FWD snow experience?

[dannyb420]

Im back! After owning two explorers I switched to a mercedes for a while and recently had the chance to rent an explorer for a trip from Cleveland to North Carolina and fell in love. I am looking around at my local dealerships inventory and I am finding way more FWD explorers then 4WD. Because of this I am wondering how the FWD Explorer does in the snow. I did some searching on the forum and all I can find is discussions but not any real time experience with the FWD in the snow. Can anyone tell me if they have any experience with the FWD explorer in deep snow? Thanks in advance.

 

[IZwack]

FWD is FWD with very litte difference between two vehicles of the same type. The biggest factor is going to be the tires and, because the front buumpper hangs so low, there's a chance you might rip something off in the deep snow drifts.

 

[Car 54]

On paper, it's about as good as an FWD sedan.

With all the traction control nannies it may be better than all but the most modern vehicles.

Snow driving, as you already know, comes down to 2 things - tires and driver. Without a good combination of the two, doesn't matter what-wheel-drive it is.

An Explorer (or any sedan like FWD) with a good driver and winter tires will outperform almost anything out there except when you are dealing with heavy accumulations, as the Explorer's snout is pretty low.

Might not be the answer you're looking for....hope it helps.

 

[dannyb420]

Is the nose of the FWD much lower then the 4WD? I assume it is a bit. My last EX had a 2" lift so I am completely forgetting about the low clearance on the EX. Thats the one thing thats bad about my mercedes, its so low to the ground, other then that, its AWD and the tires rock so its great in the snow. Thanks for the comments, I will probably lean towards the 4WD.

 

[IZwack]

Is the nose of the FWD much lower then the 4WD?

It shouldnt be. But on the 2011+ Explorers in general (regardless of 4wd or 2wd), the bumper and the air dam underneath it extends down to minimize the aerodynamic drag caused by the underbelly.

In the image below, you can see that the clearance of the air dam is probably just a little over twice the height of the tire's sidewall:
http://www.auto-types.com/images/_autonews/2011-Ford-Explorer_31.jpg