Moving to the mountains, should we trade in the Odyssey? For what?

[MommyAllison]

We currently live in a fairly snowy area and our Odyssey does not do well. It could definitely use some new tires, but before replacing them we are trying to decide if it would be better to trade it in for something that will do much better. The all season tires we are looking at are $500, we have not priced studded snow tires.

We are moving in the next few weeks to NW Montana, and will have to cross two mountain passes to get there. The city we are moving to is on a lake, so they do get more snow than our current city. We are considering trading for something like a Pilot, that would have 4 wheel drive and hopefully not require studded snow tires to do well through the pass. (We will be driving back and forth to visit family on a fairly regular basis, though probably less so when the weather is bad next winter. This year, however, we have commitments that will require traveling back and forth several times over the next month.)

So, DH drives an 07 Hyundai Sonata, which we have studded snow tires and great all season tires for. It does fine in the snow around town. What second car would you choose in our situation? I will be really sad to give up sliding doors on my van, but I am afraid that even with new all seasons, the Ody will not do well enough in the snow and especially the passes. Our must haves are great safety/crash test ratings (like the Ody and Sonata), good gas mileage (one way between the two cities is about 240mi), and good for a family of 5 plus luggage.

If you do have an Odyssey and it does well in snow, do you have studded tires or just all seasons on it? Id love it if the Odyssey would do amazing with new tires, as it is perfect in every other way for us. Really, any advice is appreciated. We have a limited amount of time to figure this out and already are crazy busy trying to find a house and move. Thanks!!

[elliput]

I grew up in MT, and am quite familiar with the territory you are moving to.

Good all season tires should be just fine on a front wheel drive or all wheel drive vehicle, and this late in the season, I would not worry about investing in tires right away. When I was in college, I worked at a ski area, and drove little front wheel drive cars up to the hill, never put snows or studded tires on it at all.

[Piglet]

I am in Canada, just a bit away from there. I would definitely go the snow/winter tire route before trading in a good vehicle. I would also not stress about the snow tires at this moment. The weather is getting better (hard to believe) and the highways around here are pretty clear unless it is actually snowing. The problem with putting snow tires on now is that you will need to take them off and replace with all-seasons in the next few months anyway, then store them and re-mount them in the fall. Finally, it may serve you better to wait and see what other people are driving in the new place - it might give you a better understanding of whether studded tires are even required or if regular snow tires are sufficient, or if you can make it up hills or not in a front-wheel drive vehicle or not. For the record, this is the worst winter we have had in my memory as a driver and I totally forgot to re-mount my winter tires this past fall (preggo brain I suspect) and somehow I managed all winter on just regular all-seasons. DH drives our Sienna on winter-rated all-seasons and has been doing better than me, but not by a lot.

[Giantbear]

this should work
3501

[Simon]

I drive a Honda Pilot and even without the 4WD on it handles very, very well in the snow. We live on a hill that does not get plowed so I'm regularly driving up hill on snowpack and/or ice. It handles tons better than the Sienna we owned and much more like my Jeep Cherokee 4WD. It does not get great gas mileage but it keeps us safe in the winter and its holding up very well even as we near 200k miles. Good luck with your move.

[cono0507]

I'm in the Rockies.
I'm much more comfortable with 4WD and snow (non studded) tires. I drive a Highlander. I've seen many sedans spinning their wheels on the passes. No experience with minivans personally though just by observation, we drive up to the mountains to ski most weekends and by and large I see 4WD SUVs and not a whole lot of minivans.

[acmom]

No minivan experience, but I drive a Pilot in snow country and it's great. I agree with PP that my pilot handles really well in the snow and I am more comfortable having 4WD. I have a lot of miles on it and haven't had any issues.

[TwinFoxes]

Just poking around the web, it looks like the Sienna has an AWD option. It's on Forbes' list of best new cars in snow.

Of course all Subarus have AWD, any of those appeal to you?

[acmom]

Just poking around the web, it looks like the Sienna has an AWD option. It's on Forbes' list of best new cars in snow.

Of course all Subarus have AWD, any of those appeal to you?

Our 2nd car is a Subaru Outback and that it great in the snow too.

[mom2binsd]

I think the key is to put good SNOW tires on in the fall and use all winter. I lived in Canada most of my life, EVERYONE there puts SNOW tires (not studded) tires on their cars for the winter.

For you this year, I'd just wait like others said, it's getting toward the end of winter and you should be ok.

