Looking for a few suggestions of cars that fit the bill described below:

My wife currently has a 57 plate fiesta which we are thinking about swapping for something else. She has it in her mind that a 4 wheel drive car is for her (not just 4×4 style) as she is very nervous of driving in snow and ice so 4wd will help stabilise the power to the wheels. She also doesn’t want anything huge, ideally something about the size of the fiesta would be ideal. We have a small child and another on the way so the boot cannot be any smaller than the fiesta (285 ltrs, from memory) so the pushchair can go in.

Can anyone suggest a suitable car for her, please?

Mini All4? Fiat Panda 4×4? Suzuki Jimny?

Don’t forget it’s still possible to get it all wrong in a 4×4 in snow and ice. A lot of it is still down to the driver – bad workmen and all that…

How about suitable tyres? That’ll be far more effective at helping in the snow.

Now that’s out the way, BMW Mini 4×4.

See:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-reviews/62315/best-small-4x4s

Whatever car Molgrips doesn’t have.

SKODDA YETTI !

New Suzuki Swift 4×4?

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/2013-suzuki-swift-4×4-review/1202108

Any car with winter tyres.

My wife was passing everything including 4x4s last winter on snowy hills, she had ‘all-season’ winter tyres that live on her car all year round…so not even dedicated winter tyres. They are on a Fusion which is just a Fiesta estate really.

Her friend went out and spent £25k on a 4×4 style car and no doubt this winter she will feel no better about driving in the snow compared to her old car!

Another vote for a Yeti here.

Failing that, a Panda 4X4 is a grand little car.

Citroen 2cv Dolly

Snow tyres is what she needs, not 4×4,
a 4×4 softroader mum truck on 20″ bling alloys and tyres as wide as a Countach from a few years back will be no use in the snow at all.
In fact they will be a lot worse once you have lost traction because they are generally much heavier and have more momentum / inertia.

Snow tyres on the other hand, just work.
You will still get stuck however behind all the other people who thought they needed a 4×4 and still cant drive for toffee in snow and ice.

Remember, the only thing connecting you to the ground are the 4 tiny contact patches, if they don’t grip then 4wd is not going to help at all.

Impreza WRX?

I’m just shocked that it took as long as FIVE posts before someone mention that good ‘ol STW favourite……A SKODA!

My Wifes Volvo V50 has 18in alloys with all season tyres on it and it performed very well in the snow and ice last winter.

Not as good as my quattro on normal tyres though, I can’t believe a FWD car on all season tyres can out perform a 4 x 4 driven smoothly.

Also, few people are going to bother putting snow tyres on their cars, which means there’s probably only ONE car to consider….a Yeti!

I hired one in Austria two years ago and found it a bit slow, but otherwise FAB!