Corollas In The Snow

I used to live in Milwaukee when my '01 was new. It handled great in the snow. The most important thing about any front wheel drive car in bad weather is the tire condition. Make sure you have good all-season tires especially on the front end.

I was living in Michigan when I bought my Corolla. This car is without a doubt one of the best cars I've owned for handling in snow & ice. With a decent set of tires, I've been able to climb hills that other cars just weren't able to ascend. I've never been stuck, and I've had plenty of opportunities for it. I've grown to trust my Corolla so much in the snow that if I have to run an errand and there are bad driving conditions, I will pick my Corolla over several other vehicles available to get me around. A Corolla with FWD is much better than any vehicle in RWD.

There are several reasons that I believe the Corolla handles pretty well in the snow. It is relatively front heavy, with front wheel drive and a front engine. It also has relatively good ground clearance, preventing it from dragging on the snow.

The worst cars I've ever driven in the snow were RWD mustangs. They were horrible on even a tiny amount of snow. Even an SUV with only RWD is lousy in the snow.

Thats good to hear.

Ive got a '99 Ford F-150 4x4 with Off-Road package right now, and I dont much like driving it when the roads are slippery.

This past winter I got into an accident with it. I was coming around a long, sweeping corner. I must have hit a patch of ice or something, because the back end snapped right around. I contersteered and managed to catch it for a second, but then it slid the other way and I slid sidways through the ditch and tag a powerpoll. I wasnt hurt, and the only real damage it did to my truck was it bent the bumper a little.

I also had another instance where I was driving down the interstate, doing about 65 mph. The road was perfectly dry and there was no snow or rain coming down. A short while after that point, I started to notice that the road had a little powder snow on it, but certainly not enough to where it looked like it would cause a problem. I also noticed at the time that the sun had just went behind the clouds. Well, a few miles went by and I was cruising along as nice as could be. I glanced down at my speedometer and I noticed the needle had started to move up and down pretty rapidly. I thought, "uh oh, ICE!" and I took my foot of the gas. Just then my truck start to do this sort of slow fishtail. I managed to avoid hitting anything that time.

My truck is almost to the point where I am a little afraid to drive it in the snow. First off all, the back end slides all over the place. Second, you cant stop to save your butt (4300 pounds is a lot of weight to stop). Also, when the ABS activates, it causes the truck to want to slide sideways. Considering that this truck had 4-wheel ABS, I dont think it should do that. I used to have a '99 Ranger with 4-wheel ABS and you could push the brake pedal as hard as you wanted to on ice and it would never slide sideways.

My truck's problem is not its tires. Right now it had Goodyear Wrangler AT/S's, which at all-terrain tires. In fact, last winter the front tires were Goodyear Wrangler RT/S's, which are all-season tires. Therefore, the front tires had less grip in snow than the rears, which should lessen the chance of fishtailing.

Hebi

People think that just because I have a 4x4 truck that I should have no worries driving on the snow and ice, Im to the point now where I hate driving in snow.

No trouble in snow for me. I can get anywhere in this car anytime.

Hebi:

I would have absolutely no worries about a Corolla in the snow. Just a few months after I purchased my 2003 Corolla LE (automatic), we had a record blizzard here in Delaware that dumped over 20" of snow on us by the time it was all over. After getting dug out and with only the OEM Firestone FR690 tires, my Corolla got around without a hitch. This included one brief instance of having to become "unstuck" with some carefully executed "rocking" of the car back and forth, which was done without any drama whatsoever. I also drove my 2001 Corolla LE (5-sp) in a Buffalo, NY blizzard and got it out of even deeper snow. Now, keep in mind, I grew up and learned how to drive in the Buffalo area, and am quite experienced in driving in snow, so that was probably a determining factor as well as the capability of the automobile I was driving at the time.

Anyone who lives in an area that gets a good amount of snowfall continuously during the Winter months would most likely benefit from a set of snow tires, such as Michelin Artic Alpins. If I was back up in Buffalo, I would not hesitate to get a set. Remember -- they must be used on ALL Four wheels, not just on the front-drive wheels. You are buying them as much for the additional braking action they provide as well as the overall higher traction on snow and ice. Here in Delaware, we normally get very moderate Winter weather with only occasional snowfall, so there would be no point in investing in snow tires down here. If it snows bad enough to need them, you won't be getting out anyway because the roads will be impassable for at least a day or two after the storm! And since I am an "essential" state employee, I can get transported to work by the National Guard!

Don't worry about your Corolla in snow. Worry about the guys driving the enormous 4X4 pickups and SUV's who think they're unstoppable! The problem is, they're right! When I lived in Colorado, after a blizzard, the 4X4's and SUV's were the only vehicles to be seen upside-down off the side of the road!

People think that just because I have a 4x4 truck that I should have no worries driving on the snow and ice, Im to the point now where I hate driving in snow.

