Daily Driving a Modern Pony Car In New England? Best Idea Ever, or You're Gonna Die?

I've driven just about every configuration of car on every type of tire in Michigan winters. Personally, I love AWD for the no-drama aspect of it. You nail the throttle, and you move, no matter the conditions. But winter tires and modern traction control make basically any vehicle winter capable. I did a winter in my 2005 E46 with Blizzaks, and I only got it stuck once, and that was really my fault as I backed off the plowed driveway into some deep snow accidentally.  In contrast, I once got my Protege5 stuck at the bottom of my driveway simply because of the crap OEM all seasons that it had.

The other thing is that pony cars can still be had with real mechanical limited-slip diffs, unlike a lot of Euro cars (like my E46).

In other words, you'll be fine. You might want to check on the insurance, though. The V6/I4 might not be that much cheaper than the V8.

02Pilot said:

My GF had a similar moment of enlightenment after struggling to get home in her Cobalt a bunch of years back. Bear in mind she's a very competent driver who insists on manual transmissions and understands vehicle dynamics. I had had snows for years on my BMW, but she had not on the assumption that FWD could make do with all-seasons. We ordered her a set of snows on steel wheels and mounted them a few days later. The epiphany was quick and total. Her current Mazda 3 is now more winter-capable than most of the mall crawlers roaming around these parts. I'm hoping to get her to do a winter autox up at Lime Rock this year.

The stories I got from my older relatives who grew up in Michigan often mentioned that everyone back in the 1940s and 50s had winter retreads with sawdust mixed into the rubber. They only lasted a season, but they gave good traction in the snow and ice.

My Mother bought an 08 Cobalt because it was sporty and yellow, she never drove it in the winter due to the fact she has a Blazer for that.  However I have driven it in snow more than once due to one or more of the home fleet being down.  In my personal opinion... WORST CAR EVER!  I have had the ETC shut down all forward movement on more than one occasion... and then there was the time I had get to jury duty and the SYC (Stupid Yellow Car) wouldn't get out of the alley with the 4-5 inches of fresh snow.  The Corvette drove its way out, with all seasons and a bent rim and stub axle. 

Madhatr said:

02Pilot said:

My GF had a similar moment of enlightenment after struggling to get home in her Cobalt a bunch of years back. Bear in mind she's a very competent driver who insists on manual transmissions and understands vehicle dynamics. I had had snows for years on my BMW, but she had not on the assumption that FWD could make do with all-seasons. We ordered her a set of snows on steel wheels and mounted them a few days later. The epiphany was quick and total. Her current Mazda 3 is now more winter-capable than most of the mall crawlers roaming around these parts. I'm hoping to get her to do a winter autox up at Lime Rock this year.

The stories I got from my older relatives who grew up in Michigan often mentioned that everyone back in the 1940s and 50s had winter retreads with sawdust mixed into the rubber. They only lasted a season, but they gave good traction in the snow and ice.

My Mother bought an 08 Cobalt because it was sporty and yellow, she never drove it in the winter due to the fact she has a Blazer for that.  However I have driven it in snow more than once due to one or more of the home fleet being down.  In my personal opinion... WORST CAR EVER!  I have had the ETC shut down all forward movement on more than one occasion... and then there was the time I had get to jury duty and the SYC (Stupid Yellow Car) wouldn't get out of the alley with the 4-5 inches of fresh snow.  The Corvette drove its way out, with all seasons and a bent rim and stub axle. 

My GF's car was the base model coupe, so no electronic nannies to worry about. We had zero complaints about it. She bought it new and ran it for ten years and 200k miles with virtually no work beyond normal maintenance. When she gave it to some friends who needed a car it was still running just fine.

I have no idea on the winter driving portion as our TN winters are fairly mild, but I do have some knowledge of going from a Mazda 3 to a Mustang.  I went from a 2008 3 wagon to a 2008 Mustang GT convertible (the convertible wasn't my first choice but my inner 8 year old won that battle) both are manuals.  Things I've noticed, I am so much more comfortable in the driver's seat than in the Mazda.  Leg room, both length and width are greatly improved in the Mustang.  I'm not a big guy, 5'11" 185, but in the Mazda my right knee would hit or have to rest on the center console.  That isn't an issue on the Mustang.  Materials wise I can't say, because the Mazda was cloth and the Mustang is leather.  So I went from manual cloth seats to power heated leather seats with power lumbar support.  But the Mustang wins just because my knee doesn't get sore from the center console when driving the thing.  

Power differences, well that is just night and day.  The motor is literally twice as big, 8 cyl vs 4, 4.6 vs 2.3, which makes mashing the wheeeeee pedal all that more wheeeeeee!  

MPG did take a hit, but not as much as you would think.  The Mazda was still getting around 27-28, the Mustang gets 23-24, in a mix of my daily commute of city roads and interstate.  And I almost always have the top down on the Mustang.  I noticed with the top up on a long trip, and driving a mix of interstate and backroads that the Mustang was right at 29.  I'm curious if this winter with more top up driving what the MPG will be.  But there is also that wheeee pedal, which I tend to use a lot more on the Mustang and I know is a factor in the lower MPG.  

Handling, since you are looking at a newer one so this might not apply, but the Mustang feels like a heavier car.  Not in a bad way, but it just has a heavier feel to it.  I never really liked the tight corner handling on a the FWD Mazda,  as I posted about here in the past the Mazda always felt like it was plowing in tight turns.   Since my Mustang is solid rear axle, coming around a tight corner feels more normal to me, and pretty predictable when the back end is gonna wiggle and then off we go.  Prior to the Mazda, I pretty much daily drove older Jeeps/trucks/SUVs for the past few years.  Handling of a solid rear solid rear axle setup is the norm for me.  

I'll let you know about winter driving if my driveway ices over again. 

In reply to octavious :

It's funny that you went to a GT convertible from a 3, because it was a GT convertible that got me thinking about this mess. This one, to be exact: 

If I had $50k burning a hole in my pocket, this would be in my driveway tonight.

I daily a 15 GT all year, in southern PA. I have snow tires and the only time I’ve had issues is one morning when we had a half inch of ice. Everyone had issues that day.   

I average 20.3 mpg in the GT mostly city driving. In my 47k miles it’s needed regular oil changes and tires. Lost the first AC compressor at 26k miles, had to recharge the new one at 44k miles. 

Aside from the "will it winter?" talk... 

How are these things on maintenance and reliability? Anyone actually own one of these cars? Again, talking about the 2015+ Mustang Ecoboost or the 2016+ Camaro with the turbo 4 or V6. 

Ive dailied a 99 c5 in north central mass for the past couple years, I run 225 width general Altimax snow tires on all 4 corners. 

My abs & traction control are non functional, and I'm a skier who will chase storms whenever I can.

No Problems yet, I've had some moments but never had to be towed out or stranded, certainly have to be comfortable with oversteer, but it is oh-so fun when it all goes right  :) 

I drive my '09 Mustang in all weather here in coastal Massachusetts, have been for four years or more. Yes, it's an ABSOLUTE death trap ! ! ! ! ! No question at all, it wants me dead . . . 

I drove my 95 M3 in Cape Cod/Boston with snow tires.  It did ok but wasn't nearly the snow car my Audi A4 quattro with snow tires was.  Or even my Corrado SLC with snow tires.

Can you mostly get where you need to go?  Sure. 

Will you get more places and feel more secure doing so in a FWD or AWD car?  Absolutely.