Does Honda Fit "fit" our snow and ice climate? (Sedan: safer, cars)

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

You are lumping all FWD small cars together with the Fit.

You will ruin your front end on many parking curbs and expect to be a mini snow plow. I'm not a fan of super low clearance.

Here is a list of some of the lowest cars.

Honda Civic: 6" Accord: 5.7" Insight: 5.7" Fit: 5.9"

So I predict you are screwed in 6.5" of un-plowed snow. The solution is not to drive the Fit when it snows a lot. We don't drive our Honda Accord when snow piles on. If I was single like the OP, I'd be looking for another inch or two of clearance.

You're "screwed" by pushing half an inch of unplowed (i.e., soft) snow? The packed snow on your tires is going to cause problems (loss of traction) long before the low ground clearance will.

My 2011 Prius has 5.5 inches of ground clearance. I had to look it up on MSN Autos just now because I've never cared before this thread. It's never left me stuck in even several inches of compacted snow at the end of my driveway.

The reality is that you so rarely need to drive any significant distance thru deep snow here. For starters, we don't actually get that much snow in MSP. The 1981-2010 average is 54 inches per year. When you consider that winter lasts a good five months, that's barely ten inches per month. Second, as others have noted, the roads are plowed quickly here.

A Honda Fit would work fine here, as evidenced by the presence of Honda Fits here

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Globe199

A Honda Fit would work fine here, as evidenced by the presence of Honda Fits here

I had a rear-wheel drive Mustang GT with 225 wide tires. I could not clime a 10 degree incline in packed snow. But there is your "proof" that a Mustang GT is going to work fine here too (because they are on the road).

Mean while, I will drive my all wheel drive in the winter when the snow flies. I will walk all over the snow in complete confidence and "win" if I get into an accident with you. I'll pay more at the pump and sleep better at night knowing I don't have to white knuckle drive. If you feel comfortable, good for you.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

I had a rear-wheel drive Mustang GT with 225 wide tires. I could not clime a 10 degree incline in packed snow. But there is your "proof" that a Mustang GT is going to work fine here too (because they are on the road).

Mean while, I will drive my all wheel drive in the winter when the snow flies. I will walk all over the snow in complete confidence and "win" if I get into an accident with you. I'll pay more at the pump and sleep better at night knowing I don't have to white knuckle drive. If you feel comfortable, good for you.

I had a Probe that was the same way. After I switched to a narrower tire it was ok, but would still get hung up once in a while on an unplowed street or alley.

We seem to have broken down into camps that feel they are fine if they have a vehicle that can handle 90+% of the winter weather and those who feel more comfortable being prepared for 99+% of what we get. In the end, that is probably simply a matter of opinion and no basis for an argument.

I wouldn't drive a Fit here, but I probably wouldn't drive a Fit in any weather. Other folks mayblogs them and be ok with digging it out from time to time.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Globe199

You're "screwed" by pushing half an inch of unplowed (i.e., soft) snow? The packed snow on your tires is going to cause problems (loss of traction) long before the low ground clearance will.

My 2011 Prius has 5.5 inches of ground clearance. I had to look it up on MSN Autos just now because I've never cared before this thread. It's never left me stuck in even several inches of compacted snow at the end of my driveway.

The reality is that you so rarely need to drive any significant distance thru deep snow here. For starters, we don't actually get that much snow in MSP. The 1981-2010 average is 54 inches per year. When you consider that winter lasts a good five months, that's barely ten inches per month. Second, as others have noted, the roads are plowed quickly here.

A Honda Fit would work fine here, as evidenced by the presence of Honda Fits here

So what would an average annual snowfall have to reach before the location hits "Snowbelt" status? I guess it would be a delineation of what the individual is used to dealing with if you moved from somewhere that received much more or less snow or native of the Cities. Madison, WI often receives more snowfall than Minneapolis and the total last year was over 70 inches. So far this season the total is around 25 inches with over 20 inches falling this December.

