I don't have any experience driving THIS car in snow yet this year, but I do have some other scary stories...

My car almost slid off the road going around a corner on a wet road... the stock tires have crappy grip in remotely wet newly-paved road conditions. My previous car's Yokohama AVID TRZs were AWESOME for gripping corners in all sorts of conditions, and ROCKED in the snow and pouring rain.

Also, Philly has a lot of trolley tracks that aren't used anymore, but are still on the road. The stock tires have a tendency to SLIDE on the tracks... there have been a couple times when I've had to brake hard, and my car has continued to slide almost completely through the intersection. It's scary.
I can't wait for these tires to wear out so I can invest in some Yokohamas again.

 

Thus far, mine has handled absolutely superbly in the snow and ice. No slipping and no loss of traction up here in Ohio. For reference I have the Hatchback with the manual transmission and 14 inch stock tires.

Now my last car, a 2000 cougar... my gosh that was terrible.

 

the front wheel drive is pretty nice even though the engine is so small and light.. on small hills on a snow covered road, i let the clutch out till it feels like its going to stall then feather on the gas... hardly spins a bit.. im a cautious driver in the snow anyways... my other car was a 94 chevy caprice classic, talk about fun in the snow!! even with 150+ pounds of salt in the trunk, it still wanted to slide out... i like this little thing in the snow!! woohoo!!!

 

Third winter with this car - I have a full set of snow tires on. Well worth the investment I thought about it this way - either pay an insurance premium after hitting something or reduce your chances of collision significantly with better traction.

With the proper tires, this car handles like a champ in the poor driving conditions.

 

I ended up with 4 Firestone Winterforce tires, and other than killing my mpg (barely getting 30 mpg now, was getting about 37, but we do have winter gas now...) they are completely awesome. I also live in Ohio, and have to drive into the "snow belt" to get to work. I find myself driving in the unplowed lanes going home at night because I can pass the slow asses in the plowed lanes. I went home to Erie, PA for Thanksgiving, and had almost no problems. I had to power through a few snowplowed-in driveways, but even with the bottom of the car scraping on ice and crap, the accent pulled right through it. I have no ABS but haven't had any problems stopping in slippery conditions thanks to my tires.

 

fine. i put some snow & ice tires on 'er and she goes ok. never had the opportunity to drive in more than about 4" of snow, though. proper snow tires + low speed = win. however, one KEY thing to successful snow navigating is having some weight in the hatch, imo, as the arse end of our cars is so light it's easy to lose it even though it's fwd. put some junk in your trunk before venturing out in the snow and you'll be a lot safer for it.

edit:

5spd
non abs (not available even as an option on my car here in canada.)

i like being able to gear down to slow down in rain/snow.. it's much more controllable vs. just using the brakes.

 

No complaints here im running on Nokian Hakkapeliitta R's

 

I'm going into my 3rd winter and only have had it in one significant snow event...  not much snow down here! Last time I drove in the snow we got dumped on pretty good, several inches of snow and it did alright. I made it home so that's all that matters.  Just took it slow and really kept an eye on everything, it did alright with my all seasons.  If I lived in an area that got more snow I'd probably pick up a set of snow tires but for here it's not worth the expense.

The ABS did extend stopping distances, but that's the nature of the beast.  It modulates the pedal quicker than other ABS-equipped cars I've owned, although those worked quieter.  The machine gun noise from the hydraulic unit and the intense pedal feedback was a bit alarming at first.   


We'll see what happens this winter, so far there's been nothing.

 

I've owned 9 cars, and this one is by far the best on the snow. Put some michelin Xi2's on it and it's near like driving on the rain. Only complaint I have about it in the winter is in city driving, the car won't heat up in -20 weather with the blower motor on. Once you hit the highway it seems good though. Not used to this as all my cars were v-6's or v-8 domestics iron blocks which held the heat, this alluminum crap sucks.

 

So I guess from these reply's that the problem is the crappy factory tires...

Makes sense, as I've had Front Wheel drive cars before that did quite well in the snow with added "all weather" tires.

Now to locate some 16 in. low profile "all weather" tires...

 

QUOTE (roadranger @ Dec 3 2008, 08:34 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=204440

So I guess from these reply's that the problem is the crappy factory tires...

Makes sense, as I've had Front Wheel drive cars before that did quite well in the snow with added "all weather" tires.

Now to locate some 16 in. low profile "all weather" tires...

