Snow Driving with the CX-5, with and without snow tires (Hakkas) [long]

maxwax

CX5 Road Tripper
:
2014 Sky Blue Touring AWD
Northern Colorado had its first decent snow storm of the season last night. After about 12 hours of falling snow my area near Fort Collins, CO, has about 3-6 inches on the ground of light, fluffy powder.

The road conditions are a mix. Highly trafficked areas are plowed and salted well so by today, asphalt is visible on many main roads. They handle snow removal really well out here and I'm always impressed with it. Other roads that aren't plowed but driven on get a pack of 1cm - 2cm or snow of dense snow. It's packed enough so you can't see the asphalt but not enough that it's frozen solid and your tires can't grip and kick up some of it. Country roads that don't get plowed or much traffic are what I was really after. These tend to be gravel roads with drifts up to 6-8 inches of fresh light powder. The ice will come in the next few days as this melts and thaws and melts again.

Last night I took the CX-5 (2014, 2.5L, Touring AWD) out about five hours into the storm with a good 2 inches on the roads. I had the factory Yokohama All Season tires with about 9500 miles of wear on them. Their tread isn't as deep as when new, but they're far from worn and have been comfortable on dry and wet pavement, even some muddy conditions.

Casual driving found the CX-5 to be comfortable, with solid footing thanks to the traction control system. I appreciated TCS when I stopped, disabled TCS, then tried to move forward. The wheels spun, then gripped enough got me moving, but it was the kind of non-TCS, front wheel drive passenger car experience that I had known in the past. In those conditions, you can get around, but you drive with a determined concentration and anxiousness to ensure you don't have an accident. With TCS enabled, you relax MUCH more and drive more comfortably. The car feels stable, acceleration is smooth, constant and predictable. You feel more connected and in-control.

Stopping from 30-40 MPH on packed snow took a fair amount of distance (25-35 feet?) and used the anti-lock brakes each time. I didn't do any measurements of distance, but after a few tests I changed my driving style so that I'd give myself plenty of time to stop when approaching intersections and stop lights.

If I tried to turn the wheel while stopping, I'd slide forward. At one point I was approaching an intersection with a stop light and I tried to guide the car into a different lane. The car just wanted to keep going forward and turn only slightly, but was slowing down via the pumping ABS brakes. These somewhat worn all season tires just don't have whatever is necessary to give me turning control while trying to slow down in some conditions, so I adjusted my driving habits. I also noticed difficulty turning in similar road conditions while gradually accelerating. Long curves weren't a problem for the most part, but one sharp curve scared me a bit and taught me to pay attention to working the steering while turning and being ready to correct the direction sliding stops.

After about an hour, I headed home on one of the main roads with a light snow pack, slush and some asphalt. I found myself going 10-20 MPH faster than the others, a show of the confidence I had in the CX-5 despite the limitations described above. I gave myself plenty of room to stop at lights and it did so securely with the required distance. I came in really pleased with the CX-5's All-Wheel Drive, Traction Control and overall comfort in the snow. If I had to get to work in the morning, I wouldn't have worried about it much.

At no point in this trip did I worry about getting stuck. Well, I was on roads with ditches and hills nearby and I considered how I would roll it over if careless, but I didn't worry about stopping on a hill and not being able to move forward suffering the classic infinite-wheel-spin of a traditional passenger car.

DAY TWO

It just so happens that that this snow storm coincides with my delayed order of snow tires. I had been looking forward to getting them like a kid with a new toy, but I didn't want to get them a month before actual snow only to wear them down unnecessarily.

I bought a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV tires and had them installed around noon today. These are highly regarded in many reviews and fairly costly. I had used Dunlop Blizzak WS70s on my Honda before and really enjoyed them, but for the 6 month old CX-5 I though I'd spend a little more and see how comfortable the CX-5 could be. After unloading the All Season Tires in my garage, I set out to try the new Hakkas on all the conditions described earlier.

This is now daytime, slightly warmer, more snow has falling, no snow actively falling and many of the roads have been driven and packed by now. But not all.

The first thing I noticed is that on packed snow, if I accelerated, I got immediate speed. If I wanted to go fast, I could, simple as that. (At one point, later, I found myself easily doing 60MPH on the same conditions.) My first stop sign took me from about 30 MPH to 0 in what felt like 10-15 feet, at least half the distance of the All Season tires. I repeated this little test in my neighborhood and got the same results: good grip allowing smooth confident acceleration and much faster stopping. Turning corners at slow speed suggested improved handling with no sliding forward.

