how does it handle on snow...

[hhcchen]

ok...
here comes the big question...
unless your car would never see snow...
everyone should be concerned about this question...
how does yaris perform on snow...???:burnrubber:
i guess some canadian owners might have the answers already...

[OKJeeper]

"Canada fought hard with the plant in Japan to send both. It involved a number of changes to suit Canadian conditions like the steering geometry for improved handling in snow and icy driving conditions. It's costly to change things on a car designed for world consumption, but Canada persisted and the factory relented. "

Taken from this site:

http://www.northpeel.com/br/wheels/story/3112256p-3609530c.html

Not sure if it is totally accurate.

[swng]

I think the light weight, the front wheel drive design, the tinted glasses, the high driving position, the short overhang front and rear, the generous ground clearance, the rear window defroster and the available rear wiper, fog lights and ABS with EBD can also make driving in/on snow a little easier.

[kralmrax]

we had a "storm" the first weekend that i had my yaris and i was quite impressed with the handling. of course the tires are brand new but i felt like the car was firmly holding onto the road in about 5cm of snow. that back window gets dirty very quickly on wet and salty roads, so the back window wiper is a must have.

[swng]

I presume that you were using the stock all season tires, right? So, they are not bad!

[Chrsto4]

I have Firestone Blizzak WS-60s on and the Yaris holds its own. No stunt driving of course but where some slid, I didn't.

:burnrubber:

[m911gt]

Never had a problem on stock tires and a 1.9" drop last winter when we received a total of ~85" of snow

[Doug007]

I have a 1.5" drop and used Spikes-Spiders for increased traction. I navigated some pretty steep hills in and around Truckee, CA with no problems last winter.

[41magmag41]

I'm in New Hampshire and we had the worse winter last year in 110 years, we were shy of the record books in snow by 2 inches. All I had on my sedan were the OEM factory tires and she handled like a trooper. This year I put a set of four Goodyear snows on her and hope my getting rid of my SUV will pay off. Time will tell but I think the little car does well in lousy weather. Just my 2 cents worth.

[jinxor]

that is interesting.... I guess a lot of the play comes into because of the light weight of the car which makes it easy to steer when going berserk. We dont get snow here in sydney but now at least i know, I can take her as she is when going on a trip to the snowy's

[Stargate YARlantIS]

No snow in FL, but we got the puddles!!!

[ddongbap]

Like rubbish.

[nemelek]

I would rather have a FWD when there is light snow and black ice. I lost control once or twice with a RWD on ice.

[Stargate YARlantIS]

I'm good, the rain is enough for me.... (FL Cracker)

[thebarber]

ran in the snow out here all winter last year...handled really well with snow tires....

i didnt find it too tail happy though. at least not as tail happy as our aveo sedan because of the trunk (or lack thereof). but once you ebrake turn, itll spin like champ!

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b339/dabarber/yaris/yaris-feb2908001.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b339/dabarber/yaris/winter02.jpg

[Stargate YARlantIS]

do the winter months kill your paint job???

[SIPNGAS]

Well, I can't add much more than Matt did already since we live so close we had the same amount of snow. I have NOT dropped my car and ran it in the 85+ inches of snow on the factory tires and felt like I slid around less than I saw other cars sliding. I never landed in a ditch or into the curb. If you drive sensibly.....you should be fine.

[thebarber]

do the winter months kill your paint job???

not really, no. its more the leftover grit in spring that kills the paint job (especially with this shite, wafer thin toyota paint)

out west in alberta, however, they use small pea gravel on the roads. the crap will fvck your sh!t up.

[mrbond]

Well, after some of the melted snow turned to ice, I had a bit of trouble navigating anywhere. I mean, it wasn't that much ice, just patches, but it made for driving to be a bit of a hassle. Perhaps it's because the car's a manual and it's been lowered, but... idk. Otherwise, it's doing very well.

[SIPNGAS]

I prefer having manual trasmission in the winter. I think it's easier to control the car with it.

[BailOut]

If a picture says a thousand words then a whole bunch of pictures tell a story: "A Winter Drive on Mount Rose" (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8116)

[ddongbap]

I would rather have a FWD when there is light snow and black ice. I lost control once or twice with a RWD on ice.

Or I'd rather be running AWD.

[Phaeton]

The first week I had my car, we had a freak snow storm one day. It only dumped 6 inches but I had no problem driving my 60 mile commute before the snow plows got to the road.
Stock tires at the time too.

[gid]

with studded snows all around your YARIS will perform fine . Still suggest that you drive according to the conditions with the snows .

