Look out, America! It’s cold out there! It’s killin’ cold, in fact, and it doesn’t look like the fun is going to let up any time soon. With a bubble of Arctic air swooping down over much of the country and showing no signs of leaving, temperatures have plummeted to record lows and stayed there. But most of you are no doubt already aware of that, whether you’ve chosen to brave the subzero temperatures and record-breaking snow or not. Driving Fans hopes you’re safely ensconced somewhere warm, but if you’re not, we hope you’re fortunate enough to be in one of our top five vehicles for surviving the polar vortex!
Tucker Sno-Cat: The classic Tucker Sno-Cat is an iconic vehicle; the massive four-tracked beasts were used to complete the first Trans-Antarctic expedition in 1958. Part panel van, part tank and part semi truck, the six-ton Tucker Sno-Cat should have no problem handling this visiting Arctic weather.
Mercedes-Benz Unimog: Mercedes’ unstoppable portal-axled Unimog has been an off-roading icon for half a century now, and these trucks can commonly be seen doing snowplow duty in the mountains of Europe. Grab a passenger version and laugh at the snow.
Yellowstone snow van: In Yellowstone National Park, the tourists don’t stop coming just because it’s winter time. To get sightseers around the park in deep snow without damaging the environment, a wide variety of tracked vans and buses is employed. This Dodge Ram’s tank treads are deceptively gentle: because of the wide contact area, the impact on the environment is minimal, enabling the snow vans to explore the park while still treading lightly.
Subaru Outback: There’s something about the Outback that was just made for snow. Whether it’s the confident all-wheel drive, the stable carlike platform or the versatile station wagon body is hard to tell, but in many parts of the country, when the weather has stopped just about everything else, the only things moving will be Subarus.
Mercedes S63 AMG 4MATIC: Want to take on the snow in style? Grab a set of snow tires and slap them on the all-wheel drive version of Mercedes’ new S63 AMG. While you might not want to explore the 577-horsepower twin-turbo V8’s limits on a snowy road–trying for the 186-mph top speed would be a recipe for disaster–there would be plenty of sure-footed comfort within the big Benz’ sumptuous cabin.
