Now that we’re firmly entrenched in winter, plenty of drivers have parked their everyday vehicles in favor of “winter beaters.” Conventional wisdom says this is the season to drive a big, four-wheel-drive pickup or SUV – could there be anything better to handle snowy and icy roads?
As it turns out, the answer is yes. You don’t really need a truck to do battle with Jack Frost these days, not with sophisticated stability control systems fitted as standard equipment and so many more choices in all-wheel-drive passenger cars than there used to be. Given the greater chance of having a rollover accident in a pickup or SUV, picking a passenger car for winter duty makes a lot of sense.
Let’s take a look at some that you might not think of as winter-worthy. Along the way we’ll explain why we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend any of these for winter driving.