[MommyAllison]

Thanks everyone! A bit more info: the all season tires we were planning to get are Bridgestone Ecopia from Costco. We put them on DHs car a couple years ago and have been very happy with them, and he did great in the snow last year. The van tires are like 40% and we'd planned to replace them this summer. It snowed the last few days and last night the roads were pretty much the worst they've been this year (they delayed school today, after having zero snow closures or delays this winter), and when the van got stuck on a hill on the way to get the kids last night, we realized there is no more waiting. We either replace the tires now, before attempting the passes, or we trade the car in. Hence my panicked post. :)

So, by non studded snow tires, are you all referring to something like Blizzaks, or ?? I think you've talked me down, and we will try replacing tires. If next winter is still rough, we will trade in then, but as PP said, we will have a better idea after living there awhile. Thanks!

Edited to correct tire name

[Piglet]

So, by non studded snow tires, are you all referring to something like Michelin Blizzaks, or ?? I think you've talked me down, and we will try replacing tires. If next winter is still rough, we will trade in then, but as PP said, we will have a better idea after living there awhile. Thanks!

Yes, Blizzaks or the like. DH bought these Nokians a few years back for the van and we have been very happy with them (but moreso because we don't remember to swap our tires when we ought to): http://tires.about.com/od/Tire_Reviews/fr/Nokian-Wr-G2-All-Season-Tires.htm

[MontrealMum]

So, by non studded snow tires, are you all referring to something like Michelin Blizzaks, or ?? I think you've talked me down, and we will try replacing tires. If next winter is still rough, we will trade in then, but as PP said, we will have a better idea after living there awhile. Thanks!

Yes. We have Blizzaks on one car, and Nokians on the other. Snow tires are required by law in my province. Only one of the cars is AWD, but both handle hills/mountains just fine. The big difference between the two is parking :) (ie: digging) Even with all the snow we get, though, we're only looking at maybe 2 more weeks of it, so I'd really recommend holding off on making any big decisions.

We have 2 full sets of tires on rims for each car so if you or your DH is handy, you can put them on and off yourself as the seasons change. It can be cheaper, and faster. The garages here get super busy after the first snow and everyone panics about putting their tires on. I live in a big city so studded tires are not allowed. But they're not uncommon in more rural areas of Quebec. I've never used them myself. DH used to have chains for his truck when he lived out west. What a PITB putting those on!

[MommyAllison]

Ok, so if we get Blizzaks, is there any reason not to use them year round? They are only $10 more a tire through Costco than the Ecopias so definitely doable!

[Piglet]

http://www.wheels.ca/can-i-leave-winter-tires-on-all-year-round/

[MommyAllison]

http://www.wheels.ca/can-i-leave-winter-tires-on-all-year-round/

Thank you! Sounds like we could just use our current tires this summer and keep switching them out til we need to replace the summer tires.

[BabbyO]

Our 2nd car is a Subaru Outback and that it great in the snow too.

The Outback is great in snow, but I think it would be snug for a family of 5. I'm not even sure if you could get all the seats/boosters in - you'd need to do 3 in a row. But that said DH and I LOVE our Outback, and we've seen lots of snow here - though we don't have the mountain passes in WI.

The Tribecca might be another Subie option if you wanted to go that route, but DH and I just don't think it really fits the bill for a larger SUV.

All that said, I think I'd hang on to the Ody for now and see what others in your new area have for cars before deciding to replace.

[123LuckyMom]

I'm in the mountains, too, though in the northeast, so baby hills compared to the Rockies! Still, we get a lot of snow. This year I got snow tires. The studs help on ice but otherwise are a detriment! Get plain, unstudded snow tires like Blizzaks. My Ody does great with the snow tires! You don't need to trade in the car.

[MontrealMum]

Ok, so if we get Blizzaks, is there any reason not to use them year round? They are only $10 more a tire through Costco than the Ecopias so definitely doable!

Yes, there is. You will wear them out much more quickly and won't get as many years out of them. Winter tires are much softer. Snow/winter tires and summer/all season tires are made from different types of rubber, with different track patterns that are intended to deal with different road conditions.

[legaleagle]

I would definitely get non-studded winter tires on separate rims. I have mine on rims sized down an inch which also helps with traction.

[nfowife]

I have an 07 Odyssey and debated between the blizzaks and the continental extreme winter contact tires and went with the continental. They were the same price (maybe $30 difference between the two) but the tire place strongly preferred the continental for some reason. Both are top rated (generally #s 1 and 2 on all the ratings I researched). I don't live in the mountains but in a very snowy area (and drive to many ski areas often) and it's been very nice with them on my van this winter.

[daniele_ut]

I live in a snowy area and we frequently drive to ski areas in the mountains. One of our family vehicles is a minivan and the other is a Subaru Outback. We love having the option of space when we need it and WD if we feel it's necessary. We can fit all 5 of us in the Outback without a problem but for day to day driving I love my van.