84 Mpg

[Coss]

I had a very good experience with my 1978 For Fiesta with FWD. Hardly ever did we have to put chains on it, and we took it to skiing every winter weekend for a couple years. We didn't even have studded tires. The Elio should exceed what the Fiesta could do by about 30%. With studded tires you may never need chains until snow is well above the floor level.

Studs? Studs only help on ice. Plus they tear up dry streets, make it more dangerous to drive in the dry. Good winter tires (correct tread pattern) should be all you need; if you get into a good quality M&S or All Season tire you shouldn't have any problems. I had an Opel Kadett Wagon that was just a tank in the snow; I could stop at the bottom of a hill then go up with no running start and have no problems at all. Great little car till my neighbor blew the transmission doing burn outs on my front lawn chasing my dog.

 

[JNR]

Studs? Studs only help on ice. Plus they tear up dry streets, make it more dangerous to drive in the dry. Good winter tires (correct tread pattern) should be all you need; if you get into a good quality M&S or All Season tire you shouldn't have any problems. I had an Opel Kadett Wagon that was just a tank in the snow; I could stop at the bottom of a hill then go up with no running start and have no problems at all. Great little car till my neighbor blew the transmission doing burn outs on my front lawn chasing my dog.

Agreed, I once bought an older used car that came with studded snows, so I used them for one winter. I hated the road noise and did not notice better than regular snow tire traction. I put regular snows on all my cars now and as long as the plows keep it below 4"-5" so my car can clear it, it is just fine.

I roll my eyes every time I see - "I live in such and such place and this won't be able to handle it" on the Elio fb page. Well me and thousands of other compacts handle it every day in the winter, so it will be just fine. I see in my neck of the woods (I-91) more than 50% of the cars on the side of the road during snow storms are CUV's and SUV's.

 

[Ian442]

I have been through Lake Tahoe/Donner Summit in some treacherous conditions where chains were required. that being said my VW rabbit diesel plowed through till the alternator and clutch burned up within hours of each other.

I have driven Geo Metros through snow and ice with no problem up to 4 inches...and my Sunfire up to 6 inches of snow.

Its a hell of a lot of fun blowing past all the rear wheel drive rich kids in their BMWs and Benzes not being able to go up a hill in a straight line.

 

[Daryl M]

I didn't mean to pull this thread off topic. The gist of my comments about snow was that I thought the Elio would be able to handle it as well as anything else (other than 4WD) and better than the RWD BMW. And, do it with 3 to 4 times the fuel efficiency.

Snow in the Portland/Vancouver area tends to be a wet and sloppy type of snow. You almost always end up with ice or packed snow at the bottom with "mashed potato" snow on top. In the flat areas, decent snow tires and reasonable care driving are all you usually need. On slopes it sometimes takes a bit more. As Cross said, "Studs only help on ice."

#1938, Sour Apple (Green), Manual, ...

 

[Coss]

Snow in the Portland/Vancouver area tends to be a wet and sloppy type of snow. You almost always end up with ice or packed snow at the bottom with "mashed potato" snow on top. In the flat areas, decent snow tires and reasonable care driving are all you usually need. On slopes it sometimes takes a bit more. As Cross said, "Studs only help on ice."

Cross???? Only when someone gets it wrong

What part of Portland did you say you were from?

<Just kidding>

 

[Daryl M]

Cross???? Only when someone gets it wrong

Oops. Sorry, Coss. I guess I was feeling like a pirate and stuck in an extra "arrrr".

 

[pistonboy]

We currently have two cars: A Honda Civic Hybrid and a BMW Z4. The Honda averages about 38 to 40 MPG in mixed city / rural driving and up to 42 MPG highway. The BMW averages 21.5 mixed but 35 to 38 highway. We live in a hilly area - our driveway has a 200' elevation change over 1400'.

I will be using the Elio as a daily commuter (30 mi. round trip) and expect to use 1/3 to 1/4 as much fuel as I currently do with the BMW.

In the winter, the Honda will only make it up the driveway with chains on. The BMW can't. I expect that the Elio would be able to make it, with chains.

View attachment 6190

Luckily, it doesn't snow much here.

All In #1938

You have a great avatar/picture.

 

[skygazer6033]

Most all FWD cars are pretty good in snow. I believe the Elio will be even better in snow than most. It's not just how many wheels are powered on a vehicle but how many unpowered wheels you're dragging through the snow. One on the Elio two for everyone else. That fact along with electronic traction control and the Elio should be great in the snow up to snow so deep the body or chassis are dragging. Possibly not as good as a limited slip differential but close.

 

[Inigo93]

The Elio would probably get driven about 4,000 miles per year. At 84 mpg that's 47.6 gallons. The vehicle it would replace for those drives gets around 18 mpg, so 222.2 gallons. Gas saved: 175 gallons.

Call it $612.50 saved.

Additional insurance for the Elio? Probably on the order of $400 a year.

Thus, the Elio would save me a whopping $212/year.

With a purchase price of $7500 out the door? Hey, it will only take me 35 years for the Elio to pay for itself!

Clearly I like the Elio for reasons that are not based on dollars. 'Cause economically, the *worst* thing I could do is buy an Elio.

 

[Kuda]

Oops. Sorry, Coss. I guess I was feeling like a pirate and stuck in an extra "arrrr".