CardiffGiant wrote:Had my first snow experience in our new 2013 Rogue SV AWD. Before this car I had a 2004 Subaru Impreza Outback with a Manual transmission and I thought it was a pretty good snow car.

Yesterday, it started snowing in the afternoon and my wife tried to make it home with her 2002 Civic with all season (and poor at that) tires. She made it like a mile and turned around. Rather than have her try to take the bus, I went to go get her and we were going to leave her car in her work lot overnight. There was probably 3-4 inches of snow on the ground, looked like maybe a plow had run once. This was main highways I'm talking about too so it was pretty bad. I'm happy to report the Rogue did VERY well. There were a few spots that were pretty bad but the Rogue only had slippage maybe once or twice and it was minor at that. Took me forever to go get her and to get home due to the slowness of the traffic but made it home safe and sound.

All in all I'm really happy. I know my Subaru was a few years old and was a manual and didn't have stability control and less ground clearance etc, but I honestly didn't think the Rogue would be that much better.

Now to just get my wife comfortable driving the car so that she can drive herself in the inclement weather

The Rogue is an absolute BEAST in snow. Underrated in my book. When it snows I drive like I normally would (like there is no snow on the ground) and not driving overly cautious by any means, and passing most people on the road (that see a flake and slow down to 30mph) and my Rogue is always absolutely sure footed and planted like the ground was dry! Its really badass when it comes to snow.

Yesterday for instance, the ground was snowy and icy and slushy (bad combination) and my dad and I were both driving our cars (me in my Rogue and him in his Maxima) side by side. I was driving like I normally would, not worrying about using less gas when starting or slowing down earlier or anything like that... I came up to a red light and stopped and my tires slipped for a fraction of a second and then ABS/Traction caught and that was it. No drama, and I stopped where I wanted to.

I see my dad in my mirror about 3 car lengths back on my passenger side creeping up to me, and he stops next to me and said, "damn its slippery". I said, "Its not that bad." He said, "I just slid half way down the block trying to slow down for this light"...

Now, let me say, my dad is by no means a bad driver. He is actually the best driver I've ever seen on the street. And I'm not just saying that because he is my dad (my mom is another story), I'm saying it because the man's precision is insane... So it had nothing to do with HIM that he was sliding... It had to do with his car, and his tires...

My car on the other hand, was absolutely fine. I literally couldn't tell that it was that slippery out until he told me, and I saw other cars sliding into intersections, etc. In fact, from that traffic light, I turned off VSC, turned on AWD lock and Sport mode, and floored it from the green light trying to get my wheels to spin and instead they all just locked up and went. No spinning... My dad on the other hand, had to feather the throttle (almost 300HP) in the Maxima to not spin his front wheels.

I guess that is why I end up passing most people who are going 30-40mph. Its because that is what their car can handle and this is what mine can handle: Zooom... Lol

Seriously though, Rogue+Snow=Excellent performer.

bigbank_A wrote:

How do you turn traction control off

[youtube]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=drTbkxrbarE[/youtube]

followingnfront wrote:

CardiffGiant wrote:Had my first snow experience in our new 2013 Rogue SV AWD. Before this car I had a 2004 Subaru Impreza Outback with a Manual transmission and I thought it was a pretty good snow car.

Yesterday, it started snowing in the afternoon and my wife tried to make it home with her 2002 Civic with all season (and poor at that) tires. She made it like a mile and turned around. Rather than have her try to take the bus, I went to go get her and we were going to leave her car in her work lot overnight. There was probably 3-4 inches of snow on the ground, looked like maybe a plow had run once. This was main highways I'm talking about too so it was pretty bad. I'm happy to report the Rogue did VERY well. There were a few spots that were pretty bad but the Rogue only had slippage maybe once or twice and it was minor at that. Took me forever to go get her and to get home due to the slowness of the traffic but made it home safe and sound.

All in all I'm really happy. I know my Subaru was a few years old and was a manual and didn't have stability control and less ground clearance etc, but I honestly didn't think the Rogue would be that much better.

Now to just get my wife comfortable driving the car so that she can drive herself in the inclement weather

The Rogue is an absolute BEAST in snow. Underrated in my book. When it snows I drive like I normally would (like there is no snow on the ground) and not driving overly cautious by any means, and passing most people on the road (that see a flake and slow down to 30mph) and my Rogue is always absolutely sure footed and planted like the ground was dry! Its really badass when it comes to snow.

