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Hyundai Veracruz in the snow

jrsactownjrsactown Member Posts: 10
in Hyundai
Just got back from the snow ( Lake Tahoe CA ) in my 07 AWD Veracruz Limited. This SUV is GREAT in the SNOW! You do not even notice the AWD engaging, it is very smooth and quite. When I came upon 2 feet of snow in a parking lot, I pushed in the AWD lock button, and no problem getting thru it. Also, the heated wipers, and outside mirrors worked great. My wife and I felt very safe, even though the roads were very slick and filled with stuck vehicles. I would love hear from other Veracruz owners on the their snow experiences.
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Comments

  • cjsbcjsb Member Posts: 71
    Absolutely 100% agree.

    On one Sunday in mid-December we got about the average of one month's worth of snow in a single 24 hour span in the Golden Horshoe area of southern Ontario. About a foot if I recall.

    The VC walked right off my unplowed crescent when most cars wouldn't attempt and those that did were stuck until dug out. I was the first to leave the street.

    The very good AWD system and over 8" of clearance made the trek fairly easy. One of my close friends has a Highlander but opted for the 2WD. Not a car guy and still hung up on "Toyota is always wonderful and Korean cars can't be any good". He spent more money than we did. He got stuck that day. Just desserts! I still ride him about it.
  • carbuyer11carbuyer11 Member Posts: 114
    I'm hearing all of these great reports on the Veracruz's handling of winter conditions. I'm sitting here in Virginia in 70+ degree temperatures. I now own 2 AWD vehicles- we've had accumulating snow a grand total of 1 time in the 3 years I've owned my Honda Ridgeline and nothing since we've owned the Veracruz. It's snowing someplace but certainly not here in the Mid-Atlantic region....
  • dvinay12dvinay12 Member Posts: 20
    I own SE 2WD, but it did amazingly well in snow with long drive. Also drove 5 + 5 hours stretch to DC in a day and still fresh after returning back. drive in rain also cool. luv this CUV.
  • busmaster44busmaster44 Member Posts: 20
    I just got my GLS FWD - live in Chicago and am not entirely confident in the Kumho tires in the snow. Any complaints, and/or what if any modifications did you make?
  • ibpublicibpublic Member Posts: 8
    I have a 2007 GLS FWD and live in Iowa (so I got more snow than you did). I had a hell of a time with the Kumho's on ice finally after getting stuck in my own driveway on ice I went and bought a set of Michleans (sp) and didn't have any more problems all winter. My Kumhos only had 3500 miles on them but they had to go!
  • navyairnavyair Member Posts: 202
    I'd recommend Nokian WR's for great all weather tires. Have had a set on both a sedan and my Sedona, and just bought a 2nd set for the van when wife ruined 2 tires. Best handling tires in wet conditions or snow that I've ever had. We see a lot of that in the WI/MN area.

    You won't run these tires forever...averaged a little over 50k miles, but I'm conservative and replace them well before I'm running on the wear bars.
  • acdiiacdii Member Posts: 753
    I have the FWD Limited, and back in December when we had blowing snow that left 2 foot drifts on the road, the VC plowed through them and kept going. It handles snow beautifully, dont need no stinkin AWD! :P If it is that bad where I need all wheel power, it is time to get the F350 Dually Diesel out, 6 wheels of pure traction power! :shades: Haven't had to do that yet since I got the VC.
  • ttlttlttlttlttlttl Member Posts: 24
    2008 SE & Limited have Michelin's. The GLS has Kumho's. My FWD SE drives very well in snow!
  • cipollacipolla Member Posts: 22
    I'am thinking of buying the 2008 Veracurz Limited, could anyone please tell me why or why not I should.

    Thank you

    Jack
  • acdiiacdii Member Posts: 753
    Drive it, if you like it buy it! I cant tell you why not to buy one, I love mine, especially after filling the tank with premium! :);) This bugger rocks with premium in it! I really enjoy driving it, and do so every chance I get. Simply put, best car I ever bought, and I bought a lot of cars, including a Prius, and the quality is far better than Toyota, I have an 09 Camry Hybrid, and the quality is sub par to the Hyundai.
  • cipollacipolla Member Posts: 22
    Thank you all for the advice, I did buy the 2008 limited and love it, I had a 2007 honda pilot and I feel this is a better suv in many ways.

    Thank you all

    jack
  • tarty1tarty1 Member Posts: 3
    Last week south of Helena Mt I encountered the worst driving conditions I have ever seen, slippery whiteouts and lots of drifting snow, NEVER have I been more impressed with a SUV! My 2008 Limited never let me know how icy it was till I stepped out. The Michelins ride rougher than I like but grab traction where none is available, superb combination.
  • cipollacipolla Member Posts: 22
    Thank you very much for the good news, I did buy the 2008 limited and so far I'am very happy with it. I just sold my 2007 Honda Pilot and so far the Veracruz wins hands down. Again thank you for the feedback.

    Jack
  • acdiiacdii Member Posts: 753
    Another happy owner! I got the pleasure of driving my VC a few days the past two weeks since my wife needed the car, and I needed a car, we normally car pool in a Camry Hybrid. I really enjoy driving it, and now that I have premium gas in it, and will until it hits $2.50 a gallon, I enjoy more power, and its getting over 20 MPG instead of the 18 I normally got. What I like about this is I can go back to 87 if I want to without any detrimental affects to the engine, try that with a Lexus, I dont think so! :D
  • cipollacipolla Member Posts: 22
    Thank you for your feedback, I will try premium gas on my next fill up as long as it wont harm the engine if I go back to regular gas.

