fwd cx5 in snow

Hey there, just wondering how the cx5 fwd drive handles in the snow. Being from Toronto the winters can get bad at times. I didn't get the awd because I figured snow tires are sufficient. I really don't go off roading so I felt awd was pointless and was a over rated thing.

Mine with stock 17 tires did great last year through our chicago storms. Plowed through unplowed streets with several inches of snow like a champ. There is sliding, but nothing i ever felt like i wasnt in control of. I drove very agressively to test the cars abilities. I may jump to snow tires this year but not sure i need to.

FWD with snow tires will get you through most of it. I put on lightly used Blizzacks in the stock 17" size on the stock wheels and found the CX5 to be well balanced in the slippery stuff. I will probably go a touch narrower when I wear out the winter tires. The narrower tire cuts through the slush and slop and is more stable. Braking and handling wise the CX5 is good. Not as good as my old Volvo AWD wagon but better than the MPV and Mazda6s I had. I also found the plastic underbody allows the car to slide over snow drifts pretty well.

If it's really bad out, 12"+ I'll grab my Suburban though. Much easier to go down unplowed streets and fend off other cars with real metal bumpers.

IMO, if you're driving in Ontario in the winter, snow tires should be a given. They make a world of difference in every aspect of winter driving. AWD doesn't make a lick of difference for anything but getting rolling in the first place. Given that no matter what kind of drive-train you have, you're stuck when your bumper is pushing any significant amount of snow, I think the window where AWD is a difference maker is pretty tiny for this car.

Actually in some provinces (Canada) M+S - aka snow tires are required. There is also an effort in the world of insurance to make our life more expensive - if you get into a car accident without snow tires you will get the adjuster to tell you that the insurance advises people to put on winter tires (Quebec and Alberta have these rules in place already). Having driven in Canada now for 17 years I can state that good snow tires have saved my life twice. If I were to drive in Toronto only I could possibly be convinced to keep all weathers, keeping in mind that if I stayed in T.O. I would most likely take public transport... Driving on the 401 and 400 highways I would not dare too far without good snow / ice tires. It is generally not the snow that causes people to spin out but the frozen road after the salters went through. Just my $0.02

I think they should be required here as well. Using all seasons in the winter endangers yourself and others.

I agree. Snow tires should be a must. But awd is nice but I don't think it really needed if you got a set of winters on in Toronto or the gta