Winter traction

[itnetpro]

My wife came out of a Subaru Legacy that was outstanding in the snow. We have a long hill that sometimes does not get plowed well during the winter. Many of our neighbors would get stuck at the bottom of the hill. I can teach her to turn off the traction control to try to climb the hill but I'm wondering. How well does the Focus EV do in the snow and ice with the stock tires anyway? I rather not throw winter tires on the car if I can avoid it.

John

 

[dmen]

I was pleasantly surprised by how my FFE handled in snow/ on icy roads, with stock tires, last winter. My previous vehicle was an Audi with AWD. I'm not going to say FFE handled the snow as well as the Audi, but I never got stuck coming out of parallel parking spots, driving through unplowed alleys/ sidestreets, etc. However, this past winter was a pretty mild one snow-wise, so I'm still approaching next winter cautiously before I really trust its snow skills. And my area is flat, so I can't speak to snow-hill combo handling. I think there are a few drivers on this forum in upstate NY / New England, and maybe a guy in Colorado, who might have helpful experience to share.

I remember someone posting about snow tires a while ago- search old threads from December-January and you'll probably see something helpful. My takeaway was that the snow tires didn't seem to affect range much (compared to the cold itself anyway) and the added traction was appreciated.

 

[j79guy]

Speaking from Northern British Columbia, my experience was completely different. I too have had two Subarus and two Audis, all with all-wheel drive. Each winter I put snow tires on my cars and the all wheel drive cars have been great. I took delivery of my FFE last fall, and purposely drove into winter conditions with the stock tires. Let me say that they are simply terrible on snow and ice. The FFE is essentially a one wheel drive car, with a lot of the mass centred on the rear (non-driving) wheels, due to battery pack locations. I purchased a wheel and tire package from Tire Rack, using Bridgestone Blizzak ice radials, and the change was dramatic. I did lose range, as the ice radials have a higher rolling resistance, but it made the car drivable on compact snow and ice. Even then, the car was no where near as surefooted as a Subie or an Audi. If you live at a bottom of a hill, and experience accumulations of snow, be forewarned that you will be going nowhere with the stock tires fitted.
Robin Sipe.

 

[Fluke]

I'd have to agree, I thought the stock tires were terrible in snow and ice. Much worse than the LRR Goodyear tires on our Volt. Maybe there are several brands of tires being used on the FFE?

 

[jmueller065]

I was very surprised to see Michelin tires on our FFE.