[rzzz]

The Snowbelt is lake effect snow, mostly upstate NY but also the U.P. and northern New England. 70" would put Madison in the top 20 snowiest cities in the country.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

I'm moved to northern MN. We have 25+ inches of snow on the ground. An odd year for sure. When it snows, the Honda Accord gets parked and I wrap myself in metal that is elevated with all 4 tires spinning. I've been driving since I was 16 here in MN and I am 48 years old. Knock on wood but I've experienced zero accidents so far in my life. I drove from the airport 160 miles north on Christmas Eve evening. You could not pay me to drive my Honda Accord that day let alone a Fit. But as Glenfield said, to each their own. I probably would have arrived safe-and-sound in a Fit. But my drive time was less and I was a lot safer too. I'll take worse gas mileage and pay more $$'s per mile to have that extra safety. It's a no-brainer.

[icicles]

I am still really confused. How is AWD or 4WD more safe? I grew up in MN, I also lived on the west side of Minneapolis after moving back from CA for another 5.5 years.

I drove an isuzu rodeo, 2wd, RWD, manual transmission when I was 16-17 yrs old there. Had times where the car would slip, I pushed in the clutch and steered out of it over bridges and such. I would also do drifting for fun in deep snow. I had purchased an aveo in 2005 and drove it in MN from 05-11. It went through 6 winters. I didn't get stuck a single time over that time period. I went out in deep snow as well and used momentum through the deep parts and had a blast driving it.

I looked up the ground clearance for an aveo and it is 7.5". We also drive a toyota Matrix which has 6.2" and is FWD. it's a 2004 and we have yet to get stuck in it.

Seriously, how the hell can me and perhaps 20 of my friends who mainly drive FWD vehicles not have much problems? We drive RSX type s's, etc.

Sure there are times when driving some of these cars are tough, and it is VERY rare that these cars will give you problems. But you are talking about perhaps 2-3 times a year at most. Even if you have an AWD car or even 4WD (our families have them), you will still get stuck behind those who don't, which are many people.

[rzzz]

I grew up in northern MN and learned on a manual RWD truck and graduated to a manual Mazda 626 which I drove for 6 years. My friends and I would drive to Giants Ridge or Bemidji every weekend. Minnesota isn't Switzerland. It's flat and the roads are straight. AWD/4WD is overkill in the metro and mostly overkill everywhere else, too. Sadly I wouldn't recommend a smaller car simply because everyone else is driving a huge car, so you will get flattened if you ever get in an accident. It's more of an arms race vs. valid driving theory.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by icicles

Seriously, how the hell can me and perhaps 20 of my friends who mainly drive FWD vehicles not have much problems? We drive RSX type s's, etc.

Sure there are times when driving some of these cars are tough, and it is VERY rare that these cars will give you problems. But you are talking about perhaps 2-3 times a year at most. Even if you have an AWD car or even 4WD (our families have them), you will still get stuck behind those who don't, which are many people.

You cannot miss something that you haven't experienced. Let it snow a few inches and go try an AWD that does really well in the snow. If you don't appreciate the massive difference, great, you saved money. There is no mystery here. My AWD fricken crushes a tiny Fit in the snow. Period. Anyone who debates this simply is arguing that their tiny FWD is as good enough. This last sentence is true ("good enough"). Can I get from point A to point B in a tiny AWD?? Yep! That's not my point. My AWD with good tires go though packed snow, 3" or 8" of snow with an additional confidence and safety. I like my side airbags too.

It comes down to personal expectations. I refuse to have my family drive a car when it snows.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

You cannot miss something that you haven't experienced. Let it snow a few inches and go try an AWD that does really well in the snow. If you don't appreciate the massive difference, great, you saved money. There is no mystery here. My AWD fricken crushes a tiny Fit in the snow. Period. Anyone who debates this simply is arguing that their tiny FWD is as good enough. This last sentence is true ("good enough"). Can I get from point A to point B in a tiny AWD?? Yep! That's not my point. My AWD with good tires go though packed snow, 3" or 8" of snow with an additional confidence and safety. I like my side airbags too.

It comes down to personal expectations. I refuse to have my family drive a car when it snows.

Tell that to the AWD/4WD trucks/SUV's that I saw in the ditches yesterday traveling for work....the sedans were doing just fine....