[ProjectRS]

Looking for an older fuel efficient small car that is good in the snow. Any suggestions?
Thanks guys

 

[MalibuMaxxSS]

yota echo, firefly, old ford excort. couple year old aveo.

 

[ProjectRS]

97-02 Daewoo Lanos any good? Those are hard to find :lol:

 

[Chevyfan101]

Chevy Cavaliers do pretty well. And no I am not joking they haven't given us any trouble in the snow.

 

[silvergoat2k6]

I drive a '93 Mazda MX-3 as my commute/winter car...I've never gotten stuck, even in some nasty blizzards we had here last year.

Any decent FWD car should work, given you have good tires on it.

 

[F14CRAZY]

what's your price/year range?

 

[SierraGS]

Not exactly small but the 97-01 Malibu go well in the snow and are affordable.

They did offer both the Quad-4 and 2.2L Ecotec (depending on year) and get good MPG, even the 3100 V6 will get 24 in mixed driving and 30 MPG easy on the highway. My niece has both a 2000 Cavalier and 1998 Malibu V6 and not much difference in MPG.

 

[ifcar]

Probably a Subaru is the way to go for maximum in-the-snow use, though they aren't the most fuel-efficient economy cars. Otherwise, I'd imagine all small cars are about equal in poor weather, so which ones you look at would depend on your price range.

 

[GMfan1111]

Not exactly small but the 97-01 Malibu go well in the snow and are affordable.

They did offer both the Quad-4 and 2.2L Ecotec (depending on year) and get good MPG, even the 3100 V6 will get 24 in mixed driving and 30 MPG easy on the highway. My niece has both a 2000 Cavalier and 1998 Malibu V6 and not much difference in MPG.

I have a Bu with the 170 horse V6. It has not given me any trouble during Michigan winters and for a cheap 4 door it's pretty agile though the only thing to remember is that the Bu and it's N body siblings were and still are notorious for having brake problems and having an insatiable appetite for brake rotors.

 

[powervette]

there's finally someone who would be interested in purchase of a Fiat Panda 4X4

 

[Bravada]

I would actually seriously recommend one if they sold them in NA. Too bad GM does not exploit this niche.

 

[paul8488]

Tracker / Sidekick. Can't kill them.

 

[USA1Fan]

Tracker / Sidekick. Can't kill them.

Seconded. The 94 Geo Tracker we had, other than seemingly paper-thin fenders, was pretty durable, and went everywhere. The only downside was that it was the soft top convertible model and any crosswind made it feel as if the thing was a sailboat.

 

[SierraGS]

I have a Bu with the 170 horse V6. It has not given me any trouble during Michigan winters and for a cheap 4 door it's pretty agile though the only thing to remember is that the Bu and it's N body siblings were and still are notorious for having brake problems and having an insatiable appetite for brake rotors.

You're right about the rotors (good thing they are resonable even at NAPA) another plus is that they are not hard to replace.

The 98 Bu my niece drives used to be mine then my dad's so we have gotten quite a bit of use out of it, and would add it has an amazing amount of room in the interior and trunk compared to most small/mid size competitors and can easily handle 3 adults and 2 infants in car seats along with diaper bags and strollers with plenty of room for the "stuff" you went to the mall for and the rear seat lower cushion is high enough to allow you to buckle the car seat in without standing on your head.

 

[King Riffle]

Subaru Justy.

/thread.


But seriously, the J-bodies (Cavalier, J2000/Sunbird, Skyhawk, Cimmaron:fall are downright amazing in snow

 

[F14CRAZY]

Do any of those Justy's exist anymore? Being that they were probably mostly sold in snowy regions I'd imagined they've all rusted to oblivion by now

 

[01sunfire01]

there's finally someone who would be interested in purchase of a Fiat Panda 4X4

hahaha i just got back from italy and we drove one of those in the mts to get to a farm. i could not belive how well that little thing did. it was the little panada and a range rover we took to get to this farm.

But seriously, the J-bodies (Cavalier, J2000/Sunbird, Skyhawk, Cimmaron) are downright amazing in snow

tell me about it im driveing a 1998 cavalier for me winter car. that thing is a tank in the snow eats its way threw anything.

 

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

Best in snow IMO old Impala police car that you bought for <1000$

Difficult to find after a snowfall though

automatic tranny also doesn't work well in snow.

 

[Bravada]

 

[F14CRAZY]

yo I want a Panda. looks pretty sweet from that clip, thanks Bravada

I HATE them otherwise but the PT Cruiser does well in snow