Are Hyundais bad in the snow?

Well that’s … like … your opinion, man.

The OP is driving in Chicago though, so I’m not sure how that’s any more relevant than the rest of your rant.

Winter driving is cake walk in NH and misty upstate NY because they keep up with road conditions on majority of roads. Other locales not so much…

NH driver, die hard skier/powder hound who grew up in white mountains but spent post college years as ski bum.

I would suggest that @MikeInNH might not have the same problem as OP because his tires don’t suck. OP has yet to tell us what the conditions of his tires are, but having driven a car like OP’s in snow, I’m gonna guess they suck. Either because they’re lousy tires, or because they’re worn out, or it could even be that they’re very high quality, brand new summer performance tires.

I’ll add my voice to Mike’s in saying that a good all season on a FWD is all you generally need. We just got dumped on here in Minnesota. I had nearly 8 inches on my sloped driveway when I got home last night far too late to run the snowblower without infuriating my neighbors. My car went through those 8 inches, plus the extra mound left by the plow, just fine. It’s a FWD with good all-season tires on it. We’re slated to get an even bigger storm on Saturday, and I’ll be out in it, rolling on my Bridgestone all-seasons in my lowly FWD while morons in AWD trucks spin into the ditch. Safe winter driving is about having good tires, not necessarily winter tires, and it’s about not driving like an idiot.

Now, if I still lived up in the Rockies where we’d sometimes get snowfall measured in feet, not inches, and where we were navigating steep, narrow roads down the side of a mountain to get to town, and where sliding off the road meant a long tumble down a boulder-strewn slope, then yeah, I’d probably say it’s a really freaking good idea to get winter tires at minimum.

But for normal driving on normal roads – look, tire technology has improved markedly over the years. I’ll put a modern, quality all-season up against a 1980’s all-season any day of the week. In the old days, snow tires were a requirement because tires in general were lousy compared to what we have today, but that doesn’t mean that advice still holds true today anymore than does getting oil changes every 3,000 miles.

In the modern world, we just don’t need snow tires as urgently. Are they nice to have? Yeah, absolutely, if you have a grand to throw around on an extra set of wheels + tires, and you have somewhere to store them. Are they absolutely necessary anywhere that ever gets snow? Most certainly not.

If I lived in those conditions I’d have a 4wd with good winter tires and chains.

We had a RWD Dodge Mini-Ram full-sized van with only a center bench seat behind the front seats, and nothing but emptiness behind the bench. Might as well have put helium in the rear tires for all the weight we had over the drive wheels. No snow tires either, because Dad could sometimes make cheapskates look like spendthrifts.

But it did have chains, and when the weather was really bad, the van got parked and we stayed home and drank hot beverages while watching the snow pile up, which was altogether more pleasant than slogging off to school and work anyway. :wink:

Chicago averages about 10" LESS then Boston.

Yup it is my opinion. I’ve spent my whole adult life (minus 3 years in the Army) driving every winter in these conditions. But I’m far from the only one who agrees with me. Most people in the Boston area with fwd vehicles drive with All-season tires. Sure there’s accidents, but the vast vast majority of them are driver error.

Upstate NY is tricky because of the lake effect snow. Here in NH we know when a storm is going to hit, so they get the trucks ready. They don’t even know where to deploy the trucks for a lake effect storm. One day I left work and it wasn’t snowing…drive 10 miles and it’s white out conditions. Drive another 5 miles to home and no snow. That narrow 5 mile band area received 12" of snow that day. My apartment - 0" of snow. Where I worked - 1" of snow.

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I believe Tom and Ray Magliozzi lived in Boston, and frequently recommended winter tires on their radio show. I agree with their professional expert opinion.

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Good for them. Agree with who you want to agree with. They also were in the business of selling tires.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/smarter-living/why-you-need-snow-tires-winter-weather.html That said, you have to drive right. I rarely drive in snow and have to get used to it after a long time not.

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I don’t recall seeing any posts here about fwd Hyundai’s misbehaving in snow. No car is as stable in snow as on a dry road, but w/winter tires it should do pretty good. My fwd Rabbit w/winter tires had no problem at all when I lived in a Colorado ski resort town. I’ve driven my fwd Corolla to the Sierra’s to go skiing during the winter many times, nary a hitch. I should mention I had winter tires on all four wheels on the Rabbit, all season on the Corolla. Always carried chains too during ski trips, though rarely needed them.

For finding Hyundai specific posts about this topic here, OP can use the forum search feature, upper right on this page.

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During our recent snowstorm here in the northwest where we got at least double what one would expect at one time (over a foot vs 6in at most) you’d see Subaru’s on all seasons struggling while a Hyundai Accent on chains just plugs along without a problem.

A set of winter tires would make a huge difference and would be worth considering. My brother has been a nokian customer for years even on his current Subaru Legacy but the first set was on a beater 80’s Jetta and the car wasn’t worth much more than the set of winter tires but it got him through some nasty winters.

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Never had snow tires, some cars are ice skates, but lucky enough never to own one I guess. Never had too much trouble, front or rear wheel drive sure I only spent the last 30 years in WI ND and MN. But I did live in FL and CA a while befor that. :frowning:

Your anecdotal good fortune really stacks up against two MIT grads who made a career of giving car advice and running their own shop, and whose website you’re using in your attempt to discredit them. [/sarcasm]

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Currently own 2 Hyundais and yes, the OEM tires suck on snow, if you bought the car 2nd hand it probably has the cheapest or most worn tires the seller could get away and if you’re facing ice, just stay home.
But in a Metro area like Chicago I’d try a GOOD set of All Season tires first and Tire Rack is a good guide.
Most important, since even the best tires and AWD won’t save you if you if exceed their capabilities, drive appropriately.

With a little common sense and a little research, it’s very easy to understand that snow tires are better performers than all seasons. But for many or even most people, all seasons are plenty sufficient. I’m sure there’s places where snow tires and chains are required, but that depends on location.

Hey…Show me where I attempted to discredit them in any way. You can’t make a good argument so you do personal attacks. Real mature.

You pointed out Tom and Ray used to sell tires so you could lessen their credibility as experts on winter tires. It’s right there in print.

Did you think I wouldn’t notice you insinuated they had a conflict of interest? What other conclusions would you draw if I accused you of having a conflict of interest? Wouldn’t you see that as an attempt to discredit you?

If you raised the issue of Tom and Ray’s alleged conflict of interest for a reason other than discrediting them, why exactly did you mention it?

And you consider that as me discrediting them? WOW… All I did was point out that they sell winter tires and it may or may not give them motivation in why they recommend them. You always have to consider the source when determining what someone is telling you. I NEVER EVER said they were recommending for people to buy winter tires so they could sell more.

It could be a conflict of interest…but I never ever said it was…geez - grow up.

Why should I be the one to grow up? I’m not the one casting aspersions and then trying to avoid culpability for doing so after being called out for it.

We both know you didn’t have to outright say it was a conflict of interest in order to insinuate it. Insinuating it is the only reason to mention it.