vintage42

I put BFGoodrich Traction T/A all-season tires on my xB, but the xB has less snow traction than my wife's Buick with Goodyear ComfortTreads. The Buick can climb our little hill in conditions where the xB can't.
The 6 inches clearance of the xB is not the problem in the one or two such snows that we get here. It just can't pull itself along before the tires start to spin.

WhoKilledTheJAMs

My 'summer' tires are Kumho Ecsta ASX all seasons. I had a set on the Subaru I used to have, and they were great, but that car could make traction if you glued a bunch of pencil erasers to the wheels. The xB (like most FWD cars) demands snow tires. In all seriousness, an xB with snows is 90% as capable as a Subaru Impreza with all-seasons, and that 10% extra the Subaru can do consists mostly of things that are either illegal or possibly-deadly.

vintage42

My xB and my Subaru both have all-season tires.
http://aatherton06.home.insightbb.co.../Forester.html
I have driven both in the 6-inch snow that Louisville gets a couple of times a year. I don't know if putting snow tires on the xB will make it as good as the Subaru, but it would sure be worth any improvement. I wonder what illegal and deadly things I might do in the Subaru.

spr0k3t

I for one welcome our new xBxtreme overlord.

Zman

Lucky mug.

WhoKilledTheJAMs

My prior vehicle was a base-model 05 Impreza. Part of why I got rid of it (aside from how horribly impractical sedans are in general) is that it was eventually going to inspire me to do something really stupid.

Still, a decent set of all seasons on that car made it a hoot to drive, and the AWD kept me out of trouble.

On my commute (rural backroads, mostly), the xB really is just as good with snows as the Impreza was. On the other hand, I've driven my boss' 05 Impreza with snow tires a little bit, and it feels unstoppable.