On mixed Asphalt with packed snow, these were reliable and sure. I couldn't sense a change in road conditions as the road switched from one type of ground to another, nor when one side of the car's wheels were on one type of road than the other set. If I was headed to the city via main roads, this would have quickly become a routine, unremarkable journey.

I got out of town and onto some of the Frontage roads that parallel I-25 (the main highway). These are lightly traveled roads with snow packed down evenly by many cars but little or no plowing. I felt completely comfortable driving on them. I could accelerate easily, stop predictably in short distances and turning was not a problem.

There was some very slight slide when taking a 45 degree turn from one road to another when heavy, slushy snow was on the ground, but this felt much more controllable than the night before. Instead of uncontrollably sliding mostly forward and slightly turning, this was the opposite: mostly turning and slightly sliding. A little more acceleration provided more grip and I was able to be in control.

The first open snow I tried was on a dirt road parallel to some rarely used railroad tracks amongst a farmer's field. I drove down for about 100 feet then did a three point turn in about 6 inches of snow with a base of gravel and grass. It just happened: nothing really to talk about. I drove back, turned around, then did this again, the second time skipping the three point turn and just driving onto part of the field and back. Towards the end I drove through about 8 inches of snow in a drift like the CX-5 was a Jeep playing in the mud. No problems at all.

Later I found about a mile of gravel road covered in 5-8 inches of fresh powder with only 1-2 vehicle tracks. I drove this 3 times down and back, purposely driving into fresh, tall snow instead of following other vehicles tracks. This felt great: just different enough from the comfort of packed snow or asphalt to feel exciting and different, yet not dangerous to feel like I was cheating an accident. In the middle of this stretch was a 30 degree turn and each time the CX-5 took it without sliding at all. I wasn't looking to push it and have an accident, but I wasn't taking it too easy, either: I was driving like this was a familiar road and I was anxious to get somewhere familiar.

I headed home about this time, on back roads, satisfied with my CX-5 and my new Hakkapeliitta snow tires. I was happy to know that even with somewhat worn All Season tires the CX-5 is very capable and provides a more safe and comfortable experience than the small FWD passenger cars I've driven in the past. Adding new, very high quality snow tires enabled the CX-5 to do even more. It thrills me that while I can't disregard the danger that snow and ice present to any driver, I can drive with a confidence that I've never had in the snow before.

Colorado's mountains see a fair amount of snow each year, but the plains actually see far less. When we do get snow, it usually snows on day one and then melts when the sun comes out the next day. Today's testing represents using the CX-5 and snow tires to get around as I normally would without being held back or worried by snow. My next test will be testing the CX-5 and Hakkas on the windy roads that go up and down the Rocky Mountains nearby. Being able to comfortably drive up long, snow packed roads to 10,000 feet and then down with 18-wheelers and unprepared tourists on each side of you can be a thrilling and terrifying experience. Driving down I-70 towards Denver at night on slippery roads where gravity suggests it wants to be done with you is something I'll never take for granted.

Hope you enjoyed this!
 
Maxwax - thanks for the detailed write up - I felt like I was there with you blazing the trail! I must agree with your opinion of the drivability the CX-5 has. Living on the east coast, I took mine to several ski resorts sometimes in deep snow (14in in VT on one day!). On another trip, traveling from western PA back to D.C., I had 4 people in the CX-5 including myself, snowboards on the top and gear packed in the rear cargo area. We were traveling behind a FWD Chevy CUV and approached a very steep hill about 1/4 mile long. I didn't know the Chevy was FWD until it took off from the stop sign and started climbing the hill. Luckily there were no other cars on the road, b/c as we sat at the bottom of the hill waiting, the Chevy crawled, limped and spun it's way up the hill. A couple times it look liked it almost lost momentum, so I put mine in reverse waiting for the Chevy to slide down the hill. Thank goodness it made it up and over after about 2 minutes (felt like 10 minutes!). I threw the CX-5 in drive and took off up the hill with no problem. This was also with the stock toyo tires.

I am very confident the CX-5 will get me anywhere I want to go, but I'm also thankful I wasn't going down the hill instead of up; that would have been a different story! This season I have aftermarket rims with Continental PureContacts DWS - they have much better bite than the toyos had.

Also I'm so jealous of where you live!
 
Thanks for the write up. I currently have a newly mounted set of Blizzak DMV1's on Mazda 6 wheels just waiting for me to put them on the CX-5 this weekend. I'm looking forward to testing this setup out with the first snowfall.

Good to know I won't have any issues this winter up here in New England.
 
Excellent write up.

My city just got hit by the same storm, it's edges passing us by. Judging by the amount of snow on my driveway, I'd say we got almost 2feet yesterday lol.

