MaSTi

Looking for some in-site as to what the pros and cons are of owning a G8 GT here in New England(or other parts of the US that get mad amounts of snow). I'd love to hear how just Blizzaks do on these cars. I'm slightly tempted to trade in my Forester X(fully loaded) for a G8 GT, but am hesitant since I have no option to work from home, and there are no such things as snow days. I also am weary as I live in western MA....meaning the plows only are out when they "feel like it."

Thoughts? Opinions?

My only other interest would be a VW R32 since it's the same price range. I know the R32 will be more $$$ to fix when things break down.

Ohhhhh decisions decisions. Worse case scenario is I keep my Suby. I dunno.........

MaSTi

You guys are making me NOT want to buy a G8. No response after 60+ views. Hmmmm.

ramairetransam

iTrader: (18)

my cousin has been daily driving his in Syracuse for 3 yrs . i loves it , has camaro 20s for the summer and the 18s with winter tires for winter duties. He loves it . As long as you have winter tires you will be able to go anywhere, its a big heavy car .

MaSTi

Thanks for a response. I assume it'd be okay as long as you are "careful" and have dedicated snows. Obviously it'll be no Forester in the snow, but I just want to feel confident in a snow storm. I have driven a Z28 with summers around back in the late 90's and early 00's and got around OK, but never took it out in a storm. My job has no call in option(hospital) so I will NEED to drive no matter condition.

98CamZ28

iTrader: (31)

I'd say just buy a cheap snowmobile for insurance

I'm in the same boat, but i'm looking at a fully built, twin turbo G8 to drive everyday/winter and I feel pretty comfortable about it. Heck, my Camaros do pretty good in the winter as long as I have some winter tires on themL!!

So, from all the research i've done, I think you should grab one up

cdubbzz

iTrader: (11)

If I was up there Id def have a 4wd beater for the winter

voodoogtx

I had Blizzacks on mine with the 19" tires..... never used them. Parked it in the garage and drove my truck.

Stage7

iTrader: (1)

I drove my G8 that's lowered with 20's and all season Continentals to Montreal for this past New Year. Montreal had a ton of snow on the ground and I encountered many barely plowed streets. The car and tires worked perfectly.

With Blizzaks it could only be better. The traction control also worked flawlessly. I was pleasantly surprised how good it was.

That said, if I go again this NY, I'll take my Cayenne. The G8 gets about 9mpg better though...lol

MaSTi

I found on that has 40k miles for $20k that I was considering. Is that an ok price? All the other local ones are a bit more $$.

Deezl SS

iTrader: (13)

I have the same setup for mine. Here in nyc, they dont always plow my street so ive encountered some fairly decent snow and never had an issue. That said, if your really worried, you could pickup a 90's blazer for 1k and not have to worry about snow.

RedHotG8

iTrader: (1)

I've driven through 5 Chicago winters with all season tires and only got stuck once. That was on my street coming home from work and they hadn't plowed it at all. Even front wheel drive cars were getting stuck so it wasn't because of rear wheels drive. The G8 is the best car I've ever had compared to the Camaros and Grand Prixs and various others I owned.

LSnights09

I'm also here in Mass, and daily drive mine year round. The Blizzaks are amazing in the snow. With those tires, you can drive through any winter conditions here in New England.

Hell, last winter I didn't even bother putting my Blizzaks on just to see how it would do. I drove through NEMO after the storm had just lifted off on street tires no problem.

Only ERO's

iTrader: (19)

I have a G8 and drive it year round in snowy MN. I bought the car in November of 2009 and drove it every winter since. I have a separate set of wheels / tires (19" Blizzaks). I have only gotten stuck once in the winter and that is the night we got 17" of snow. I drove about 5 miles without issue, an climbing the last hill to my house I finally got stuck. It had no issue getting around but buried itself due to how low the car sits. It was basically acting like a snowplow.

I was a little hesitant at the beginning. I went from a 1998 Grand Prix to the 2009 G8. I feel the G8 (RWD) handle much better than the Grand Prix (FWD) did. The electronic traction control is nice. It applies the brakes when you start to slide to kick the rear around. It definitely is very useful in winter driving. And all you have to do is turn the traction control off to have a little fun.

The only issue I see is the low clearance. I think that will get you (with a bunch of snow on the ground) as compared to getting from here to there.