chevy on blizzaks.
The forester was the best for 90% of driving. It was awd and not overpowered which made it easiest for general commuting.
The trucks where better where the snow/ground was rough and slow going or where more ground clearance was necessary.

Also lack of front recovery points on the forester was lame. I put a tow receiver on the back so I’d have something.

 

[staryoshi]

I haven't had any of the new subarus, I was thinking back to an old '06 in regards to ground clearance. Crazy how high the new ones are!

Yeah they've really filled their niche nicely. Around the '13-14 model years they caught up in interior quality too. No more flimsy tin can doors, either

 

[12Bravo20]

While I have not drove the daughter in law's Crosstrek, I have drove my son's WRX. The WRX sure is fun to drive.

 

[Wes Siler]

Lotta poor information in this thread. Can anyone who prefers AWD to 4wd articulate the differences between the two systems? I think starting there will foster some basic understanding of how to properly use your Ranger, which is the vastly more capable, vastly safer vehicle.

 

[Hawkeye]

Lotta poor information in this thread. Can anyone who prefers AWD to 4wd articulate the differences between the two systems? I think starting there will foster some basic understanding of how to properly use your Ranger, which is the vastly more capable, vastly safer vehicle.

Would you mind providing info about how to properly use the Ranger and why the Ranger is vastly more capable and safer? Appreciate it.

 

[Wes Siler]

Would you mind providing info about how to properly use the Ranger and why the Ranger is vastly more capable and safer? Appreciate it.

4WD locks the speeds of the front and rear axles together, so the wheel on each axle is only able to spin as fast as its counterpart on the other axle. AWD sends all power to the wheel (of four) with the least traction.

Both Subaru and Ford use ABS based wheel speed matching tech in addition to above, but where our system will allow all wheels to spin in absence of traction, Subarus will not. So they sorta give up at a certain point.

Extrapolate from there. Which is going to get you further?

 

[Wes Siler]

I’m no mechanical engineer, so my preference in snow/ice with an AWD is based on experience on city roads that are plowed continuously. Of course on backroads and neighborhood roads/streets that don’t get plowed as often, the Ranger does better with fresh snow. Anything deeper than an inch or two, but that isn’t that much or that often. I wouldn’t call it “more capable” of handling the type of conditions that cities like Anchorage Alaska experience about half the year.

I have seen some threads (can’t remember which ones) have some very knowledgeable people discussing the the difference between 4WD and AWD, I’m sure they can be found rather easily.

It's a shame our car culture isnt more knowledge based. What mechanical features drive your misconception, and if they work as you claim, how do they work?

 

[Fritz]

What an ass.

 

[Wes Siler]

What an ass.

Not trying to be a dick. It just seems pretty important that people understand what makes their body on frame 4x4 fundamentally different from a unibody crossover. Not only will gaining this knowledge empower you to better take advantage of all the capability you paid for, but it'll make the rest of us road users who have to drive alongside you safer too.

 

[D Fresh]

4WD locks the speeds of the front and rear axles together, so the wheel on each axle is only able to spin as fast as its counterpart on the other axle. AWD sends all power to the wheel (of four) with the least traction.

Both Subaru and Ford use ABS based wheel speed matching tech in addition to above, but where our system will allow all wheels to spin in absence of traction, Subarus will not. So they sorta give up at a certain point.

Extrapolate from there. Which is going to get you further?

Your understanding of Subarus AWD is at best ill conceived.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/not-every-subaru-all-wheel-drive-system-is-created-equal/

It's a shame our car culture isnt more knowledge based.

Speak for yourself.

What an ass.

Surprised he didn't link to an article he himself wrote to back up his opinion.

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