Prarie driving

FiremanTDI

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Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Location
Chatham, Ontario
TDI
2013 JSW/Golf Wagon TDI, 2013 Audi Q7
Currently I live in Ontario and am planning on moving to either the province of Alberta or Sk as I have a number of family members I'd like to be closer to.

Anywho, my family members claim the only way to survive the winters out there is to have an SUV or pick up truck and a car like my Golf Wagon or my Honda Civic simply won't cut it. I am really skeptical that I will be absolutely stranded in the winter time.

According to the weather network on average Ontario receives more snow and rain per year than either Alberta or SK.

My question is, is my family stretching the truth?
 

TDI in MT

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Apr 2, 2013
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Montana, USA
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none, sold it.
Having grown up in Buffalo NY and currently living in Montana, I can believe that Ontario gets more snow than AB or SK. However, when it comes to cold, Ontario would be warmer.

I'm sure there are plenty of Golfs and Civics in Edmonton, Calgary or Regina.
 

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
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Island near Vancouver
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2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
Having grown up in Saskatchewan, there are plenty of VWs and Hondas (and Hyundais and Toyotas and Kias, etc.); if you live on a farm where the roads aren't ploughed immediately, sure - a big truck with duellies might be necessary; but if you're living in a town/city, you'll be fine with any car and a decent set of winter tires.
 

TDI smile

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Jul 11, 2012
Location
Edmonton, Alberta (b4 BC - LOWER MAINLAND = Chilli
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2002 TDI (ALH) with 513,000 km. First Owner and very happy... No Problems, never left us stranded on the Highway. Average useage is about between under 4 ltr. and 5 ltr. Normal longdistance travel: 4.1/100
I lived in and around Edmonton for over 25 years. Never had an SUV or PU for my private driving. VW's do just fine and will survive any Winter in that area.
 

SkyRyder55

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Aug 14, 2012
Location
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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1998 Jetta TDI, 1990 Corrado G60 (AHU soon)
I live in winnipeg. we get plenty of snow and it gets damn cold. 4 wheel drive is nice but not needed. I highly recommend a good set of studded tires and you will be fine. as long as the block heater works.
if you live out of town and roads are not plowed instantly then maybe a more suitable vehicle might be warranted.
 

flatlanded

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Location
Saskatchewan
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2002 Jetta
Winter tires make all the difference. 4x4's tend to end up in the ditch more than anything as they don't bother to equip themselves with decent tires. It's not usually the snow on the highways either, its the ice/snow build-up and combined with wind and zero visibility that makes driving difficult.

Nokian Hakkapeliitta or Bridgestone Blizzaks and you'll be fine.

Also, staying home because the highways are bad is a perfectly legitimate excuse.
 

FiremanTDI

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Aug 2, 2013
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Chatham, Ontario
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2013 JSW/Golf Wagon TDI, 2013 Audi Q7
Just as I suspected, cars are fine. I do notice a lot more PU's in the ditches than cars. People tend to overestimate their needs.
 

flatlanded

Veteran Member
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Aug 1, 2009
Location
Saskatchewan
TDI
2002 Jetta
Don't get me wrong, a 4x4 with ground clearance is great for around town when the snow is piled up before the plows come through. You don't have to worry about losing a bumper cover or valence on a snow drift. However, we are all equipped with 4 wheels to brake with and 2 wheels to steer with. That's why putting on the right 'boots' for winter is important.
 

My_name_is_Rob

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Apr 27, 2012
Location
Mexico 🇲🇽
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2013 A4 Quattro
I live in Alberta, and my mk3 does alright. I constantly complain about the lack of road maintenance though. That and the fact they don't like to plow residential streets in the winter, so you really need a good set of winter tires and ground clearance. =)
 

Concat

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Oct 6, 2009
Location
Edmonton, AB
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2005 Jetta GLS TDi
I live in Edmonton and all I drive is my Jetta. I don't even use winter tires... I've been using TripleTred all weather tires for the last 70 000 km. They are very capable tires in the winter when new. While they're still in good shape for summer, with winter coming I'm going to replace them with a set of Nokian WRG3.

I do just fine here, but do get stuck occasionally. Usually on side streets that are all chewed up or not plowed. The main culprit here is the clearance on my Jetta. Too much snow and it turns into a plow... ride up onto my skid plate and tires just spin freely. I've been meaning to address this via a lift kit.

But really, everyone in Alberta is SUV/pick up crazy. Accountants drive dualies for their grocery runs. In 2012, 80% of the vehicles sold were trucks! (http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/02/08/hicks-pickups-far-and-away-top-selling-vehicle-in-alberta). It's a bit ridiculous.