If you do this type of winter driving, AWD and/or LSD and/or some kind of traction controll is what you need.

On the other hand, FWD with winter tires behave similarly to AWD with multiseason tires (consumer report did a study couple of years ago). I would not drive RWD or 4x4 in snow or ice, especially without winter tires.

Does Bridgestone still make the Blizzak? My parents had Michelins M/S's put on their Explorer when Ford did the Firestone Wilderness AT buyback about 5 years ago. Those tires sucked! That Explorer drove like a POS with those Michelins on.

Id be open to Bridgestones (I was thinking about maybe some Potenzas for summer tires), Kumhos or Yokahamas.

I agree with you guys about 4x4 vs. AWD. I would much rathar have an all-wheel-drive car in the snow over a truck. Im not sure if it was Subaru or VW but one of those I read that each wheel has a sensor that takes readings 100 times a second and that when it detects a loss of traction that it calculates the tire/tires that have the most traction and directs the power to those tires. I assume that the AWD system that the RAV4 and Matrix uses a pretty much the same.

Im not a big fan of limited-slip. Both of my 4Runners ('85 and '91) did not have limited-slip and they never fishtailed. They just had what you might call an "open" diff. They was no pushbutton locker like the TRD Tacomas have. Those things were awsome in the snow. You could be really aggresive with the gas pedal, and they would never fishtail. They would have a tendency to slide the front tires, but never the rear. The first time I drove my '99 Ranger in the snow, the back end of that thing was all over the place. It had Ford's over-hyped off-road package, which gave you fog lights, grey bumpers and trim, shocks with rubber boots on them, a 4.10 rear gearing and a limited-slip differential.

I like what the Nissan Titan has too. You can opt for front and rear limited-slip. I bet that thing throws up a nice roost in 4L.

Hebi

hey, man, i live in canada and own a 99' corolla with all seasons.... you can drift corners if you have guts and skill, but it's true... with front wheel drive cars like ours i strongly suggest never breaking while you're steering in snow... there's just not enough grip... and there have been times when i was totally sideways on the street with traffic.... ppl were like.... wtf.... hehe

I was never very impressed in the snow with my Corolla. It just never had very good traction. My parents Highlander with FWD is much better. I think small cars like the corolla have tires that are aa little too wide for the weight of the vehicle for slippery conditions. The weigh is alos too unbalanced. All fo the weight is i nthe front and the car has a tendency to understeer terribly once it begins to slide. The Corolla also has very cheap suspension that does not track the road very well. SMall bumps tend ot puch the car off line.

THe Highland and now my new Honda Accord are much better balanced and handle very well on slippery surfaces.

I tend to agree with Cherry128. I had a 90 Tercel that was great in the snow, but the newer small cars seem to have wider tires on them. I guess for a smoother ride, but it does affect the handling in the snow. It sort of rides on top of it instead of cutting through it like the old Tercel with the skinny tires. I don't think the Corolla is any worse then anything out there now though.

I was never very impressed in the snow with my Corolla. It just never had very good traction.  My parents Highlander with FWD is much better.  I think small cars like the corolla have tires that are aa little too wide for the weight of the vehicle for slippery conditions.  The weigh is alos too unbalanced.  All fo the weight is i nthe front and the car has a tendency to understeer terribly once it begins to slide.  The Corolla also has very cheap suspension that does not track the road very well.  SMall bumps tend ot puch the car off line.

THe Highland and now my new Honda Accord are much better balanced and handle very well on slippery surfaces.

I remember back in 1998 Toyota said that they managed distrubute the weight equally between axes 50%:50% in 98 Corolla. But It is hard to believe. Last winter I was not able to make up to 5% hill, i was losing traction on front end. tires were good, but not enogh weight to keep them from spinning

How do you find Highlander. I'm looking for bigger vehicle....

I remember back in 1998 Toyota said that they managed distrubute the weight equally between axes 50%:50% in 98 Corolla. But It is hard to believe. Last winter I was not able to make up to 5% hill, i was losing traction on front end. tires were good, but not enogh weight to keep them from spinning

 

How do you find Highlander. I'm looking for bigger vehicle....

The more even distribution of weight on the rear end would actually hinder acceleration in a FWD car going up a hill. Even weigh distribution only helps handling and braking.

 

A Highlander can be foudn at your TOyota dealer. It's basically an SUV on a Camry chAssis. It has teh height and size of a meidum SUV liek a Explorer, but weighs only 3500 lbs (less thna a minivan) with as much interior space as a Corolla, more luggage room and that taller sitting position.... all for under $25k. THey are one of the top selling SUV's right now.