    Thank you

    jack
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Edmunds says the Veracruz uses regular unleaded gasoline. There's a "common misconception that premium fuel is some kind of "doggie treat" for your car."

    Mr_Shiftright, "What about fuel types & gas mileage?" #221, 9 May 2006 1:26 pm

    And another good post on the subject:

    shipo, "What about fuel types & gas mileage?" #158, 15 Jun 2005 1:59 pm
  • acdiiacdii Member Posts: 753
    It is actually in the manual that the Veracruz will automatically adjust the PCM to compensate for the higher octane fuel, and it does. I saw an almost immediate improvement in power when I filled it up the first time after 10,000 miles of 87 running through it. I also saw an increase of MPG, went from just under 18 to just over 20 after 2 tanks. I am going to fill the next tank with 87 to see what happens, but Hyundai did something right.

    Page 1|3 of the owners manual,
    For improved vehicle performance, premium unleaded fuel with a Pump Octane Rating of 91 (Research Octane Number) or higher is recommended.

    Somewhere in this huge manual I found additional information which I am still looking for and will post when I find it.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Thanks - it was too much hassle for me to register at Hyundai and download the manual myself.

    I'm premium fuel adverse, but if the price differential is made up by the increase in mpg, then the extra power would be a bonus. Then again, I'm not a lead foot nor do I tow, so I'd probably stick with the low price spread.

    How To Find Your Car Owner's Manual Online
  • cipollacipolla Member Posts: 22
    Thank you for the info, I'll try the premium on my next fill up and I'll let you know
  • louyalouya Member Posts: 5
    yay!!! the VC is my first 4wd... had a 2wd 4runner for 9 years, so sad everyday. the east coast had a bit of snow march 1, 2009. i drove from arlington VA to richmond VA, about 100 miles, in the thick of the storm. the 95 south had piles of snow. eventually, people were only driving in 2 lanes and the fast lane filled up with snow. i was tired of going 25 mph, so i went the snow filled fast lane and took off.

    it was probably totally inappropriate, too-fast driving, but i was driving 40-50 mph in 4wd. i could feel the tires constantly slipping but catching immediately, and i really pushed the car to its limits. overall, i felt very comfortable, toasty with seat warmers, xm radio.... overall, powered through snow no problem. cant wait for the next snowstorm.. teeheee...
  • acdiiacdii Member Posts: 753
    So far I ran several tanks of Premium, noticed my overall MPG for those tanks came out to nearly 20 MPG, then switched back to 87 for several tanks, and the MPG dropped to about 18.5. I filled up with Premium(couldnt help myself) yesterday and the dash readout is up to 22 MPG, same trips, same driving, the previous readout with 87 was 19.

    On the sad side, gas prices are going up, yesterday I got Premium @ $2.419, this morning regular is @ $2.459. That being the case, looks like the VC will soon be going back to the Garage and the Camry Hybrid back on the road. My threshold for gas purchase is $2.50 a gallon, any more than that the Camry is driven. :sick:
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Big jump in gas prices there.

    If you are going to park the Veracruz, I guess that lets you off the hook computing the cost per mile of using premium vs regular. :)
  • acdiiacdii Member Posts: 753
    Big jump in gas prices there.

    My jaw dropped when I saw that, a .20c jump over night. It was $2.25 when I drove past last night ~5:30 PM $2.45 this morning ~7AM.

    If you are going to park the Veracruz, I guess that lets you off the hook computing the cost per mile of using premium vs regular

    True, but then again, the cost per mile will be higher with premium unless there is a huge difference in MPG. I only use it because I get a bigger smile per mile when I push the pedal and make it go, and it doesn't use MORE gas when I do. If I saw a drop in MPG like I would in the crown Vic I had, then I would never use it again. More power, slightly better economy, makes it worth spending a little more occasionally on the premium, up to a point. Once 87 hits $2.50 though, back to pulse and glide in the camry
  • dick57dick57 Member Posts: 3
    I would like to find out what is the best snow tire for my 2007 Veracruz. Right now they are travel tire.
  • acdiiacdii Member Posts: 753
    Chances are you wont find a "snow" tire in the size for the VC, best bet would to get a set of aftermarket rims that are smaller in size and get a set of Blizzacks in the size that equals what is on the car now. As long as the overall diameter of the tire equals the current tire, the rim can be as small as 15". This way you have tires for winter driving, and protect the OEM rims from salt damage, and have your regular tires for the rest of the year. If you go that route, dont get suckered into buying a set of TPMS sensors though, you would have to have the computer reprogrammed every time you swapped rims, just get a pressure gauge and check them once in a while, then when you put the OEM back on, your sensors will still work.
  • eligelig Member Posts: 1
    You can get snow tires for the Vera. I am running Blizzacks right now on my 18's. Problem with going with a smaller rim is that you have a brake assembly to fit the rim over. 17's are as small as you can go.

    I generally run 89 octane, cuz the place I go to sells it for the same price. I have awd with the roof rack and rails. I average 17.6 over a few thousand miles. I find that if the racks are all the way back the mileage improves. I have thought about removing them completely since in the 4 years I have owned I have only used them once. And K&N finally offers a filter, I have just been procrastinating cuz I keep thinking about selling. Ever since the two accidents it has been in it is a rattlebox. Wish they woulda totalled it.
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