And yeah... a lot of people overestimate their truck's capabilities. Just driving to work I notice that it's almost always the pickup trucks that are fishtailing around corners, tailgating everyone or just in the ditch.
 
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yatzee

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Location
Montreal, Qc
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see sig
Probably a good idea to get a skid pan and perhaps an aftermarket coolant heater - it gets colder in the prairies than Ontario
 

FiremanTDI

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Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Location
Chatham, Ontario
TDI
2013 JSW/Golf Wagon TDI, 2013 Audi Q7
I live in Edmonton and all I drive is my Jetta. I don't even use winter tires... I've been using TripleTred all weather tires for the last 70 000 km. They are very capable tires in the winter when new. While they're still in good shape for summer, with winter coming I'm going to replace them with a set of Nokian WRG3.
I do just fine here, but do get stuck occasionally. Usually on side streets that are all chewed up or not plowed. The main culprit here is the clearance on my Jetta. Too much snow and it turns into a plow... ride up onto my skid plate and tires just spin freely. I've been meaning to address this via a lift kit.
But really, everyone in Alberta is SUV/pick up crazy. Accountants drive dualies for their grocery runs. In 2012, 80% of the vehicles sold were trucks! (http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/02/08/hicks-pickups-far-and-away-top-selling-vehicle-in-alberta). It's a bit ridiculous.
And yeah... a lot of people overestimate their truck's capabilities. Just driving to work I notice that it's almost always the pickup trucks that are fishtailing around corners, tailgating everyone or just in the ditch.
No tires are capable in the winter other than snow/winter tires because the rubber put into these tires are engineered to have properties in cold temperatures (elasticity, grip, etc.) that other tires fail to sustain once the temperature dips below around 7 degrees Celsius.
How are TDI's in the winters over there? My TDI faired well last winter. Moving forward I will plug it in with a timer so it is warm when I leave in the morning.
 

TDI smile

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Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Location
Edmonton, Alberta (b4 BC - LOWER MAINLAND = Chilli
TDI
2002 TDI (ALH) with 513,000 km. First Owner and very happy... No Problems, never left us stranded on the Highway. Average useage is about between under 4 ltr. and 5 ltr. Normal longdistance travel: 4.1/100
I live in Edmonton and all I drive is my Jetta. I don't even use winter tires... I've been using TripleTred all weather tires for the last 70 000 km. They are very capable tires in the winter when new. While they're still in good shape for summer, with winter coming I'm going to replace them with a set of Nokian WRG3.

I do just fine here, but do get stuck occasionally. Usually on side streets that are all chewed up or not plowed. The main culprit here is the clearance on my Jetta. Too much snow and it turns into a plow... ride up onto my skid plate and tires just spin freely. I've been meaning to address this via a lift kit.

But really, everyone in Alberta is SUV/pick up crazy. Accountants drive dualies for their grocery runs. In 2012, 80% of the vehicles sold were trucks! (http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/02/08/hicks-pickups-far-and-away-top-selling-vehicle-in-alberta). It's a bit ridiculous.

And yeah... a lot of people overestimate their truck's capabilities. Just driving to work I notice that it's almost always the pickup trucks that are fishtailing around corners, tailgating everyone or just in the ditch.

^^^ Right on... Never hit the Ditch and I drove over 500 km a Day to my Places of Business. Sure - my MB Diesel Stationwagen had Winter Tires, but my cars only 4 Season Tires... Worked just fine in and around Edmonton. The NW Wind cleans the Highways and Streets pretty good. You might have to drive a few Kilometers slower. Keep a good Distance to the guy in front. Pick Up Trucks behind you hit you many times, because they go too fast. That's how my MB car got rear ended. At least I got over 30,000 Dollars for my pain and whatever!!
 

da.hs

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SK, Canada
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2010 Golf, DSG, silver (from new). 2010 Audi Q7 (from 2016), 2004 Touareg V10 (from 2018)
Near Prince Albert, northern SK.. rural road, highway commute to mid size town. Golf Tdi (2010) used almost every day, year round. Once or twice a year I use a 4x4 truck after a snowfall because I don't have time in the morning to clear my driveway (if the truck wasn't available, I'd just clear it a bit quicker, of course).

Car starts reliably and immediately after sitting in town all day at -30C without plug-in - I think that's the coldest we've had daytime in the last four years. DSG is a bit snatchy for a few minutes until warmed up. It's garaged at nights, insulated but not heated - typically -10C by end of winter. I don't plug in at home. Mk4 Golf was on the edge of not starting at -30C - just barely made it. Mk6 much better.

Driving conditions are generally much easier in cold weather (I mean -20C or so) than near freezing point. Wet snow around -5C is much harder - you'd have more of that in the east.
 