I remember back in 1998 Toyota said that they managed distrubute the weight equally between axes 50%:50% in 98 Corolla. But It is hard to believe. Last winter I was not able to make up to 5% hill, i was losing traction on front end. tires were good, but not enogh weight to keep them from spinning

 

How do you find Highlander. I'm looking for bigger vehicle....

The more even distribution of weight on the rear end would actually hinder acceleration in a FWD car going up a hill. Even weigh distribution only helps handling and braking.

 

A Highlander can be foudn at your TOyota dealer. It's basically an SUV on a Camry chAssis. It has teh height and size of a meidum SUV liek a Explorer, but weighs only 3500 lbs (less thna a minivan) with as much interior space as a Corolla, more luggage room and that taller sitting position.... all for under $25k. THey are one of the top selling SUV's right now.

 

I meant to get some feedback from you on Hlander

Back to the main question. I've had my 03 Corolla S through two Canadian winters with nerry a problem. It's much better than previous Jettas that I've owned, and a quantum leap ahead of my last VW Beetle.

I run Michelin all seasons on it and have yet to be stuck.

I meant to get some feedback from you on Hlander

I like my parents Highlander. They have the FWD 4-cylinder. It get mileage in the mide 20's on the freeway which I believe is best in class for a mid sized SUV.

The interior is simple and equipped similar ot the Corolla, but has as much room if not more than a Chevy Blazer or even a 4-Runner. Newer versions even come with a 3rd row seat.

Handling, ride and comfort are average. The 4 cylinder is adequate and doesn't rev too high at freeway speeds.

In the snow it handles very well. I don't think you'll "need" 4WD unless you live in on backroads, use the car for hunting, or live in places like Buffalo, Upper MI, Minnesota, Northern WI, or Vermont.

Peronally I think overall it's a little overpriced for what you get, but not any more so than every other SUV on the market. All SUV's are a rip off IMO. You'd be better off getting a Sienna for $4000 more that has 50% more interior space, is one of the safest cars on the road, has a smoother ride and gets almost the same mileage.

2001 Corolla CE (5 speed MT).

Hailing from Canada, I've seen enough snow, freezing rain, blizzards and the like to tell you the following:

The Corolla handles fairly decently (6-7 out of 10)on snow on all seasons and pretty good (7 out of 10) with proper tyres. I run Kumho Izen Snow Tyres and they offer above average grip on snow at a good price ($300 CDn for 4 tyres including installation!).

One thing I've noticed about the Corolla on icy roads is that braking and turning can yield two results:

1- The common brake and turn error which cause the car to understeer and plough into the outside of a turn (ie: go wide)

2- The more interesting brake, release and turn which can cause the car's back end to swing out depending on how hard you hit the brakes and how much traction the front tyres get. I've had this happen several times and can reproduce it easily.

The Corolla has the ability to fare well on snow pending a properly trained and skilled driver. It's a car that while I wouldn't strongly recommend for the uniniated, I wouldn't say it is bad either.

Overall on snow I give the Corolla a 7ish out of 10. Has the ability but can be unforgiving if you are new to driving on snow.

Also FWDs are much better than old school RWDs anyday for snow driving. When I say old school RWDs I mean cars that are ONLY RWD and not the RWDs that have the ability to send power up front in case of rear slippage.

Frost

I live in Alberta Canada and I have experience in driving in some fun winter conditions, in the city and also around the mountians.

I used to drive a FC3S Mazda RX-7 all year around with all season tires. Lightweight RWD, but with a 50/50 weight distribuation. In the plowed city streets and unplowed side streets, it did fine. Stable, cornering was fine, just a little tricky to get started up hills. A HUGE bonus is when the tire spins....you still have steering control, so you can steer the way the rear end is moving to and keep it under control and apply power.

In the 2003 Corolla, when the tire spins....you are out of luck in having any steering control, So if you spin the tires, you have to let off the gas, get it to steer, then apply it again. Fun times. Traction control would be handy in this instance. Drove through one winter with the Corolla with the stock Uniroyal TigerPaw tires and it was horrible. I wanted my RX-7 back. But then next winter I decided I was going to do something about it. So I picked up a set of Nokian WR "all weather" tires. Treadwear of 400 but yet has certification for "severe weather". Awesome traction in the snow and ice and it transforms how the Corolla felt. Instead of being twitchy, nervous and feeling like it's barely connected to the road in snow and ice, after the tires were installed, it felt secure and well planted.

So coles notes....... Corolla with stock all-seasons are horrible, Corolla with winters or Nokian WR are great.

Storms and winter driving have as much to do with the tires as the car. Anyone whos done a winter in the Integrities would probably say it was pretty horrible, but if you get some half decent replacements you should be fine.

You still see people with 2wd pickups doing that trick and driving around in the winter with their bed full of snow, patio stones, or whatever.

I have driven Corollas in lots of lousy winters and never had a problem. To be honest it's not so much the car as your right foot. Slow = safe. Fast = accident.