Yesterday for instance, the ground was snowy and icy and slushy (bad combination) and my dad and I were both driving our cars (me in my Rogue and him in his Maxima) side by side. I was driving like I normally would, not worrying about using less gas when starting or slowing down earlier or anything like that... I came up to a red light and stopped and my tires slipped for a fraction of a second and then ABS/Traction caught and that was it. No drama, and I stopped where I wanted to.

I see my dad in my mirror about 3 car lengths back on my passenger side creeping up to me, and he stops next to me and said, "damn its slippery". I said, "Its not that bad." He said, "I just slid half way down the block trying to slow down for this light"...

Now, let me say, my dad is by no means a bad driver. He is actually the best driver I've ever seen on the street. And I'm not just saying that because he is my dad (my mom is another story), I'm saying it because the man's precision is insane... So it had nothing to do with HIM that he was sliding... It had to do with his car, and his tires...

My car on the other hand, was absolutely fine. I literally couldn't tell that it was that slippery out until he told me, and I saw other cars sliding into intersections, etc. In fact, from that traffic light, I turned off VSC, turned on AWD lock and Sport mode, and floored it from the green light trying to get my wheels to spin and instead they all just locked up and went. No spinning... My dad on the other hand, had to feather the throttle (almost 300HP) in the Maxima to not spin his front wheels.

I guess that is why I end up passing most people who are going 30-40mph. Its because that is what their car can handle and this is what mine can handle: Zooom... Lol

Seriously though, Rogue+Snow=Excellent performer.

This is horrible for me. I'm even less patient with other drivers than I was before. I was driving like you in the snow in my 1985 Toyota. Now that I have the Rogue I can't stand people who have the nerve to actually drive less than 10mph above the speed limit in the worst snow conditions. It took me almost an hour to get home yesterday on an 18 mile trip that usually takes 25 minutes. I get so angry when I think if all these selfish people had done the earth a favor and just not procreated, the traffic congestion wouldn't be so bad. And then the fire department has to go and close a shortcut just because it's a curvy hill and bad drivers can't handle it because they're so dumb. Seriously, people see one snowflake on the ground and they think it gives them license to create a gigantic traffic jam in the name of safety. Personally, I think licensing requirements should be much stricter. If you can't safely drive 80 on the interstate in the middle of a hailstorm, you don't deserve a license. Stay the hell out of my way!

...and some of these idiots "drive" the car, but cannot "stop" it....

bigbank_A wrote:
How do you turn traction control off

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drTbkxrbarE[/youtube]

thanks it worked

Just wanted to share my recent experience with the Rogue in snow. Family decided to take a short little vacation to Flagstaff, which is about 2 hours north of where I live in Phoenix.

Right when I pulled into Flagstaff I look over and am driving past this on that back of a semi truck.


At any rate, when I woke up Friday morning and walked outside at 6:30 am, my Rogue looked like this.




Impressions: The Rogue is more than capable of handling this kind of snow. My Rogue is FWD, and I had no problems getting anywhere I wanted to go. Heck, I even went looking for un-plowed parking lots. I had about 5 inches of snow roughly on the car, and it started snowing again after I cleared the car off. There were spots with easily 6-8 inches, and some drifted spots where there was clearly up to a foot of snow or more.

To call the Rogue surprising would be an understatement. There were several times where I could see that I was pushing the snow with the underbody....meaning the snow was clearly deeper than the ground clearance of the Rogue. I had zero issues. Drove where I wanted to go, up hills, down hills, turns and stops...no problems at all.

I did turn off the traction/stability control a few times, just to see how she handled. I actually preferred to have the traction control on NOT because of how it controlled the vehicle...but for the simple fact that it lit the "loss of traction" light or whatever it's called, every time the wheels would start to break free. This basically just allowed me to feather the pedal as needed.

I only had one time where the ABS kicked in hard. I was trying to switch lanes in like 6 inches of snowy slop, and when I did so the ABS kicked in. I did NOT like that. It seemed too loud and seemed to take way to much control away from ME, the person who was driving it. Other than that one time, I had no issues stopping, turning, tearing around in areas of snow that one would clearly think the Rogue would not be able to handle. Drove back into a little mud park area (I know it was mud because I was tearing through the mud the day before it snowed!), and the Rogue pulled right through.

