I've been trying out my 2014 CX-5 2.5L AWD with Nokian Hakkapellita snow tires this winter and for the most part really happy with them.
Today I pushed this combination a little too far and thought it would be helpful to share.
In a somewhat remote part of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado (USA), I found a nice one lane road that led to a trail head with about 8 cars parked while people were snowshoeing. The road had been plowed and packed and the CX-5 handled great. In a few other areas, I drove through 2-4 inches of fresh powder and the CX-5 did great. Really comfortable, gripped well, limited sliding while turning and accelerating on fresh snow.
With that comfort, I found a small parking lot for a picnic area that hadn't been plowed at all with lots of powder. I drove in about two feet and pulled out fine. Drove in about five feet (half the car's length or so) and pulled out fine. Then I decided to give it some power and go further. Once I got the rear wheels about five feet from the road, I had succeeded in packing down about a foot or so of snow under the CX-5.
Then I was classically stuck. Couldn't go forward, couldn't go back. Tried all the usual stuff, but all that wonderful ground clearance under the CX-5 was full of white snow, lightly packed down and holding me in place. So I tried digging the tires out, all they did was spin. Then I tried digging the out the snow from under the car using my foot, and got a lot of it out, but not enough.
A couple nice girls game buy and while I pushed, they tried to drive it out but no luck. Then ended up giving me a ride to a nearby town where I'd have cell phone coverage and I called for roadside assistance. Then I gave some bad directions and we finally made it to my car about an 90 minutes later. The tow truck was able to winch out the CX-5 without breaking anything -- very relieved!! -- and I was back in control.
I drove around the park road a bit and it was amazing how confident I felt behind the wheel of the CX-5 after just having gotten it completely stuck and unable to do anything. It felt great and on the ride home on windy canyons with wind whipping up powder snow, it was still great.
Here's what I learned (and the important part for many of you
* It's very easy, probably easier, to get into a situation like this than with a small car (like the ones I am used to from the past.) With them, I probably would have gotten the front end stuck, but less stuck than I did today. The CX-5 lets you get stuck more in cases like mine.
* The high ground clearance of the CX-5 let's you pack a lot of snow underneath it before you know its too late.
* Once it's there, AWD -- even with all four tires spinning -- and excellent snow tires won't do much because the snow is keeping the car raised and immobile. You just don't get enough traction.
* The CX-5 has a lot of torque that can get you through mud and snow, but without weight pushing the wheels down on whatever is underneath it, you're just going to get wheel spin.
* Even if the CX-5 had as much torque as a Jeep, the Jeep is twice as heavy which gives you more effective traction as that weight presses the tires down on the surface. So it's important to remember when going off road that the light weight which makes the CX-5 so fuel efficient can work against it for traction when you don't have ideal road conditions.
It was pretty scary to sit in the car and feel it being towed out. At first it didn't want to move, then it moved inch by inch until I was clear. Without a winch and a heavy truck, a snow shovel and some effort is the best way to go. I had been meaning to buy one and put it in the back and I should have done so before taking today's adventure.
For those of you who read my May 2013 review of the CX-5 after 30-days of owning it, you'll remember I described the CX-5 driving around town during the break in period as boring, like driving Grandma's Buick. Well, clearly I'm having a lot more fun with the CX-5 now. I'm purposely looking for situations like this because only by trying this and getting stuck am I really going to understand what this vehicle can do. I'd rather do it now rather than later when I'm in a more remote area and with less chance of recovery.
If anyone has more winter driving suggestions, please comment! Thanks
Hope this helps! Let me know if it does!
Today I pushed this combination a little too far and thought it would be helpful to share.
In a somewhat remote part of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado (USA), I found a nice one lane road that led to a trail head with about 8 cars parked while people were snowshoeing. The road had been plowed and packed and the CX-5 handled great. In a few other areas, I drove through 2-4 inches of fresh powder and the CX-5 did great. Really comfortable, gripped well, limited sliding while turning and accelerating on fresh snow.
With that comfort, I found a small parking lot for a picnic area that hadn't been plowed at all with lots of powder. I drove in about two feet and pulled out fine. Drove in about five feet (half the car's length or so) and pulled out fine. Then I decided to give it some power and go further. Once I got the rear wheels about five feet from the road, I had succeeded in packing down about a foot or so of snow under the CX-5.
Then I was classically stuck. Couldn't go forward, couldn't go back. Tried all the usual stuff, but all that wonderful ground clearance under the CX-5 was full of white snow, lightly packed down and holding me in place. So I tried digging the tires out, all they did was spin. Then I tried digging the out the snow from under the car using my foot, and got a lot of it out, but not enough.
A couple nice girls game buy and while I pushed, they tried to drive it out but no luck. Then ended up giving me a ride to a nearby town where I'd have cell phone coverage and I called for roadside assistance. Then I gave some bad directions and we finally made it to my car about an 90 minutes later. The tow truck was able to winch out the CX-5 without breaking anything -- very relieved!! -- and I was back in control.
I drove around the park road a bit and it was amazing how confident I felt behind the wheel of the CX-5 after just having gotten it completely stuck and unable to do anything. It felt great and on the ride home on windy canyons with wind whipping up powder snow, it was still great.
Here's what I learned (and the important part for many of you
* It's very easy, probably easier, to get into a situation like this than with a small car (like the ones I am used to from the past.) With them, I probably would have gotten the front end stuck, but less stuck than I did today. The CX-5 lets you get stuck more in cases like mine.
* The high ground clearance of the CX-5 let's you pack a lot of snow underneath it before you know its too late.
* Once it's there, AWD -- even with all four tires spinning -- and excellent snow tires won't do much because the snow is keeping the car raised and immobile. You just don't get enough traction.
* The CX-5 has a lot of torque that can get you through mud and snow, but without weight pushing the wheels down on whatever is underneath it, you're just going to get wheel spin.
* Even if the CX-5 had as much torque as a Jeep, the Jeep is twice as heavy which gives you more effective traction as that weight presses the tires down on the surface. So it's important to remember when going off road that the light weight which makes the CX-5 so fuel efficient can work against it for traction when you don't have ideal road conditions.
It was pretty scary to sit in the car and feel it being towed out. At first it didn't want to move, then it moved inch by inch until I was clear. Without a winch and a heavy truck, a snow shovel and some effort is the best way to go. I had been meaning to buy one and put it in the back and I should have done so before taking today's adventure.
For those of you who read my May 2013 review of the CX-5 after 30-days of owning it, you'll remember I described the CX-5 driving around town during the break in period as boring, like driving Grandma's Buick. Well, clearly I'm having a lot more fun with the CX-5 now. I'm purposely looking for situations like this because only by trying this and getting stuck am I really going to understand what this vehicle can do. I'd rather do it now rather than later when I'm in a more remote area and with less chance of recovery.
If anyone has more winter driving suggestions, please comment! Thanks
Hope this helps! Let me know if it does!
