When we headed for Denver for Christmas people kept saying, "Better take an SUV!" I would have taken an SUV if one was available. But it wasn't. So we took the Hyundai Azera and hoped for dry weather. Going east we hit heavy snow climbing out of Dillon, Colo., up to the Eisenhower Tunnel (or, technically speaking, the Johnson Tunnel for eastbound travel) at elevation 11,158 feet...
A new storm blew in yesterday and this morning when I woke up this is what the Azera looked like (top photo). We drove it through snow that was at times a foot deep and kept going. The only problem was packing the front fascia and air dam with snow. The windshield and rear window defrosted and de-iced quickly and visibility was good. And here's one more benefit. When we took it skiing we folded down the left rear seat and put skies and poles through the opening.
Yeah, I would have preferred an SUV. But all in all, it proved to be a more adequate snow car than I ever imagined.
navigator89 says:
11:35 PM, 12/29/06
Wow, with 3 remaining SUVs and one truck (RAV4, Compass, SRX and Silverado) you couldn't snag even one for your trip?
Lol that pic reminds me of Toronto winters. Good to know the Azera handles well in snow, I'll bet the stability control really helped.
dragonzsoul says:
04:38 AM, 12/30/06
what about the FJ cruiser? they still have that right?
navigator89 says:
06:22 AM, 12/30/06
Right, forgot about the FJ. That brings the total SUV count to 4, and with the Silverado that's 5 possible options. Though I have to admit, the FJ probably wouldnt be a good choice for a road trip with more than 2 people.
autoboy16 says:
09:53 AM, 12/30/06
and theres the rx400h
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/LongTerm/articleId=106271
navigator89 says:
10:05 AM, 12/30/06
Good point autoboy26. I want to know what exactly happened to the Lexus. No updates since March 2006, and no entries in the blog.
zach101 says:
11:01 AM, 12/30/06
I was also thinking about the other SUVs available at Edmunds and thought about the RX400h (if they still have it). Also, the R500 has AWD.
philip17 says:
07:57 PM, 12/30/06
My trip was kind of last minute and all the SUVs were spoken for (as you can see from the other blogs). Plus, I've done this drive many times and never ran into snow like this. Yes, stability control was working overtime as was ABS.
jsmilesrmhs says:
07:05 AM, 01/ 1/07
You could have also taken the Ford Escape Hybird, I dont't think that ever ended