Having said all of that, I do have a little background driving in winter conditions. Grew up in Iowa, spending something like 15 years driving in all kinds of crazy weather. I have driven cars in conditions that should far exceed that car's capabilities. I drove a Pontiac Firebird about 90 minutes, both ways, in a blizzard with cars going off the road literally in front of and all around me. SURE, I fish tailed like a mother, but with practice you can keep going forward without issue. Switching from a rear wheel drive background (Firebird, Camaro, Ford LTD) to a front wheel drive(Sunfire, Sentra, Rogue) mindset was enlightening.

I have NEVER, and I will say it again, NEVER needed 4 wheel or AWD. Part of that is knowing what I can and cannot drive through.

Point is, as I have said in another thread, is that the most important factor for driving in inclement weather is the driver. It doesn't matter what car, how many ABS, traction/stability controls you have....just knowing how your vehicle drives, sounds, handles and typically operates will be far more valuable in my opinion.

The rogue handles OK in snow. My 2008 one slid through a few red lights where I was lucky and didn't get hit. There was one time where my boyfriend was driving his jeep grand cherokee 20 feet behind me and I slid through the red light and he came to an easy stop. So I guess compared to his grand cherokee, the rogue sucks in slippery conditions.

My current 2013 rogue was out in several inches of snow recently and it did several slips but it corrected itself fine. I don't think the rogue handles the winter that exceptionally. It just handles it OK. But I didn't buy the rogue for its winter capabilities, I got it for the hatchback/cargo capacity and I like to sit up higher than a sedan.

Extra thought, I think my moms dodge durango does better in snow than my rogue too.

Lav22 wrote:The rogue handles OK in snow. My 2008 one slid through a few red lights where I was lucky and didn't get hit. There was one time where my boyfriend was driving his jeep grand cherokee 20 feet behind me and I slid through the red light and he came to an easy stop. So I guess compared to his grand cherokee, the rogue sucks in slippery conditions.

My current 2013 rogue was out in several inches of snow recently and it did several slips but it corrected itself fine. I don't think the rogue handles the winter that exceptionally. It just handles it OK. But I didn't buy the rogue for its winter capabilities, I got it for the hatchback/cargo capacity and I like to sit up higher than a sedan.

Extra thought, I think my moms dodge durango does better in snow than my rogue too.

Is your Rogue FWD or AWD? Also, what is the condition of the tires?

Lastly, any chance its the way you're driving it? A whole website full of people can't be wrong.... Well, they could, but in this case, we're not... I have personal experience with a lot of different vehicles in the snow, and I'm very happy with how the Rogue is in snow

Lav22 wrote:The rogue handles OK in snow. My 2008 one slid through a few red lights where I was lucky and didn't get hit.

that has nothing to do with awd or fwd. thats simply YOU carrying to much speed for the conditions. tire pressure and type of tires means a TON. wrong tire pressures (to low) and you are essentially hydroplaning on the snow/slush/ice. a lot of people think dropping psi is a good idea while "driving". its only good to get out of stuck situation.

There was one time where my boyfriend was driving his jeep grand cherokee 20 feet behind me and I slid through the red light and he came to an easy stop.

again, its your fault or your tires. if you hit the brakes gently, and apply them smoothly, your tires should be able to withstand the ice. but if you apply the brakes quickly, too much brake pressure will cause the tires to lock up and then pulsate due to ABS. try to carry less speed approaching red lights, apply the brakes more gently, and get better tires.

So I guess compared to his grand cherokee, the rogue sucks in slippery conditions.

its all in the driver, tire pressure, type of tires. i used to hear the same excuse from rookies at the race-track. and then a more advanced rider/driver would swap vehicles and still beat the rookies(who is now in a faster car/bike).

My current 2013 rogue was out in several inches of snow recently and it did several slips but it corrected itself fine. I don't think the rogue handles the winter that exceptionally. It just handles it OK. But I didn't buy the rogue for its winter capabilities, I got it for the hatchback/cargo capacity and I like to sit up higher than a sedan. Extra thought, I think my moms dodge durango does better in snow than my rogue too.

i got my rogue stuck in snow so deep that driving forward, the bumper pushed snow like a plow. the snow as 15"+ deep. i got it stuck, stopped, and then turned off traction control & locked awd. the car got out like a champ.

