Impressions after driving in our first snow.

[nevadagarth]

Mother Nature dropped about 6 inches of wet snow on us Saturday night and Sunday morning. I took the Ridgeline out for a little trip to Starbucks for the wife. I told her it would be awhile since I was going to go and have some fun.

My birthday is November 27th and I grew up in South Dakota. I share this with you because I cut my driving teeth on snow, rear wheel drive no less. I also share this with you to point out that I have a lot of experience driving in snow, both in the Upper Great Plains and here in the mountains of the Sierra Nevadas.

First off, no matter what vehicle or traction control system you have, you will still be driving on a surface that has less traction than dry pavement. No amount of computer logic or snow tires/chains will correct stupidity.

I did 95% of the “fun” driving with the default settings (i.e. VSA on and VTM-4 NOT locked) and in a series of large parking lots.

I was most impressed with the VTM-4. Under acceleration conditions the VTM-4 was awesome. Once I had enough traction that the VSA was not retarding the engine output, the Ridgeline would accelerate amazingly. I had a lot of fun “gunning” the Ridgeline off of the line, both in the parking lot and when I was actually on the way to and from Starbucks.

The VSA is also quite amazing although you can still get yourself into a situation where nothing will stop a slide. I did a series of slalom maneuvers and was impressed with the way the VSA would kick in and apply the brakes to which ever wheel would help get me back on track. I also loved the way the Ridgeline would get itself out of a sideways slide. When I could get the truck a little sideways the VSA would apply brakes to the outside rear tire and the Ridgeline would get itself going straight again. This worked particularly well when the sideways slide was enough to cause me to turn into the slide.

I also found the VSA engine power output retardation worked very well. I would do a couple of long sweeping turns and when the Ridgeline would start to slide the engine throttle would back off even if I tried to apply more power. It was kind of a weird feeling. My body was expecting to feel acceleration, but the Ridgeline would actually slow down. I compare it to skiing and hitting a wet spot. You end up leaning forward a little bit from the deceleration.

After I left the parking lots, I was driving quite fast (still below the speed limit because of the snow) because I was feeling more comfortable with the handling characteristics of the Ridgeline. I had a very cool moment where I was on a gentle curve to the left. I was in and out of other peoples previous tracks through the snow and hit one particularly big rut/track that kicked the back of my Ridgeline to the right a little bit. I gently eased off the accelerator and turned slightly into the skid. The VSA kicked in and immediately brought the Ridgeline back in the direction I wanted to go. This was a very comforting feeling.

All in all the Ridgeline is a great vehicle from a safety standpoint. If you want to take it to big open area and have a lot of childhood fun doing cookies/donuts, etc. you may not have as much fun with the Ridgeline. I suppose with the VSA off you might be able to. I wasn’t. I tried it a couple of times and only managed to slide straight. The VTM-4 just doesn’t allow you to spin one set of axles in order to whip the vehicle around.

Rest assured that the Ridgeline will help keep you safe and in the direction you want to go as long as you respect Mother Nature. She will always win.

[5S Dude]

Originally Posted by nevadagarth

Mother Nature dropped about 6 inches of wet snow on us Saturday night and Sunday morning. I took the Ridgeline out for a little trip to Starbucks for the wife. I told her it would be awhile since I was going to go and have some fun.

My birthday is November 27th and I grew up in South Dakota. I share this with you because I cut my driving teeth on snow, rear wheel drive no less. I also share this with you to point out that I have a lot of experience driving in snow, both in the Upper Great Plains and here in the mountains of the Sierra Nevadas.

First off, no matter what vehicle or traction control system you have, you will still be driving on a surface that has less traction than dry pavement. No amount of computer logic or snow tires/chains will correct stupidity.

I did 95% of the “fun” driving with the default settings (i.e. VSA on and VTM-4 NOT locked) and in a series of large parking lots.

I was most impressed with the VTM-4. Under acceleration conditions the VTM-4 was awesome. Once I had enough traction that the VSA was not retarding the engine output, the Ridgeline would accelerate amazingly. I had a lot of fun “gunning” the Ridgeline off of the line, both in the parking lot and when I was actually on the way to and from Starbucks.

The VSA is also quite amazing although you can still get yourself into a situation where nothing will stop a slide. I did a series of slalom maneuvers and was impressed with the way the VSA would kick in and apply the brakes to which ever wheel would help get me back on track. I also loved the way the Ridgeline would get itself out of a sideways slide. When I could get the truck a little sideways the VSA would apply brakes to the outside rear tire and the Ridgeline would get itself going straight again. This worked particularly well when the sideways slide was enough to cause me to turn into the slide.

I also found the VSA engine power output retardation worked very well. I would do a couple of long sweeping turns and when the Ridgeline would start to slide the engine throttle would back off even if I tried to apply more power. It was kind of a weird feeling. My body was expecting to feel acceleration, but the Ridgeline would actually slow down. I compare it to skiing and hitting a wet spot. You end up leaning forward a little bit from the deceleration.

After I left the parking lots, I was driving quite fast (still below the speed limit because of the snow) because I was feeling more comfortable with the handling characteristics of the Ridgeline. I had a very cool moment where I was on a gentle curve to the left. I was in and out of other peoples previous tracks through the snow and hit one particularly big rut/track that kicked the back of my Ridgeline to the right a little bit. I gently eased off the accelerator and turned slightly into the skid. The VSA kicked in and immediately brought the Ridgeline back in the direction I wanted to go. This was a very comforting feeling.

All in all the Ridgeline is a great vehicle from a safety standpoint. If you want to take it to big open area and have a lot of childhood fun doing cookies/donuts, etc. you may not have as much fun with the Ridgeline. I suppose with the VSA off you might be able to. I wasn’t. I tried it a couple of times and only managed to slide straight. The VTM-4 just doesn’t allow you to spin one set of axles in order to whip the vehicle around.

Rest assured that the Ridgeline will help keep you safe and in the direction you want to go as long as you respect Mother Nature. She will always win.

Awesome post of your fun nevadagarth, How does your Suby compare to the Ridgeline in the same conditions?

[LadyRidge]

Nice posts Garth. Thanks.

[nevadagarth]

Originally Posted by 5S Dude

Awesome post of your fun nevadagarth, How does your Suby compare to the Ridgeline in the same conditions?

Interesting you should ask. I intended on bringing out my wife's Tribeca afterwards, but family life trumped that notion. By the time I could get back outside the weather had warmed up enough that the roads were mostly slush at that time and I didn't think the comparison would be valid.

This is our fourth Subaru and I am always impressed with how it handles in the snow. Her first one, a 1999 Impreza got us out of some really deep snow that would have stopped most vehicles on the road. This Tribeca has the advanced VDC and more ground clearance than the Ridgeline so I would expect similar results. However, the Ridgeline has better acceleration.

[lakedweller]

Agree...great post! Living in Wisconsin, we have our fair share of snow so far this year. I live in the boonies where we don't get plowed out completely. My old car was front-wheel only, but had ABS and traction, but of course the Ridge is far, far better. I tested it in a nearby parking lot that has never been plowed, just driven through by other 4x4's showing off. I went in the deep, untouched stuff and was surprised at how well it got out from a standstill - even bottoming out (greater than 10 inches). I understand that most 4x4s can easily do this, but not in this great of style!