This is sometimes my commute to work.
Hey everybody!
February 2015 brought 54.6 inches of snow to the Boulder, CO area and probably a bit more high up in the mountains where I'm currently living.
My 2014 AWD CX-5 Touring (2.5L) did EVERYTHING I ASKED IT TO and made me really proud to have chosen one...
* Comfortably passing 2WD cars and trucks that couldn't handle packed snow and ice.
Boulder is in a valley and if you take highway 36 towards Denver you have to ascend a large hill about a 1/2 mile long before you reach the top. I spent 45 minutes stuck in traffic at the bottom one day, listening to the radio because other cars were spinning their tires and couldn't make it up the ascent.
I would have never realized how bad road conditions were without those poor people because the CX-5 had been so confident and comfortable the whole day. Once they got into the right hand lane and out of my way, I gave it some gas and passed about ten of them struggling to get up the hill. While they spun, I just climbed with easy and comfort. Listening to the police radio the whole time, I heard they shut the road down as I reached the peak.
Then I continued on 36 occasionally going up another hill only to be behind another car without adequate tires and traction. When you drive next to a car that can't handle slippery conditions and you remain comfortable and in control it's a real validation of what you've invested in for driving.
* On several occasions I left Boulder and climbed another 1500 feet to where I live in the mountains through snowstorms with a mixture of falling snow, fresh snow, packed snow and ice on narrow switch backs and curvy roads that ascended up and down valleys. Each day was more comfortable than the next, but always fun knowing I could safely travel to and from home in slippery conditions with ease.
* One day I stopped and helped a Toyota Tacoma TRD 4WD pickup get unstuck from the snow. My solution? A shovel. That middle 20% fold-foward seat back allows you to keep a real full size shovel for situations like this
* I drove without much of a care on a mountain gravel road with 8" of fresh unplowed snow on top. This was with three other guests and we wanted to travel from one mountain to another for lunch. So we took this shortcut road down switchbacks and curves into a valley then up the other mountain to our destination. I would never have tried this in a car lacking the CX-5's ground clearance. It was like a knife cutting through butter.
* My greatest success was driving home in a snowstorm, at 10PM, in the dark, alone. (Pictures below.) Snow started falling during the day, but I had to work late. By the time I left work, about 8-10 inches had fallen on my route. The first mile or two had been plowed a couple hours earlier leaving about 3-4 inches of fresh snow on the road. I drove slow and carefully and paid attention to when the AWD system said it was slipping. But mostly, I just drove and let the car handle it.
After the first two miles, I had another 10 miles to go, and they hadn't been plowed in hours. Mostly this meant driving in the tracks of previous drivers and the snow they pushed up out of their tracks put about 12-13 inches of snow on the road. I could hear the body of the CX-5 pushing snow under it as I drove along and was sure not to slow down for fear of getting "high-centered" stuck with a loaf of snow under my CX-5.
In the worst spot, the wind had blown over previous tracks and it was hard to tell where the road was. (See photo below.) Same conditions described as above: ascend and descend, curvy, windy roads in the woods. It was thrilling and scary to drive through such heavy snow with the thought that one slide might strand me in a ditch, slide me off a cliff, or slam me into rocks or trees. But I made it and it was GREAT FUN.
My success was based on several components.
First, I know these roads well and I drive carefully when conditions require it. I used the CX-5 manual gearing mode quite a lot to put the car in 2nd or 3rd gear, especially when descending and wanting to increase control and limit speed. This helped me avoid too much momentum and slide out of control.
Second, I had really excellent snow tires. I can't recommend snow tires for cold weather conditions enough and my Nokian Hakkapeliita R2 SUVs were a big part of gripping the road in awful conditions. These are pricey but worth every penny. I would often find myself (when conditions permitted) accelerating to see how much they'd grip then slamming on the brakes to see how much they'd stop. Always impressive results.
Third, the CX-5's AWD system did a great job of limiting wheel spin. I knew from experience that ascending certain curves on snow would cause a loss of traction, so I'd give it plenty of gas. The CX-5 AWD would listen to me and politely ignore me, giving the wheels only enough power to retain grip, keep moving forward and keep me safe.
I even got to see the "4WD" light come on. Didn't know your CX-5 has one? Neither did I. Ascending a particularly steep incline of packed snow and ice, the CX-5 illuminated the 4WD while on that hill because -- I think -- it was noticing a significant difference in the speed between the front and rear wheels. I think the front wheels didn't have much grip while the back ones did. I got up the hill fine, turned around, went back down(!) and tried again, but I couldn't get the light to come back on.
If you've read this far, it means you're interested in how the CX-5 really does in real world conditions in slippery conditions. If you're like me, you've spent time searching for "CX-5 Offroad" videos on Youtube because you want to believe this is a solid and capable vehicle for snow, mud and other dangerous conditions. You've probably seen artificial tests where Subaru attempts to demonstrate the superiority of their full-time all wheel drive system and make you doubt how good the CX-5 can be. It's not a Subaru, it's not a Jeep, it's just a crossover?
After this winter, I am completely satisfied with my CX-5 for slippery dangerous conditions. I don't have any doubt, I only have confidence. You need driving skill and caution, proper tires and realistic expectations, but if you have those, you should be ready to have some fun in your CX-5.
Disclaimer: I had a full size shovel and other gear like cold weather boots and clothes in my CX-5 for my adventures. If I got stuck, I was prepared to hike it out. Don't be reckless just because of my experiences.
I had my iPhone recording video my experience driving home on two of the most extreme nights. Here's a screenshot from that ideo of me passing a Subaru Outback that slid off the road and got stuck in a ditch.. This is the difference between real world and marketing videos.
And here's an example of my scariest night when so much snow drift had covered almost all hint of where the road was. Reminder: this is 8-10 inches of snow, not the 2-3 you might get in the suburbs. The video is really shaky because the road conditions are smooth and snow is falling at the same time.
Looking forward to next winter!!