I have awd. My boyfriend and I were traveling the same speed (he was following me) and I slid through and he didn't. I drive VERY slow in bad weather and always gently apply the brakes. I have lived in the Midwest all my life so I have driven in snow and ice for many years, so I know what I'm doing, it's not the drivers fault this time.

To give background, my previous vehicles were a chevy silverado and a jeep wrangler. So I'm comparing my rogue to those vehicles, and those two vehicles were rock solid in bad weather.

I'm not saying the rogue is horrendous, just ok. I'm glad your rogues work great in snow. I'm allowed to have a different opinion!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Lav22 wrote:I have awd. My boyfriend and I were traveling the same speed (he was following me) and I slid through and he didn't. I drive VERY slow in bad weather and always gently apply the brakes. I have lived in the Midwest all my life so I have driven in snow and ice for many years, so I know what I'm doing, it's not the drivers fault this time.

To give background, my previous vehicles were a chevy silverado and a jeep wrangler. So I'm comparing my rogue to those vehicles, and those two vehicles were rock solid in bad weather.

I'm not saying the rogue is horrendous, just ok. I'm glad your rogues work great in snow. I'm allowed to have a different opinion!

Merry Christmas everyone!

got any pics??

lolol/jk. have you checked your tire pressure and tires? maybe they are freezing up and hardening too early.

I live in Alaska so snow and freezing rain are abundant. The vehicle is only half of the solution to maneuvering and handling in inclement weather. The driver's skill and experience make up the rest. I handled my Rogue with almost bald Continental summer tires just fine all last winter. I finally put on a new set of Cooper CS Touring tires on in July and up until now (I don't use studs, personal preference I suppose) I've been able to handle the Rogue on the worst road glazing from freezing rain I've ever been on.
The only issue I've come across this season is vibration from the rear tires when they load up with ice. I moved further north away from Wasilla to a much colder town and no not have a garage to thaw the buildup of ice so picking at it by hand is about my only option if I don't want to deal with the vibrations when I drive over 55mph.
Back to handling on snow/ice; in my experience driving the Rogue and other vehicles in winter conditions, it is my opinion that the Rogue handles more than exceptionally well on bad roads (other than the aforementioned ice buildup vibrations, cured by a heated garage or hand picking). I would recommend a Rogue for the novice to expert winter driver.
P.S. The headlights are horrible in ice fog. If fog/ice fog is a regular occurrence for you I'd recommend getting the fog light option. Take it a step further and paint the lens optics with a transparent yellow coating. It filters out the blue light reducing the glare reelection off the water droplets in the air.

Supposed to get up to 12" here in NYC by tomorrow. I cant wait!

Im interested in seeing how slimslammedrogue's car is going to do though.

Nothing but rain here in southern Delaware.
Slimslammedrogue will do fine if he puts a snorkel on it!

First winter for our 2013 Rogue in the snow. We live in the Pa. mountains where winters are brutal. We have always owned Suzuki's but since they no longer sell them in the U.S., we tried a Nissan Rogue AWD. We still have a 2008 Suzuki SX4 AWD. 8 inches of snow on our inclined driveway, and the Nissan couldn't make it up even with AWD locked in. I honestly feel it's the Continental tires, not the car. Our SX4 has Cooper all season tires, and it's like a tank in the snow. We've had it as high as the hood. We drove the Suzuki up and down the driveway several times packing the snow down, then the Rogue made it up. It's braking in snow is iffy also. You would think Nissan would put a more aggressive traction tire on the AWD models. The Rogue replaced a 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara AWD that also was a tank in the snow. Would like to see how the Rogue would run with Cooper tires.

Took a couple videos tonight .... Gonna upload them as soon as my phone stops not letting me email them to myself .... Having fun tonight...

blaa blaa blaa

**MODS PLEASE DELETE MY PREVIOUS ^^ POST... THANK YOU**

Here's that vid I promised. It is 4 clips that I pieced together into 1 Youtube vid (sorry each clip is so short... I had to trim and cut and it still took me literally hours to upload).