Concat

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Oct 6, 2009
Location
Edmonton, AB
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2005 Jetta GLS TDi
No tires are capable in the winter other than snow/winter tires because the rubber put into these tires are engineered to have properties in cold temperatures (elasticity, grip, etc.) that other tires fail to sustain once the temperature dips below around 7 degrees Celsius.
How are TDI's in the winters over there? My TDI faired well last winter. Moving forward I will plug it in with a timer so it is warm when I leave in the morning.
TripleTred and WRG3 are All Weather Tires... they carry the snowflake symbol meaning they meet specs for snowy conditions.

I'm not saying they are just as good as dedicated snow tires, though. Just saying they are a lot better than All Seasons.
 

yatzee

Top Post Dawg
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Location
Montreal, Qc
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see sig
TripleTred and WRG3 are All Weather Tires... they carry the snowflake symbol meaning they meet specs for snowy conditions.

I'm not saying they are just as good as dedicated snow tires, though. Just saying they are a lot better than All Seasons.
they are Better than all season, but the tread will still freeze at very low temperatures. I never understood why people cheap out on winter tires - it's yours and everyone else's safety!
 

da.hs

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SK, Canada
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2010 Golf, DSG, silver (from new). 2010 Audi Q7 (from 2016), 2004 Touareg V10 (from 2018)
I have to agree with the above - I've been in one fatal head-on caused by bad tires (fatal to the other party). I heard later he had been going to buy winter tires on boxing day sale.

http://www.panow.com/node/167979#additional-images

Mine was the white truck in this...
 

FiremanTDI

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Location
Chatham, Ontario
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2013 JSW/Golf Wagon TDI, 2013 Audi Q7
Quebec makes it mandatory to buy winter tires. I am surprised this is not the trend in other places. It is proven that winter tires provide shorter stopping distances in the cold. Why not make it mandatory?
 

TDI smile

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2002 TDI (ALH) with 513,000 km. First Owner and very happy... No Problems, never left us stranded on the Highway. Average useage is about between under 4 ltr. and 5 ltr. Normal longdistance travel: 4.1/100
Quebec makes it mandatory to buy winter tires. I am surprised this is not the trend in other places. It is proven that winter tires provide shorter stopping distances in the cold. Why not make it mandatory?

It's just a matter of VOTE'S:rolleyes:
 

flatlanded

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Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Location
Saskatchewan
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2002 Jetta
I've always thought it would be a nice incentive for an insurance company to offer a discount when using winter tires...

Once you have driven with winter tires, you won't even consider it an option not to have them.
 

Concat

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Joined
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Location
Edmonton, AB
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS TDi
Quebec makes it mandatory to buy winter tires. I am surprised this is not the trend in other places. It is proven that winter tires provide shorter stopping distances in the cold. Why not make it mandatory?
Nokian WRG3 All Weather tires carry the extreme weather conditions symbol, meaning they are legal to drive on in Quebec in winter. They also received top praise during winter driving tests at consumer reports.

Honestly, All Weather tires are relatively new, and most people are skeptical. When I got my TripleTreds installed I was pretty surprised by how they handled.

Here's a decent article I just found: http://www.wheels.ca/guides/all-weather-tires-are-not-the-same-as-all-season-and-heres-why/

I realize they will never be as good the top dedicated winter tires... but they are still very good. 4 winters now with Goodyear's TripleTreds and I've never been in an accident or slid off the road. I HAVE, however, got stuck every winter... heh
 

Benjamin

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Black Diamond, AB
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I do have access to to a 4x4, but have used my jetta/golf and every other vw diesel for the last 12 years out in Regina/Calgary. Biggest issue is clearance on side streets after all the snow falls and no clearing being done.

Don't lower your car, let the lowered cars scrape the bottom and give you some clearance.

In terms of winter tires, I wouldn't drive a car/jeep/truck without them. I can spend $800 on awesome winter tires which is less then my deductible and know I atleast have a fighting chance on the ice. My wife and kids safety are also important, I have driven with and without tires, wouldn't dream of putting them in danger.

Can you live without them, sure many have for lots of years and been fine, can't argue with that fact. I have felt the difference on the same vehicle the same day, not worth the risk for me.

So 4x4 is great and fun, not a must unless we get a very large snow fall and you have to be first out there.
 

Geobmx4life

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Kananaskis Alberta Canada
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2005 Golf Malone tuned VNT 17, FMIC
I'm out in the mountains, have quite a few mods, including being low, coilovers that do get cranked up, and a skid plate...I run Nokian Hakka 7's in the winter and we see some pretty big dumps of snow...never been stuck in my Golf.
 
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