Top 7 Vehicles for Winter Driving in Canada

Canadian winters can become brutal, and you must be extra careful with icy roads and snow storms. Ensuring you drive a Canadian winter-ready vehicle is the first step to take this winter. Below, we considered seven top winter cars that can handle the extreme winter conditions in Canada.

Seven of the Top Winter Cars

While many excellent cars can brave a Canadian winter, these seven cars stand out above others. Enjoy the ease of mind this winter with secure wheels on the road.

2022 Jeep Compass

This five-seater SUV has a ground clearance of 20.8cm and can tow up to 907kg. It has a front-wheel drivetrain and four-wheel drive, with a 2.4L Tigershark MultiAir I-4 engine. It also has a low city fuel economy of 10.6L/100 KM and an even lower highway fuel economy of 7.6L/100 KM.

The high ground clearance and drivetrain make it perfect for winter, and it also comes with several driver’s assist systems. These systems include adaptive cruise control and rear cross-path detection with blindspot monitoring.

2023 Nissan Rogue

The 2023 Nissan Rogue is a compact crossover SUV that offers reliable performance in winter times. It has a ground clearance of 21.34cm and can switch to all-wheel drive to offer more traction and traverse icy roads. The Rogue has a 2.4L four-cylinder engine that gives you up to 181 horsepower. 

Several safety features make this vehicle even better on the road. The Vehicle Dynamic Control System ensures your car remains balanced and stable on slick roads without veering off at every patch of ice it hits. It also offers a Traction Control System that prevents wheel spins by monitoring the spin on each wheel compared to the other wheels. 

2022 Volkswagen Tiguan

The Tiguan offers excellent performance in snowy conditions thanks to the optional 4MOTION AWD system. This system ensures optimal traction by distributing power evenly between front and rear wheels. Choose “SNOW MODE” on your Tiguan drive style to prepare for extreme conditions. It has a 2.0L turbocharged engine and a fuel economy of 9.8L/100 KM.

It also offers all the safety systems you expect. This includes detecting pedestrians, displaying road sign information, adaptive cruise control, auto high-beam control, and a surround-view monitoring system. These systems ease your driving experience, especially when visibility is low.

2022 Chevrolet Equinox

The Equinox fares well in snow, with a decent ground clearance of 19.3cm to 20.4cm, depending on the drivetrain and wheel size. It offers part-time all-wheel drive to ensure your wheels retain the ideal traction on slippery roads. It also offers a Traction Control System and StabiliTrak Stability Control, which detects wheels slipping and corrects them.

Further safety features that make this vehicle great in winter is the Antilock brake system, ensuring you can brake safely in all weather conditions. It’s combined with an electronic brake force distribution system that ensures the locked wheels are stabilized smoothly. It also uses fuel injectors to ensure you can drive it even in freezing conditions.

2022 Nissan Sentra

The Sentra is rated five stars by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and is recommended by the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety). It has a moderate 2.0L four-cylinder engine with up to 149 hp. This sedan seats five people, and you can add extra features like dual-zone automatic climate control and LED fog and headlights for further safety in winter.

It also has driver assist systems like forward collision warning and emergency front and rear braking. With ten built-in airbags and blindspot monitoring with alerts for rear-cross traffic, it ensures you remain safe in all conditions and situations.

2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

If you’re looking for larger cars to handle the workload in winter, then the new Chevrolet Silverado 1500 might be the right option. It has a ground clearance of 20.06cm and offers various types of the powertrain. It also offers rear-/four-wheel drive, a front engine, and fuel injections, ensuring you can drive in freezing conditions.

It also boasts an impressive array of safety and driver’s assist features, notably the GM hands-free driving technology. With the five-star rating from the NHTSA, you can rest assured that this pick-up offers all the safety features that make driving in winter safer than usual.

2023 Volkswagen Atlas

The Atlas, like Tiguan, is perfect for winter conditions, and the 4MOTION all-wheel drive system with Active Control is standard on this model. You’ll enjoy increased traction and stability while driving on snowy roads and can choose the perfect drive mode to suit the weather conditions. Each Atlas also features a 3-zone Climatronic climate control system, which means you can adjust the interior heating to be different for the driver and the passengers.

Each Atlas has heated front seating; you can add heated rear seating as an optional feature. The Atlas also ensures your safety in extreme weather with the Travel Assist system. It combines lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control to ensure you maintain a safe following distance and keep within the lane, even when visibility is low.