A driver and a driver's overall experience has much to do with how effective a particular vehicle will perform. I have seen all sorts of vehicles on their roof or side, or off the side of the road in conditions that I just motored through, with more caution. [/quote]
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Isnt that the truth!

We live in a Mtn resort type area so we get a lot of flatlanders up here in big trucks with low profile street tires,Escalades with fancy tires totally unfit for snow,Escapes with street tires (STAY HOME!!!),and yes Jeeps with street tires (Makes NO sense to me,but they are out there) and they think their vehicle will blast thru snow like a car commercial.

In my experience where we live the most defining vehicle failure on 4x4/awd is inadequate tires,and yes,lack of driver experience.

Dagny,love your rig,very nice!!

LOL,my baja bug was great in snow with chains but the wipers left lots to be desired.So Im in big time snow storm and pull to side of road to wipe window and parked it,right into a snow covered ditch!! Fellow came by in a truck and pulled me out,yup,felt sorta dumb on that one.

I had to laugh about the wiper reference. It made me remember my old '63 Scout and a friends old LR Defender 110, both with vacuum wipers and tiny engines. I once had to pull over about every other exit off the Interstate to wipe off the windshield in a snow storm. It got so bad that a Highway Patrolman noticed me and stopped by to see if I was having any mechanical trouble. He had noted that I kept leaving the highway. I think 1968 was the year that electric wipers were actually mandated, someone was thinking! We sometimes forget how primitive some vehicles were only a few decades ago. The old LR Defender had little manual handles for the wipers like an old army truck. That didn't work well either.

I would agree with spuds, but I would also add ground clearance. Tires and ground clearance are going to contribute to 90% of your cars your ability (aside from driver skill), everything else is a minor consideration.

Among all the crossovers, I think Subarus probably have the best AWD system of any carmaker aside from Audi and Porsche. However, as I mentioned above, any of the competitors (CRV,RAV-4, etc) will perform about the same in any given situation because those two factors are usually very similar across all brands. I've taken my Forester on a lot of unmaintaned (or non-existing) roads and what's always been the limiting factor was ground clearance and traction, not what type of AWD or 4x4 system it had.

I also have a "real" 4x4 for off-roading, but if given the choice to use one for long distance travel, the choice is easy, I'd take the Forester. The advantages to a small crossover vs a 4x4 is it's more comfortable, gets better mileage, and is just easier to drive. The trade-off is the ability to travel more difficult roads, but since you say you don't have a need for a real 4x4 I would think any of the crossovers will fit the bill. If your planning to use this as your primary car, I wouldn't worry too much about off-road ability and just pick the one you like best.

what is this "snow" of which you speak?

Over the years I have owned a myriad of cars SUV's and trucks.

Like a couple of others here, I can vouch for the Jeep Cherokee XJ model. IMO, these are about the best all around and off road SUV style vehicles out there. And as Greg mentioned, there were millions of these made and the 4.0L HO, straight 6 engine (not V6) is legendary for it's longevity and ease of use to work on.

The 1997 Cherokee I had was equipped with the 4.0L HO engine, a 5 speed manual transmission, a 8.25" Chrysler limited slip real differential with 3.73 gearing. For a factory stock vehicle, it was very, very capable offroad. Also as Greg mentioned, there is a ton of aftermarket parts available for the XJ's. To this day, I kick myself for ever selling this vehicle...

I should clarify on AWD being a potential risk. If you are driving a slick road and forward momentum is inhibited by loss of traction, the other axle will kick in and grab, works great.

If you are on the highway at some speed and hit some ice covered by snow and the vehicle starts to lose control, in other words starts to get sideways, the AWD will not engage most likely because you are not spinning wheels and unless you are going slow enough to recover through driver inputs, you are going around and maybe over. All of the AWD systems that I have seen on SUV's are like a limited slip differential between the front and rear wheels. They have a way of giving a false confidence, especially on snowy highways. The only way to get the other wheels to engage is to hit the gas to cause the regular drive wheels to spin, which is not a natural reaction in a slide sideways.

I am sure some work differently but those I have experience with work like a limited slip differential between the front and rear wheels and are not 4 wheels driving. If you do get stuck, the lack of low range to help self extrication is a disadvantage also.

It comes down to what you need a vehicle to do and where you plan to drive it. I would say most of my 4 wheel driving is on snowy highways and the only thing I feel comfortable with is a true 4-wheel drive system.

I'm not selling anything, just sharing my thoughts on what works for me. Every person has their own situation and needs and hopefully talking about the pros and cons will help someone make a good decision for their needs.

For me it's based on where you are, where you think you'll be trying to get to, how many of you are going, and what you think you want to bring. I've got myself, my bride and three kids. Going to Grandma's house looks like an expedition to Everest; our ideal bug out vehicle would probably be a C-130. Sadly, my driveway isn't quite long enough to park one.

All jest aside I think my ideal BOV would be a crew cab 4x4 with an auxiliary fuel tank and a cap. What I've got is a mechanically reliable minivan and a lot of experience driving road vehicles in less than ideal conditions.

In the one evacuation I have been in government automobile fuel economy ratings were completely irrelevant since I spent the time parked on a freeway with a million of my closest friends. The accelerator pedal was largely unused; most acceleration was accomplished by easing off the brake. I was in 1st gear 90%+ of the trip.

I doubt the vehicle makes much difference, other than to be sure you can stay warm and dry even in stop-and-go traffic. Planning is the key - where will you go? What will traffic be like if *everyone in town* evacuates at the same time? Which destinations are realistic based on your departure point (might depend on departure from work or departure from home)? What items will you need between departure and final arrival?

