Settle a dispute -- which is safer in icy weather?

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
2001 Subaru Legacy wagon, AWD, no side airbags
2006 Kia Optima, side air bags

Both are well-maintained with good tires and brakes.
 
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joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
I guess if you're planning not to get in a crash, the Subaru. Planning on a crash? The Optima.

Oh, wait, life doesn't work like that... sigh.

I have no clue...we've had to use my airbagless van lately because it seems to have better traction control than the Escape...go figure.
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
Not sure what you mean by "good" tires. Because for me, good tires for icy weather (which likely means some place that gets winter) would be winter tires, not all-seasons. So, if one had winter tires, I would go with that vehicle. If either have ESC (electronic stablity control) then I'd go with that vehicle. The AWD will help in taking off on ice, but it's not going to help with stability, control and stopping distance on ice. The winter tires and ESC will help with that.

Do either of them have ABS?
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
I live in North Carolina, so don't typically buy or need snow tires. "Good" means lots of tread left, properly inflated and balanced.

Kia has ABS and I'm about 95% sure the Subaru does too (I don't usually drive that car). Neither has ESC.
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
If temps are consistently below 7°C (45°F) in the winter, then winter tires would be a good idea to have since they react better in cold weather regardless if there is snow. It seems average winter temps in NC are higher than that so like you said, you wouldn't typically have a need for them.

In that case, being that neither have an advantage with regards to ESC and ABS, AND that you are most familiar driving the Kia, I'd go with the Kia. It gets a 74.7 rating at informedforlife.org and I input the data I could for the 2001 from NHTSA and did some guesstimates with IIHS data (since that Subie wasn't tested by IIHS) and any logical guesstimates come out with a higher risk rating than the Kia. Not vastly higher, but higher. Now, if you're going to on side roads and off the beaten path where you have the potential to be stuck in snow (which I am guessing not since you were talking about ice and not snow) then I'd want the Subie so I could have the AWD to get me out of places.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
Thanks. My gut told me the Kia was slightly better as well. It's also what I prefer to drive.

And Kia is standard and Subaru is automatic, if that makes a difference.)
 

bigteamug

New member
personally, while I know that there are situations that a standard is preferable for icy driving (like if you get stuck), I always preferred an automatic, since I had to downshift the standard as I went around corners - it meant having one hand off the wheel at a time when your car is more prone to slipping/skidding, which made me nervous. I suppose there is a way around that, I just didn't end up driving that car much and therefore never put the effort into figuring it out.
 

amyd

New member
Thanks. My gut told me the Kia was slightly better as well. It's also what I prefer to drive.

And Kia is standard and Subaru is automatic, if that makes a difference.)

I definitely would prefer a standard to an automatic in icy conditions. It's nice not having to brake nearly as often since that's often when you'll slide. I've never felt unsafe having one hand off the wheel to downshift around a corner. I tend to downshift before I'm actually making the turn & then upshift after I've straightened out again (especially when the weather is bad).
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
I prefer to drive the standard because I've driven standard cars for almost twenty-five years and it's just what I'm used to -- automatics feel unfamiliar and that's never a helpful thing in bad weather. (I also like staying off the brakes.)
 

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