Why not just buy some 14" steelies and some winter tires? got my 4 14"'s for ~200 and the 4 tires for ~550 so roughly ~750 for rims and tires, and at that some of the best tires on the market, you could buy 4 winter tires for probably 350 if you really wanted, and it'd still be a lot better than any all-seaons, for the same price as buying tires for 16" rims

Also forgot to mention, taller, narrower tires are better in the winter, so a 14" with a 175 or 185 will be much better than any tire you could put on your 16's, and a lot cheaper

 

QUOTE (roadranger @ Dec 3 2008, 08:34 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=204440

So I guess from these reply's that the problem is the crappy factory tires...

Makes sense, as I've had Front Wheel drive cars before that did quite well in the snow with added "all weather" tires.

Now to locate some 16 in. low profile "all weather" tires...

Nokian makes a nice all weather tire the nokian wr g2

 

Threads like these makes me love socal. Drive safe out there guys.

 

i beat you ALL out! my car is STILL lightened (nothing in the back..AT ALL) and still got the power mods on, AND ive got a 5pd, no ABS, STOCK FROM FACTORY all season kumho tires....and the car is freakin brilliant in the snow

 

Only thing that bothers me about driving this car in the snow is the traction breaking at 30 mph when im in 4th gear cruising because of slush(i wish i had tcs)

and you cant give any power while turning or else you understeer completely straight on.

 

I'm not looking forward to it. Last winter I drove my 1995 GMC Sierra. 4 wheel drive. Didn't even need to shovel the berm to get to work in the morning. Now I'm going to have to get up extra early to shovel etc. Plus my truck handles like its on rails in the snow. I know **** well the car isn't going to..

 

Don't have any snow and it doesn't look to be snowy this year, so I threw some ice cubes on the road and man my Accent still handled like a dream.

Really though if it snows, I probably won't drive it much if at all. Performance tires and light car, plus stupid drivers on the road=no thanks!

 

ya is fun in the snow entering a corner 40km/h coming up is a right turn so i turn left and turn right sharp pull the hand brake and floor it weeee so much fun this is the shortest wheel base car i driven

 

QUOTE (mrblank @ Dec 6 2008, 03:30 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=204708

ya is fun in the snow entering a corner 40km/h coming up is a right turn so i turn left and turn right sharp pull the hand brake and floor it weeee so much fun this is the shortest wheel base car i driven

And then the car continues to slide sideways into a tree. No more fun in the Accent That would suck.

 

Yeah you really cant do e-brake turns or slide with these cars, short wheel base sucks =/

 

I had my first taste of actual slick conditions in the car this weekend.

I'm on the stock Kumho all seasons. The car did just find. I was able to force the car to slide a few times, but it was very controllable. The manual transmission is great for engine breaking downhill.

It remains to see how well it does in deep snow, but I think it will be fine... I'll probably get high centered on chunks of snow/ice before traction becomes a problem.

 

i think its time for me to kill the low profile tires and get winter tires,
i got stuck twice in the snow today,

 

this car will only be so-so in the snow, especially with just an open diff.
also, the lack of weight in the back really should not be much of an issue in these cars, all the driving is handled up front, where
the engine is. FWD platform superior to RWD and only bested by AWD in inclimate weather.

the best car I have driven in the snow, would be my previous car, a 92 NX2000. it had a limited slip diff and 15x7 wheels with 205s on a car that is substantially smaller than the accent. That car ripped in snow.
by far the scariest vehile i have driven in the snow is a chevy RWD pickup truck, with nothing in the bed.

 

QUOTE (fonque @ Dec 9 2008, 02:36 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=205149

this car will only be so-so in the snow, especially with just an open diff.
also, the lack of weight in the back really should not be much of an issue in these cars, all the driving is handled up front, where
the engine is. FWD platform superior to RWD and only bested by AWD in inclimate weather.

the best car I have driven in the snow, would be my previous car, a 92 NX2000. it had a limited slip diff and 15x7 wheels with 205s on a car that is substantially smaller than the accent. That car ripped in snow.
by far the scariest vehile i have driven in the snow is a chevy RWD pickup truck, with nothing in the bed.

This is easily argued. FWD is not superior to RWD if you know how to drive a RWD in the winter. They developed FWD as it's much easier to learn to drive than RWD in low traction situations. Thing about FWD, you lose control and it's over, given it's harder to lose control with a FWD than RWD, if you lose control with a RWD, it's possible to regain control. It's all dependent on your driving skills. Don't get me wrong, I do prefer a FWD in the winter personally, but I also know how to regain control in a RWD application

 

QUOTE (TroyHansen @ Dec 8 2008, 03:58 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=205026

Yeah you really cant do e-brake turns or slide with these cars, short wheel base sucks =/

You can if you go fast enough!