My personal and "precinct" evacuation plans just have me driving the usual route 30 miles to my parent's house. My "urban" evacuation plan - where the entire city has to leave - is more elaborate due to the desire to avoid routes others might use: it's probably more realistic to hope to refuel in Tumble Weed, West Texas than to try the shorter I-35 direct route between Austin, TX and Dallas.

In the "urban" scenario I'd also grab a sleeping bag, case of bottled water, and a bag of food, as sell as the toolbox if it wasn't in the car already.

I can't help but chime in on this...

What I own:

I have a 2010 Ford Escape V6 AWD. It's loaded with fun stuff.. most of it impractical for a bug out vehicle (other than the emergency "gear" I've added to that I actually listed in another post (my first one here) looking for advice what to add to it.

This vehicle gets around awesome in the snow, the AWD kicks in when you need it and saves you gas by not turning on when you don't. It has an automatic wheel slip control if the rear wheels cut loose and can detect slides that will automatically engage one of the rear wheel brakes in an effort to square it up. It's only kicked in a few times, but it seems to work pretty well.

The traction control however does NOT work on Sandy beaches, but there is a button to turn it off.

This vehicle has a kinda "hidden" compartment in the back where you would think a spare tire might fit, but I keep all my emergency supplies in that and a tote. There's enough in there to get me by for about three days.

To be honest, Subaru's have the absolute best AWD system for the money IMHO. It's side to side and front to back, it's really good. It's what I would be driving if only they made a Subaru that can tow 3500 pds.

Anyway, Tires.. Tires.. Tires... Snow tires in the Winter, and a good pair of all around tires for the Spring/Summer/Fall months. The new Blizzaks and WinterForce tires get as good traction with their new composite rubber compounds as you used to get with studded snow tires but they ride quite when the winter streets are dry.

Tire Chains are handy if your in the Colorado mountains in winter, but you can't drive more than 30 - 35 MPH on them (like I would want to drive faster in a snow storm in Colorado...) and are a bit of pain to put on. Might not be a terrible idea to have a two sets (front and back!), but if you've never put on a set in the middle of snowstorm, well... make sure you practice with them first!

Driver experince is probably the most important thing. I've seen big 4WD lifted trucks with kids who get excited with their first snow fall and then they realize how easily they can end up without the rubber side down.

As has been mentioned, ground clearance is a huge issue.. a high-centered 4WD is not an impossibility... I've seen it happen here in Iowa.

I've taken my Escape out into the country, in the middle of a blizzard and drove it through drifts on the road that were 2 feet high.. It would blast right through them. But I have no doubt if the snow was a consistent 24 - 36 inches, I'd be in trouble.

As a project with my son, I am working on a 1988 Ford F250 4x4. It has a 460 V8 5Spd Manual in it. The 4WD system is the old DANA manual lock-out (get out of the truck and turn the hubs) kinda 4WD. It's VERY solid and reliable. It's been fun working on it, but everytime I start the engine it costs me a $1. ... let alone drive it. Guess that'll keep him from going too far with it.

So, not much great advice in this post, but I'm feeling talkative tonight...

Here's a list of the gear I have in the Escape at this time:

Food:

Emergency Bars (Datrex) (two packs)
Emergency Water (six 1 pint packs)

Hardware:

12v Air Pump
Folding Shovel/Entrenching Tool
Hand Axe / W small Saw in Handle
LED Emergency Strobes (Super Bright - Road Emergency)
Jumper Cables
Tow Rope
Fire Extinguisher
Ice scraper
Full Windshield Sun visor
Four tie downs
MultiTool
Gorilla Tape
10 (12 hr) Chemical Light Sticks
Paper Towels
OTG Goggles
40 Channel Portable CB Radio / Extra Batteries
Stainless Steel Pot to melt snow/warm canned soup/hot chocolate
5 Inch Knife (CRKT)
Heavy duty garbage bags/ties

Water Proof Pants

Emergency Supplies:

Water Proof Matches
Fire Starters
Emergency Blanket (Soft)
Emergency Blanket (Silver/WaterProof)
Gel Burners
Battery Light Sticks (Led Flashlight/Red Strobe)
Dyno Flashlight - (Emergency Cell phone charger)
Chemical Warmers (20 count) + 2 in Plastic tote
Fix a flat
Sealed pack of wet wipes/Wet Naps
Fire Starters
Insect Repellent Wet-naps


AAA Emergency Bag (1st Aid Kit + Home of Jumper Cables and Tow Rope above)
Some items in this kit:
1 Flashlight, Batteries
Emergency Poncho
Bandaids, Alcohol Wipes, etc.
Heat Resistant Gloves
Some other misc stuff

On Person:

Zippo Lighter (Upgrading to Coleman Lighter soon)
Leatherman MultiTool
Folding PocketKnife
Smart Phone with GPS/Weather/Police Scanner/Mini LED Flashlight

That has always been my concern when considering a route out of the Phoenix, Arizona area. The traffic on a holiday weekend heading north is enough to scare Mario Andretti. I cannot imagine getting far away from the valley area if all 5 million had to depart.

The options are some dirt roads that are not for cars but don't really require a 4x4, just plenty of clearance. I figure on those roads it may be possible to get out of the city, but maybe still very slow. The key would be to know the route, with alternates, if any and to prepare for a slow drive. It would surely help to get going as early as possible.

I must really admit that I have little bug out plans. The only thing I can see that may ever require me to leave the home is a power outage for a long period during the summer here. You would have to get to cooler country. I really can't think of too many other scenarios that would force an evacuation. If there was a reason, I can't imagine what it would be.

I do have a place to go to up north and it is prepped out by a friend and I have an invite. So, I could get out early and I would have about 120 miles to go, on back, dirt roads, if the Interstate was a parking lot, I think I would expect that and not even try the Interstate. So, all I need is some ground clearance and some water and a bag of clothes for all conditions. A firearm or 10 would be handy I would guess.