These Are The Best Winter Beaters, According To Our Readers

There’s a chill in the air, the sun is setting earlier and the New York Jets are disappointing me on a weekly basis. That can only mean one thing: Winter is on the way. Theoretically, winter means one thing: snow. I say “theoretically” because New York City hasn’t seen much snow over the past few years, but maybe your neck of the woods has, and if it has, you very well may need a winter beater. That idea is what led us to our question from earlier this week.

We wanted to know what you all consider to be the best winter beater. What is the ideal car to take out in the snow when you don’t care what happens to it, but you still want to get where you need to go? Luckily, you kind folks delivered, and we’ve got all sorts of creative — and not so creative — answers to go through. Of course, there’s your usual smattering of all-wheel-drive wagons and SUVs, but some of you got a bit silly with it, and that’s where the magic lies here at Jalopnik.

Anyway, that’s enough out of me. How about you all scroll on down below and check out what your fellow Jalops think the ideal winter beater is. Did your car make the list, or is your winter beater so strange and outside the box that none of these weirdos even considered it?

Roomy enough, has AWD. Put some snows on steelies and you’ll be unstoppable.

When I used to ski far more often than nowadays, I bought a dedicated set of snows for my 1990 GTi. I did the opposite of plus one and went from 14″alloy to 13″ steel with taller narrow tires. I once drove from Northern NJ to Killington in near blizzard conditions and the car was flawless and very well connected.

Submitted by: monstrodivel

2008-2009 Saturn Aura with snow tires.

You can find them for around $4000 owned by old people who maintained them better than the Chevy Malibu equivalents, and they have access to a serious amount of cheap steel wheels and snow tire options so you don’t have to go crazy for getting them winter prepped.

The V6 was the High Feature 3.6L meaning it’s all aluminum so it heats up quickly for getting the cabin warm.

Submitted by: potbellyjoe

Now that every old car has fuel injection they’ll all start on the coldest morning. Four/all wheel drive is common so that’s easy to get. The only real variable is ground clearance to get through the snow. Anything will do so long as it’s got more than average clearance, a working defroster and snow tires.

Submitted by: RWP

Its an XJ. Once rust starts to show its your winter beater. Once it’s used up you sell it to a guy named David.

Who?

Submitted by: XXLTall

The cheapest running Camry you can find with snow tires. The best beater car will do exactly what you need it to and require the least maintenance possible to keep running.

Submitted by: engineerthefuture

Along the Subaru lines, I’d choose a Forester for the extra ground clearance. Can get with a turbo if you want more power…

Submitted by: bliq00

For me, it’s a GMT800 Yukon or Suburban. One of the few cars you can still pick up in good condition for under $5k. They’re rock-solid reliable and cheap to maintain.

The downside is the gas mileage, but worth it, IMHO, for the ability to pull neighbors out of ditches.

Submitted by: Commentariat

My 2004 Toyota RAV4 never failed me in those unpredictable New York winters. Even though it was only FWD, it had vehicle stability control and traction control. With decent clearance (much better than most coupes and sedans) and a good set of all-season tires with the proper tread depth, my runabout was virtually unstoppable.

Submitted by: Aldo Rodriguez

A high mile kind of dilapidated Lexus GX for under $10K. Full time AWD and center locking diff with right tires = go anywhere capability in snow/ice. The heavy weight is good for crash protection from other vehicles that could slip and slide into you. The only bad thing is all GX are pigs on fuel consumption.

Submitted by: Tex

Tractor motor, RWD, parts are plentiful and easy to work on. If it works for the swedes itll work for us.

Submitted by: bricktop252

XXLTall took my answer with the XJ. But since you mentioned it, here is my beater. Not just winter but any season. Not AWD or 4×4 but a LSD at least.

Submitted by: Paul R

My 1996 Buick LeSabre. 3800 Series II always rock steady, heavy fwd digging into the Iowa winters, soft couch like cloth seating always soft and couch like, even at ten below zero. Ten years, 80K miles, two grand. One of the best cars I have ever owned.

Submitted by: Anonymous Citizen