[Pars]

When it's snowing out side, the Yaris tend to act a little weird. It gets nervous on the take off. The front tires will easily loose traction when accelerating and the steering gets light and shakes a bit when you're going over packed/uneven snow. Also, a little play in the wheels (caused from the snow) tend to be amplified in the cabin. Not very reassuring at all!

But, if you look past all that (especially if you're a crazed speed demon) this little puppy will take whatever you can through at it and still hold it's chosen line or dance when you want it to. Once it's on the go, rear end stability, ability to rotate around sharp turn and braking is among the best.

Given an already good formula, it can only get better with with an extra set of driving wheels that's hooked up to a Hybrid system. There's some sporty Hybrid car in the Horizon (Honda CRZ and Prius Coupe). Given Yaris's formula, i'd expect an uphill battle for Honda.

[TinyGiant]

i plan to head out to the nearest huge parking lot on the first big snow and try to beat the plow trucks so the wife and i can have a little fun in the snow to understand the winter handling of the car a little bit... nothing helps reassure your winter driving skills like knowing how the car drifts :)

[tomgeorgia]

It all depends on your tires.

[Shroomster]

i plan to head out to the nearest huge parking lot on the first big snow and try to beat the plow trucks so the wife and i can have a little fun in the snow to understand the winter handling of the car a little bit... nothing helps reassure your winter driving skills like knowing how the car drifts :)

watch for hidden curbs then.....AND BE SAFE!!!

[TinyGiant]

for sure.. i'll head out back near the loading side of the building they never have curbs there.. all nice and open for the trucks :) and usually well lit too

[GeneW]

Great. I've driven on four inches of virgin snow up to 55 miles an hour. Rode like it was on rails.

Gene

[MUSKOKA800]

My sedan has the Goodyear (all-season, in Mexico) tires and it's absolutely frightning on even a 1/4" of snow. I struggled to complete my 50 kl commute last Monday afternoon when we got our first blast.
The steelies and winter boots go on friday a.m.

[Bob_VT]

Well the jury is out....... I'm waiting to get caught in my first real storm out on the road. I have the blizzaks on all 4 corners........ just waiting to pass judgement.

[voodoo22]

I put nokian rSI's on since day one and the car handles great in the snow. Toronto had record snowfalls last year and I had zero problems in it. I was even pulling away from SUV's at stoplights. They probably had all seasons on.

Once last year and another time this year I saw cars unable to make it out of our apartments underground garage. This year, I saw a Jeep slide down the ramp after spinning it's tires. The Yaris went up no problem, no slipping, nothing. I'm sure a lot of this has to do with the tires and some with the Yaris.

[blktiger60]

On ice no vehicle with round rubber tires does well . . . cold rubber + ice = very little traction. Snow is a different matter. Winter specific tires will obviously do better in snowy conditions.
I've had quite a bit of experience driving on both ice and snow - the Yaris does a good job in both conditions.

On a side note, if driving in adverse winter conditions scares you, do the rest of us a favor and don't drive. If you must drive, PLEASE do NOT take the interstate and travel at 20 MPH - you're a cause waiting to have an accident.

[jambo101]

If you are going to go through a season of snow do yourself a favor and get the appropriate tires.

[redyaris]

ok...
here comes the big question...
unless your car would never see snow...
everyone should be concerned about this question...
how does yaris perform on snow...???:burnrubber:
i guess some canadian owners might have the answers already...

Answer: 'It just does.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E6IfdUJn6s

[Phaeton]

I've driven in a lot of snow recently. My car is lowered with 15" wheels.
As long as the snow isn't over 6" deep it does great. I tend to get high centered on anything more than that.

[MUSKOKA800]

My Goodyear LS three-seasons sucked in minimum snow. Put the steelies with winter boots on and all is good. Tough going through deep snow with the TRD springs. My front lip spends a lot of time plowing when in the ruts.

[Jem_hadar]

With my wonderful Michelin X-Ices, my Yaris hatch handles the snow and ice like a pro!!

Love winter ever since got my snowtires! <3

[GeneW]

I have to head out into the teeth of a winter storm tomorrow for a "hot" project. Heavy snow, "wintry mix" and ice. Unless the boys chicken out I'll be there.

You hear from me some time around midnight EST and I'll let you know. If you don't I either didn't get around to it or never well get around to it.

Today I hot footed it home in light snow and a greasy like substance on the road. Car never even got unstable. I blew by a Conga Line of six cars following each other like Baby Elephants and did not loose my step.

Panic under winter conditions is death. Relax and enjoy the ride... you don't want to die tense and you might if you do. It's not easy being lose and relaxed under such conditions, it takes skill and perspective, but it's doable.