Anywhoo... Nothing like a little snow drifting on beautifully untouched snowy streets, AWD Lock ON, Traction OFF, and in SPORT mode:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3k_C_DUi4c[/youtube]

oh man, you scare me. snow drifting around cars lol

It was a really wide street and I only did it once, but youre right... I guess I should of had a disclaimer saying "dont try this at home" lol... Man was it fun though.

Today though, my dad and I took a trip to PA for a concert, and I took the car to an empty parking lot which unfortunately had already been plowed but had a thin sheet of ice on it... I did a little drifting on that because I dont think my dad had done that kind of thing with an AWD before.... I was actually able to do a few standing 360's... I guess I did a standing 720... That is something I hadnt done before myself. Up until now It had just been drifting. Who woulda knew spinning completely around while staying in one place is fun too lol.... I stopped when one of my tires must have touched pavement and the car kinda jerked. That was the sign for me that there wasnt enough snow/ice on the ground and I didnt wanna damage my drivetrain.

Its always better on the thick fluffy stuff ;-).

Holy brrrrrr rabbit!! After 50,000 miles and some really cold temp's I think my stock battery is done. She had a hard time starting this morning. Just ordered a Optimum red top (big Fan). I'll see if I can take some cool snow pics later.

followingnfront wrote:**MODS PLEASE DELETE MY PREVIOUS ^^ POST... THANK YOU**

Here's that vid I promised. It is 4 clips that I pieced together into 1 Youtube vid (sorry each clip is so short... I had to trim and cut and it still took me literally hours to upload).

Anywhoo... Nothing like a little snow drifting on beautifully untouched snowy streets, AWD Lock ON, Traction OFF, and in SPORT mode:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3k_C_DUi4c[/youtube]

That does look like fun, but I have to agree with IMS, as I tend to air on the side of caution. Little bit dangerous. But fun. Nice vid.

Could someone explain the reason to turn TRACTION off when driving in snowy or icy conditions? Seems counter-intuitive.

I only turn off traction control when I need to get through deep snow slowly (youre supposed to) and when I WANT the rear end to break free. Otherwise it stays on in my car.

faithntim wrote:Could someone explain the reason to turn TRACTION off when driving in snowy or icy conditions? Seems counter-intuitive.

the only time i turn off the traction control, is when the temps dip to 32 or below, and especially when there is even a dusting of snow.

i know how to control a drift(fishtail). i dont want the computer in the car cutting off engine power, or up shifting if it senses me in a slide. its not hard to counter steer, and apply the right amount of throttle and get yourself out of an unwanted fishtail. granted: it will certainly increase your speed a tad, and might seem like you are about to die - but between the right amount of throttle application(if any) & counter-steering = you can easily get out of a fishtail or drift in bad weather gone wrong. sometimes it just about not adding, nor decreasing throttle. sometimes you have to put as little input into the tires as possible. traction control cuts your power(sending the vehicles weight to the front, possibly over-loading the tires doing the steering), and basically says: "i'm cutting off your throttle so hold on tight while whatever happens, happens."

in a different situation, sometimes, you come into a slippery turn 'too hot'(too fast). in this situation, weight distribution is KEY. apply too much throttle, and you will send all of the weight to the rear, and the rear tires will lose grip = fishtail/drift. thats not your best option. slamming on the brakes will send too much weight to the front. remember the front tires do the steering. so over-loading them, is not your best option; that will cause the weight to dip forward, and even if your wheels are pointed to the left or right- the car will continue to move FORWARD. the right option is simply to either maintain throttle, or to only gently apply the throttle and ride through the turn. if you have traction control on, it will cut off your power - and essentially send all of the weight forward, causing you to slide; because you over-loaded the very tires you are relying to steer the car.

heck if you really get good at it, tossing the weight around in a awd/rwd will become standard. sometimes tapping the brake hard(very quickly) and then applying the throttle hard will first send the weight forward via the brake tap(just enough to lighten up the rear end) will cause the rear wheels to start over-spinning, causing the very drift you need - without actually gaining speed.

Not only does the Rogue handle the snow without a problem (we just got over a foot the past weekend) but it still works in the cold

That was in the garage, outside it's -15F with a wind chill of -50F! It's figgin cold!

So I did some 3-Wheelin' today:

^^

Now THIS is what I call 3-Wheel motion (pretty badass if I do say so myself):