CX-5 has been fun to drive in the snow so far, even with the stock Toyo tires. Still looking around for winter wheels myself, and this helped narrow the search.
 
I also got the Hakka R2 SUV for my CX-5. So far, they have been absolutely great. What really suprizes me is that with one wheel in deep snow and the other on dry road, I feel almost no pull. This is something that would have draged me in the ditch with my Protege5. Wonder if the AWD or TCS systems compensate for the difference in drag on both sides of the car, or if the tires are just really great.
 
Awesome write up . Thank You.

Would like to know what size tire and wheel combo have you used.

Hi. Thanks for the feedback!

I'm using the stock 17" wheels that came with the touring. The tires are 225/65-17, same size as the OEM AS tires I imagine.
 
Maxwax - thanks for the detailed write up - I felt like I was there with you blazing the trail! I must agree with your opinion of the drivability the CX-5 has. Living on the east coast, I took mine to several ski resorts sometimes in deep snow (14in in VT on one day!). On another trip, traveling from western PA back to D.C., I had 4 people in the CX-5 including myself, snowboards on the top and gear packed in the rear cargo area. We were traveling behind a FWD Chevy CUV and approached a very steep hill about 1/4 mile long. I didn't know the Chevy was FWD until it took off from the stop sign and started climbing the hill. Luckily there were no other cars on the road, b/c as we sat at the bottom of the hill waiting, the Chevy crawled, limped and spun it's way up the hill. A couple times it look liked it almost lost momentum, so I put mine in reverse waiting for the Chevy to slide down the hill. Thank goodness it made it up and over after about 2 minutes (felt like 10 minutes!). I threw the CX-5 in drive and took off up the hill with no problem. This was also with the stock toyo tires.

I am very confident the CX-5 will get me anywhere I want to go, but I'm also thankful I wasn't going down the hill instead of up; that would have been a different story! This season I have aftermarket rims with Continental PureContacts DWS - they have much better bite than the toyos had.

Also I'm so jealous of where you live!

Cody, thanks for the feedback! Thanks for sharing your snow experiences, too. I'm from near your area (Laurel, MD) and so until now, FWD was all I needed. Out here, I want to know that I can face a snowy hill and without worry head up or down safely. So I'm glad to hear more reports of the same and I know the lurkers reading this do, too. Cheers
 
nice review thanks!

I am also very happy with the cx5 winter abilities, I have the bridgestone blizzaks dm-v1 and I am having a blast starting from a stop without getting any spin at all...

On the other hand, When TCS if off, this can be one hell of a fun empty parking lot suv.

this is where having a handbrake instead of a pedal e-brake makes sense.

winter is just beginning, and I just hope for snow everyday.
When I had my speed, I would dread big snowfalls, just because of the ground clearance.

the other day, the parking lot entry at my job was blocked due to to road work, I just went to the other side (on the back street) and went over the snow covered curb and grass hill without any issues.

This, to me, is fun on an entirely other level than what I experienced before (this is my first awd, and suv).
 
CX-5 handles great in the snow with the right tyres

I have Conti- Barum Polaris 3 on mine and it handles very well without any issues with 30cm of snow (most snow here so far since I got the car)
 
No donuts?

Right now is not a good time for me to be taking risks and potentially damaging my CX-5 doing donuts behind some walmart parking lot in the middle of the night. Not that I would know anything about how to do that.

Having said that, and acting responsibly, if I do report some damage to my CX-5, the story will include something more rewarding and adventurous than doing donuts. It would hopefully include a single-track path up a wooded mountain pass and through a river at which point...

I actually do keep a sleeping bag, change of clothes, food and other stuff in the back just in case.

Cheers
 
Thanks for the write-up. I live down the road in Denver and am still using the stock tires - with 25,000 miles on them. They still have some life left but they may not make it through the winter. I've been debating on getting another set of all-seasons or doing the spare winter wheelset thing like i did on my old Mazda3 and keeping a set of summer tires mounted to the original rims. I do a lot of driving up I70 to the Summit and Eagle county areas during the winter. My only hesitation is whether I want to invest in the car (ie, buy a spare wheelset) as I am finding I'd like more power when climbing those mountain passes.
 
Hey Max, great writeup on your snows.

Down here in Arvada, we got considerably less snow than you got up north.
I've had my Yokohama IceGuard tires on for well over a month now (swapped over the weekend before Halloween), and also had no problems dealing with the slicked up roads, and the endless traffic that has no idea how to drive in snow conditions.

BC.
 

Latest posts

Back