[Spliff]

New owner here. CX-3 Sport AWD, 16" wheels. Purchased some Blizzak snow tires for it.
What should my realistic expectations for the capability of this vehicle be in snow? How does it do in deep snow (like a foot)? Can it push deep snow ok or is it likely to damage front of car?

Anybody had some impressive snow experiences to share? My wife has a Cx-5 and my Cx-3 looks a little small in comparison so I'm worried. Couldn't afford the Cx-5 so I'm stuck with the CX-3.

Any suggestions beyond my snow tires for driving in deeper snow than a few inches, or am I good to go. I used to have a Mazda 3 (no snow tires) and it sucked in the snow.

Thanks.

 

[Snoogie]

This is my second winter with my CX 3 GT with 16" Blizzak snow tires on it and it works exceptionally well, much better than the stock 18" yokohama avid that does jack diddly in light snow/slush. I was able to rip through 6-8in of fresh snow no problem while climbing over walls of snow made my snow plows. Sliding does occur but the awd system corrects so quickly that I just go on as though nothing has happened. I also was able to pull a bunch of cars (camrys, tcs, altimas, a fit, protege, and a grand prix) out with little effort including one jeep grand Cherokee that granted had near bald all season tires. Just make sure you are not over confident in driving in the snow which can be said with any car regardless of its drive. Also turning off the traction control in a snowy parking lot makes all the slides happen.

 

[mainemanx]

Snoogie ...

• You use a rope/nylon strap attached to the rear "recovery loop" or to a trailer hitch?

• "Turning off the traction control in a snowy parking lot ..." sounds as though someone's been playing.

 

[Snoogie]

I have nylon towing straps and used the little tow hook under the rear bumper which fortunately clears the bumper enough to not mangle it when pulling people. I purchased through work a tow hook for the front to reverse drag people out.

 

[NotAPreppie]

I was pleasantly surprised at how well my '3 coped with snow wearing the OE 18" tires. I put a set of snows on anyway and it just got better.

 

[Kevincredible]

I was surprised at how well the OE 18" Yokohama Avids fared during my first trek in the snow. We had about 8 inches recently and I felt like I had to purposely try to get the tires to break loose.

Then again, I think I'm just used to driving my previous car in the snow (which totally sucked) so I'm probably more careful than I need to be. I used to drive a VW Rabbit with the worst all-season tires imaginable. No problems with the CX-3 so far though.

 

[Levi3xt]

Hi Spliff, welcome to the forum. Could we get you to add your location to your profile? I know you're not from around my location as we don't get snow thankfully. Maybe nice to play in (sometimes) but wouldn't want to live with it on a daily basis.

 

[Spliff]

Anyone damage their car lip trying to drive through a snow drift?

 

[mainemanx]

Anyone damage their car lip trying to drive through a snow drift?

Driving through an "iced-up" snow drift?

I worried about the same thing ... the CX-3 front bumper lip looks awfully low ... certainly much lower than SWMBO's HR-V.

"Lip Protection" ... the accessory front bumper trim/garnish, even the stainless steel (thin) versions, don't appear to offer much protection.

 

[NotAPreppie]

Depends on how fast you're going and whether it's actually a drift or a pile of plow turds.

If it's an actual drift, all soft and fluffy, then you'd probably have to be moving pretty quickly to damage anything.

If it's a pile of plow turds then you're basically running into a pile of very cold rocks.

 

[MiikkeyyRSRB91]

Realistically? 2nd winter Im going through now and I live in south western ontario so we can get quite a bit of snow, but especially ice underneath, and with concentrated driving, and skilled control if things start hitting the fan, I safely make it through the first few weeks on my summer tires before changing to the original Yokohama 16s that came with the car and never had any issues getting around or over things. The CX3 really does well in the winter.

However I do enjoy playing around a bit via handbrake (thank god mazda still uses mechanical ones) and lack of traction. Only downfall is I think because of the HID setup but ebrake turns the lights off so its like Im in a rave when drifting around..