The best Car for Alberta winters????

[jaguar_paw]

Hi there,

Just wanted to invite All of you to discuss which is the best car model for harsh winters of Alberta(-40 sometimes ). Mayb Toyota Prado or Mitsubishi Pajero? Altough I am a fan of German made sedans. Altough they are reliable in mild climate, I am not sure they may be all right in Canadian cold and icy roads which can be hadled by 4WDs only in my opinion. Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[toby]

Ottawa winters got pretty harsh too, and I never had problems starting a Toyota or Honda.

 

[athan]

Hi there,

Just wanted to invite All of you to discuss which is the best car model for harsh winters of Alberta(-40 sometimes ). Mayb Toyota Prado or Mitsubishi Pajero? Altough I am a fan of German made sedans. Altough they are reliable in mild climate, I am not sure they may be all right in Canadian cold and icy roads which can be hadled by 4WDs only in my opinion. Any ideas?

Thanks

i recomend H2 Hummer! best for icy road!!!!!

for me i recomend H2 Hummer! best for icy roads

 

[jaguar_paw]

H2 hammers are so voracious and can't compete in quality and reliability with Toyotas i guess

 

[Offshore]

I agree tayota is much more better than Hummer.
But I thought Prado is for europenian market, u can't find Prado in Alberta

but anyway, we gonna move to Calgary soon and also looking at different options which car is the best for winter

r u in Alberta?

 

[wt1]

Having lived in Northern Ontario a number of years, I prefer a full sized car (i.e. Toyota Camry or Honda Accord) or an SUV (Toyota RAV or Honda CRV or larger) for safety and comfort, especially since I drive a lot on highways. Do keep in mind that the larger the vehicle, the more mass you need to stop and a higher center of gravity (more potential rollover risk). Traction control and 4 wheel drive are nice features that help keep you on the road.

For starting reliably in the cold, nothing beats a block heater (electric heat tracing wrapped around your engine, you plug in a power cord at night and it keeps the engine from freezing up). This works for cars inside a garage or out on the driveway. It is also important to change your battery every couple of years to make sure you have enough power to turn the engine over (batteries don't have as much oomph in the cold).

If you are keeping a car outside a garage, I've found installing a remote starter (you can start your car with your key fob up to 10-20 meters away, say when you are dressing in your bedroom, and it runs for around 10 minutes. The car stays locked and will shut off when you press the key fob again) is really nice to get a car warmed up (or cooled down in the summer) with windows defrosted by the time you go out to it.

 

[wt1]

Oh, and if you are talking about car brands, people who own Subaru's are very fanatical about them. They come standard with 4 wheel drive.

 

[Offshore]

thanks for your reply.

Do you think it is worth to buy a used car, let's say 2006 Lexus or it is better to get new Mazda CX-7?

 

[wt1]

thanks for your reply.

Do you think it is worth to buy a used car, let's say 2006 Lexus or it is better to get new Mazda CX-7?

I don't know either brand well, so can't answer any specific questions on that.

Used versus new is an eternal debate, and depends heavily on your personal preferences. I've gone down both paths in the past.

People do say that a new car loses 25% of it value once you drive it off the lot, but you have at least several years of predictable performance and maintenance costs out of it. Of course, the price of a used car is a negotiation between you and the current owner (though you can pull on resources such as Kelly Blue Book online.

If you do want to consider a used car, consider both the car's reliability and the previous ownership history. Consumer reports on used cars (usually available in any library's reference section in North America or online for a price) are a good indication of how much maintenance trouble/cost your potential acquisition can give you. If you are considering a new car, this can also be useful in knowing what to expect maintenance-wise (auto manufacturers tend to introduce a new design for a model every 4-5 years, so if the current design has been out a couple of years, you can get a sense of the likely reliability of the new car before you get it).

Carfax reports can tell you if the car has previously experienced any traumatic incidents (accidents, flood, etc). Asking the owner for their maintenance records is never a bad thing and can give you some insight as to how they've taken care of the car in the past (and help you look past whether the car has been freshly polished/cleaned in the recent past).

 

[Offshore]

many thanks for your answer, I do appreciate!

I guess once we will land I need to walk through car dealerships for a while before final decision

with regards!

 

[jaguar_paw]

I agree tayota is much more better than Hummer.
But I thought Prado is for europenian market, u can't find Prado in Alberta

but anyway, we gonna move to Calgary soon and also looking at different options which car is the best for winter

r u in Alberta?

I couldn't find Prados either, I thought they are available.

I am not yet.

 

[SandR]

Liking this thread very informative to a novice like me. A good car is really important to make the most of Canada.

 

[toby]

The best car for a harsh winter is one that is headed south!!

 

[scylla]

We rented a Yaris once in winter in Toronto (yes, I know, we should have known better - but they didn't have very many cars left on the lot). What a piece of junk (windows wouldn't fully defrost and more). So not safe for winter driving.

When we got back to the rental agency we were planning on complaining because we thought they gave us a lemon. However two people who were waiting in line were kind enough to educate us that the problems we experienced were (as they put it sarcastically) "features".

We laugh now - but driving on the highway in that thing was frightening.

 

[longstory]

Would definitely stay away from American and European in Canada, Japanese is ther way to go when it comes to reliability, if you stay on top of your fluids and belts, you will never be let down by them, as for the Yaris story...they say IKEA is crap, I love IKEA because when I go there I buy their upper scale stuff, and they are just badass (I'm sitting on a $200 computer chair I purchased from them in 2005, top shape still) so the same goes for cars, Yaris is a bottom of the barrel car, u get what u pay for. One more advise is to stay away from Mazdas (FORD made), they are notorious for rusting. I'd say to sum it all up; TOYOTA, HONDA, NISSAN...in no particular order are the best price/quality cars. I myself am driving my 4th Acura in North America in 10 years and wouldn't give it up. All said; these are my opinions based on my personal experience.