What car?

[hillview]

DH and I are debating a Prius or the like vs a Subaru with AWD. We live in Boston area and have a newer minivan with no AWD. We live in a suburb but not on a hill etc. We do get a lot of snow here. DH works 2 miles from home and DS goes to school about 5 miles from home. We put less than 1k a month on a car. We would likely buy the car.

We use the minivan for family trips and Costco runs. We often travel with more than 4 people in a car so the minivan is really needed for this.

So do you go with the all wheel drive for the ease of mind in terms of snow and gets pretty ok MPG for an AWD car OR do you go with the hybrid that doesn't do as well in snow but has less impact on the earth? I do know that the miles we put on the hybrid won't pay for gas -- it is more of an ethics thing I guess.
/hillary

[C99]

My current dream car is a Toyota Prius. DH loves our current car - a Toyota Sienna minivan. We only have one car for the 5 of us; once the kids are out of carseats, I am ready to trade ours in, but DH is not so sure.

[maestramommy]

If you're looking to go green without AWD, but want to go easier on the wallet, maybe consider a civic or corolla and put all season radials on. That's what we have on our Accord. Generally cars with Front wheel drive don't get have as much problem getting stuck or having trouble manuevering as rear wheel drive vehicles. If you're worried about snow you could go the extra mile and put snow tires on. With the kind of driving you do, I just don't think the Prius is worth it.

[HIU8]

DH loves the Prius (the car and the idea of the type of car). My BIL has one. He likes it, but he has it loaded down with about 40 lbs worth of junk in the back (can't be good for the gas mileage). DH's car is a 2002 Camry. We are not ready to get rid of it yet. It still has at least 3-5 years of life left in it. Plus, we are not in a financial situation where we can go get another car right now. We are waiting/watching the hybrids to see what happens over the next 3-5 years. Our other car is a Honda Odyssey. We have 2 DC in carseats and I love having that car for ease of getting kids in and the amount of cargo room it has. Plus, we take trips to see MIL where we either bring or take home large items, and we often have guests ride with us when we go out, so the space is well used.

[dogmom]

I live outside of Boston, at the top of a steep hill, with 1/4 mile driveway with turns, and I'm a nurse in Boston so I have to get in even in Blizzards. We are a Subaru family 100%. I can get up my driveway, and have, even if it is a sheet of ice. So I can completely back my Outback, which has needed few repairs in over 100,000 miles and is a great buy for the $$.

Now, it doesn't sound like you meet these requirements. The other thing to remember is AWD will make you GO, but it won't make you STOP. (Which is something a lot of SUV drivers don't understand.) I think if you already have a minivan and don't need the room, a Prius or a good front wheel drive sedan (as mentioned by PP) will do you fine. I guess it depends if you want and excuse to stay home in a bad snow storm or go out.

[StantonHyde]

Get the Prius and put snow tires on it in the winter!! I have friends who live "up canyon" and that is what they do. Works great. I have a Subaru and I love it. But you have a van for long trips etc. This is really and run around town on short errands car. They have a 4 yo and 18 mos old so it works fine with kids too. I have to have AWD to get up my hill, but I really want a Sienna but I do not want to do the run flat tires and only 7 people, so we are looking at a used FW van and will put on snow tires for the winter.

[sidmand]

I live outside of Boston, at the top of a steep hill, with 1/4 mile driveway with turns, and I'm a nurse in Boston so I have to get in even in Blizzards. We are a Subaru family 100%. I can get up my driveway, and have, even if it is a sheet of ice. So I can completely back my Outback, which has needed few repairs in over 100,000 miles and is a great buy for the $$.


Not the OP, but I also live in MA and last year my driveway literally was a sheet of ice. I live on a fairly major road and slid right down the driveway into the road. I am NOT looking forward to that happening again! We have a very steep driveway anyway. There was more than one time I couldn't get up it either. So the Subaru works really well in those kind of conditions? I have a Toyota Highlander which I thought would be okay. I don't know if it just needs new/better tires, or a different car is the way to go...and two carseats would fit fine? I like all the space I have and had actually considered going a little bigger (like a Sienna maybe?) but I'd like one I don't have to worry about slipping down the driveway with. Particularly since I need to drive DS to school every day so it's not really as much of an option to stay home.

[ThreeofUs]

I'm a Subaru mama and my car can climb vertical ice sheets in a rain storm. Well, not so much! :) But it does beat other street-legal cars I've driven for sure-footedness. I always feel safe and empowered to deal with the elements in it. Plus, it holds just enough for around-the-town shopping and schlepping that we do.

I have to say with little ones I am SO glad to have a car that minimizes my risk of an accident.

[niccig]

I'm torn.
We had 2 subarus over the years - love the handling. I don't get snow here, but I can imagine how they will drive there.
DH has a prius. LOVE this car. He get's 48 mpg and here in CA he has a sticker to go in the car pool lane. But he commutes 30-45 mins each way and on weekends we always take the Prius. You're driving so very very little, I don't think you'll get the money's worth out of the Prius.
I like the idea of a Corolla or something similar that's cheaper than a Prius but still really good gas mileage.

[MontrealMum]

Now, it doesn't sound like you meet these requirements. The other thing to remember is AWD will make you GO, but it won't make you STOP. (Which is something a lot of SUV drivers don't understand.)
This is an extremely important point.

We have just purchased an Outback, so I'll tell you how it handles after this winter :) We also still have a Corolla wagon with snow tires. (The Outback has snow tires as well, new law in QC requires that all cars do) Honestly, I'd put a car with snow tires that does "regular" driving up against just about anything else sans snow tires. I park on the street in a city that gets more snow that most metro areas and it's rare that I need to dig to get my car out. Unless you have a real need for the AWD you're adding a lot of expense to the price and gas mileage. We bought the Outback because we wanted another wagon, and we do a lot of skiing, hiking etc. and driving on poor roads. Now, don't get me wrong, I :heartbeat: our Outback, but I wouldn't want to recommend something that's overkill for your lifestyle.

I will say that our friends that live in Boston (and are also skiers) have TWO Subarus they love them so much.

ETA - if you're sold on "greenness", our car has a leaf on the back that signifies some sort of special emission rating, so even tho it's not a Prius, it's on the greener side. Check out the Subaru website, I don't remember exactly what it is and DH is out.

[pb&j]

I love my Outback! That said, I'm not convinced that it is the end all, be all of winter driving. I feel like my old front wheel drive Jetta handled just as well in wintry conditions, once I was going. Like a PP said, AWD makes you go, but won't make you stop. I suspect that the Prius, with all-season radials or snow tires (which do compromise the gas mileage) would probably handle nearly as well in winter driving conditions.

Where I currently live, I have to drive about a mile on unplowed roads before I get to the plowed road. The Subaru has been very nice for slogging through that. When I lived in Mass, it seemed they were much more proactive about snow removal than here in VA!

I do love the cargo room in the Outback - it's just the right size for us. But I definitely have Prius backseat envy - so much legroom, so much room for installing RF carseats!!

[mytwosons]

You might also want to take into account that the Prius won't get great mileage until the engine warms up. If it takes about half your trip for that to happen, you aren't looking at much better mileage than a civic or corolla.

[bubbaray]

I am originally from Boston, though live in much fairer climates now. Personally, even for our moderate climate, we always have at least 1 4WD/AWD vehicle for those days or trips that do involve snow. I would get the Subaru or even something like a CR-V. I'm thinking my next vehicle will be a CR-V (though I love my Ody and don't plan on trading it in for many years). I like the look of the RAV-4, but you can't get 3 across, and I would like to be able to carry an extra child (we are done, extra child that belongs to someone else, LOL).