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Best cars for snow and ice in 2023 and 2024

What's the best car for snow? The real answer is "the one with winter tires." What do we mean by that? You could have the finest, most advanced all-wheel-drive system or four-wheel drive in the world, but if you're running all-seasons (the spork of tires), your fancy four-wheeler won't matter much. The odds are, any vehicle on the road running good winter tires will probably perform adequately in slippery, slushy and/or snowy road conditions. (Here's a more complete explanation of why winter tires are totally worth it). In other words, you don't really need any of the cars on this list. With a set of winter tires, countless others will do the job, and even these will be at their best with proper rubber. You can find a variety of winter tires for your car here at Tire Rack. Keep in mind that you will need a full set of four snow tires for safety and performance, no matter what you're driving. The days of your dad putting just two snows on the family truckster to get it moving in a straight line are long gone. Don't get us wrong, getting a car that performs well in snow and ice is still a worthy criteria for car buyers. According to the U.S. Transportation Department, 70% of Americans live in places that get snow and ice. And much of the country has been blasted with arctic air for much of the new year. So let's look at the cars. First, we're highlighting choices for a variety of buyers and price points. Second, we're not just considering snow; we're considering general wintery conditions people will experience driving to work or school. As such, these are all choices with advanced all-wheel-drive systems, usually with "torque-vectoring" systems that not only automatically shunt power front and back, but side to side between the rear axles. Most have extra ground clearance for getting through deep snow, and we prefer those vehicles with more responsive steering, throttles and transmissions that provide a greater sense of vehicle control in slippery conditions.    Acura RDX Read our Acura RDX Review Acura's Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive system was one of the first to offer torque-vectoring, and besides often being touted for its ability to greatly enhanced dry-road handling, its benefits in the slick stuff can be profound. It's actually surprising that Acura hasn't leaned into this capability further by offering more rugged versions of its vehicles.

Daily Driver: 2016 Audi A7

Daily Driver videos are micro-reviews of vehicles in theAutoblog test fleet, reviewed by the staffers who drive them every day. Today's Daily Driver features the 2016 Audi A6, reviewed by Seyth Miersma. You can watch the video above or read a transcript below. Watch more Autoblog videos at /videos. Show full video transcript text Hey, all. This is Seyth with Autoblog, and I'm in the 2016 Audi A7 3.0. It's interesting, initially, I thought that I wouldn't do any kind of video review on this car because I've already done reviews on the Audi RS7 and the Audi S7. I didn't want to be overly heavy handed on the Audi A7 range, but I thought I'd at least do a quick update because it's a little bit interesting to compare and contrast all three versions of the car. This A7 has got a supercharged 3.0-liter V6 engine. It makes 333 horsepower, 325 pound-feet of torque. The MSRP starts around $69,000 when you factor in the destination charge. The one that I'm driving is right around $78,000. You look around the cabin, and you see typically nice Audi fare. It definitely feels like you're in a high-end car. Compare that to the S7, and you lose about 120 horsepower, and you add to that sticker price around $14,000. Move up to the RS7, which if you'll remember I characterized as a supercar with a hatchback, you're down way more than 200 horsepower and right around $35,000. When you take the step down especially in power you expect that the performance is not only going to lag but might be a little bit disappointing being as I was in the fancier ones first. The truth is after all these miles, this car is really fantastic especially the RS7. It really surprised me with its ability to combine just crazy good performance with great livability, never overly harsh, not a lot of impact noises. The suspension didn't beat you up. All that is obviously true of this A7 too. You don't have that top end and maybe not all of the outright ability, but it still feels very capable and a lot of fun to drive when you want to push it. You get a powerful V6, which makes the car feel pretty damn fast. Now as I'm speeding along here, I don't get the same sort of aural enjoyment from this car as I do from the V8s. Those guys just sound crazy good especially when you're really getting into it. The V6 you really got to work at to hear even, but it's satisfying, and it just feels nice and light and powerful when you're going down the road.

2014-15 Audi SQ5 recalled for steering issue

Audi is recalling 5,625 SQ5 crossovers from model years 2014 and 2015 due to a fault in the electric power-assisted steering system. The affected vehicles were built between May 22, 2013 and April 14, 2015. The vehicles in question may experience power-steering shutdowns in cold conditions. Good thing the US' average July temperature sits in the mid 70s. The actual root of the problem is a fault in the steering motor sensor, according to the bulletin from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While manual steering would still be available, the sudden loss of power could catch drivers off guard, increasing the chances of a crash. Owners of the affected vehicles will be notified by Audi USA, and will need to report into dealers for a software update to the power steering control module. Scroll on down for the official notification from Audi. Report Receipt Date: JUL 20, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V452000 Component(s): STEERING Potential Number of Units Affected: 5,625 Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. SUMMARY: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Audi SQ5 vehicles manufactured May 22, 2013, to April 14, 2015. The affected vehicles have an electric power steering assist system that may shut down in cold temperatures due to a steering motor sensor fault. CONSEQUENCE: If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. REMEDY: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the power steering control module software, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin July 28, 2015. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 48M1. NOTES: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.