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jwaters943 -> 2007 Outlander XLS: Winter driving impressions (12/18/2006 11:42:22 AM)
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Well, we finally got our first snowfall on Saturday (approx. 2-3" depending upon location). We were out shopping at Sam's Club. It was raining when we went in the store and when we came out everything was covered in snow.
Anyway, it gave us an opportunity to test our new Outlander in the white stuff. We first tried the regular "4WD" setting and found the reaction time a bit slow. You could feel the front wheels slip and then 1-2 seconds later the system would divert power to the rear wheels. We then switched to "4WD Lock" and found this setting provided a much more secure and stable feeling with much less slipeage, at least while traveling in a straight line. As we all know, AWD/4WD does not help you stop quicker and that's where things got tricky. Even when going slow and applying very little pressure to the brake pedal, ABS kicks in very easily. Even on the slightest inclines it is difficult to come to a smooth, controlled stop. In addition, the back end slid out a good 9-12" on an ice covered road on one occassion before the stability control kicked in and got us back on track.
Compared with our Pilot which we drove later that day, the Outlander feels much less secure and needs to be driven with greater caution and concentration/precision. I suspect the main culpret to be the 18" Goodyear Eagle LS-2 tires on the Outlander. Aside from being wider and lower profile than the tires on my Pilot, they also are probably the worst OEM all-season tires I've ever experienced. They have decent dry traction, but they SUCK in light snow/ice. Just check out the customer reviews at www.tirerack.com. Since this vehicle will primarly be used by my better half to commute to and from work (less than 2 miles each way), we have decided to not get dedicated snow tires. Instead, we have decided to replace the crappy Goodyear tires w/ the Yokohama YK520's, which are available only at www.discounttiredirect.com. They seem to have very good customer reviews. I'll be sure to let you all know if this change has made a significant improvement in foul-weather driveability.
Have a great Holiday Season and drive safely! [:)]
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