Gene

[bugmenot]

Most any car will go well in the snow if you put a decent set of snow tires on the car.
All season are useless in bad weather.

[Pars]

Ok. Snow tires are good. Bad drivers are bad, regardless of the type of shoes they're wearing.

If you can wait out the storm to give the snow plows a chance and you're not in a rush to get anywhere, then regular snow tires will do. Otherwise, get snow tires. It makes for a less hectic driving experience.

The Yaris does a good job at transmitting what's going on at the wheels, especially in hard packed snow. It's great when you're pushing things to the max and don't want to over do it, but when you're just cruising, it can get annoying. A heavy solid set of snow tires will go a long way towards taming down the steering kick-back since snow tires will do a better job at smoothly cutting through the snow.

[GeneW]

no they're not , its all about the driver. you can almost have slicks and still survive winter if you drive properly, that said winter tires are made for winter an they're day an night compared to 4 seasons. yet i still see idiots with winter tires on that think that since they have them they can drive the same way as they did in the summer. use your head and you wont have a problem in winter

I have to disagree on this one. Especially as someone who has driven some real ass pains in the winter.

Horsepower to weight ratio may work against you in winter. So will the "gearing" of either the transaxle or rear end. Put too much torque to the road with respect to lower end pedal travel and you're going to have a real chore keeping those wheels moving the car instead of spinning.

Of course we're talking about moving, not about skidding or keeping the car between the lines. Slicks invite trouble under those circumstances.

My Dad loved to buy high performance cars, including 'Vettes, Jags and odd stuff he bought from GM in the 1960s. He would not drive them if the tires were "marginal". The rear end was practically guaranteed to get unstable.

Gene

[GeneW]

I have to head out into the teeth of a winter storm tomorrow for a "hot" project. Heavy snow, "wintry mix" and ice. Unless the boys chicken out I'll be there.Gene

Obviously I made it back. The trip up was easy. Light snow.

The snow was not as heavy as forecasted but the sleet and frozen rain were prevalent, to the point that I had to shatter the ice off of the windshield wipers so I could use them to get home.

Road conditions were bad. A mix of slush, snow and rain. I took a few sliders and donuts in the parking lot to see how it responded - well. These demonstrations are as much to build confidence as to gage the car's responsiveness.

The two other guys were in a gigantic Dodge pickup. They watched me do my thing before moving out. The kid did not get the point and try his brakes. Instead he crept down the road behind me and soon drifted from view.

Top speed on this caper was 55 miles an hour on the straight ways, dropping into the thirties to cope with curves and big oncoming traffic until I reached a divided four lane road. I like to slow down so I can respond to their moves. Also slowed down in known heavy deer areas.

No unusual events noted. The car performed as usual. Very stable and very responsive. I do not have a Yaris with ABS or ESC.

Gene

[GeneW]

i was trying to illustrate the fact that no matter how good your snow tires are , if you are a dimwit you will not survive winter unscathed. slicks were an extreme example.

Oh, and yeah, I see the Dimwits out there. In ditches, against guard rails, flag poles, utility poles and so on.

Evolution continues.


Gene

[AlexNet0]

Ive neglected my rear tires and just put a winter grip on the front, and I slide a little, but nothing uncontrollable, if you get all 4 snow treads or studs, I can see there will be absolutely no trouble at all.


as a sidenote, I LOVE having the 5spd for the winter, it is night and day difference when it comes to control of the car compared to an automatic.

[Pars]

True. Manual transmission is the best setup for winter (along with snow tires)

I'd be very nervous about doing 55mph on fresh snow, unless the road was plowed. If there's 1 inchs of unplowed snow on the road, the general traffic tends to slow down 40mph while following each other's track.

Last year, I was using my Yaris for an overnight delivery from Sudbury to Toronto. It was quite a trip, from Subury to Parry Sound it was white-out conditions and I was the only one on the road (I guess the trans-canada trucks were sitting it out since it was around 3am). I was using the warning grooves at the side of the highway to tell me if I was still on the road, since it was about 4 inch of fresh unplowed snow and I could only see about 50ft ahead of me. I still managed to keep the speeds up to 60km/hr, but anything more and I'd fly off the road. At Port Sound, my first gas station, after 2hrs of driving, I pulled over for gas and sleep. When I woke up in the parking lot, all the other cars around me were buried in snow while mine looked like it just came out of the wash. I had the heat blasting the entire time while I was passed out. It was a good morning, the snow plow finally were able to keep up with the amount of snow coming down and it stopped snowing. That day, when I got back to Toronto, I went over to my favouret tire shop and got the regular tires replaced with snows.