Driving in snowy conditions
It’s a bit unusual for me to drive in a blizzard. For starters, I can usually work at home and not get caught in the snow and ice. One quick glance at the weather app on my phone and I can avoid most storms. I say “most” storms on purpose. Recently, I drove across town in the exceptionally well-appointed 2023 Jeep Wagoneer. It is one of the best and most high-tech full-size SUVs I’ve driven in many months. I thought, there’s no way there’s going to be any bad weather. The sun was shining and I was just going to make a quick trip to go shopping over the holidays.
I didn’t intend on lingering at Barnes and Noble so long, or feeding my book addiction by visiting the library as well and checking out a few extra books. I planned to get home in plenty of time and well before dark, but then I glanced at my phone. Oops.
A winter storm was already pummeling the west side of town and heading my way.
It’s crazy to think after a decade reviewing cars, I haven’t been caught in that many storms. There was the time I had to avoid an oncoming bus on a wintery road while driving an Audi A8 (sadly, the review is not online anymore. Although, at least I mentioned the experience in an Audi A6 review way back in 2011). I’ve tested traction control in review cars, but very few of them during a blizzard.
As I headed out of the parking lot of the library, I noticed the winter wind was picking up, moving horizontally on the road. That’s never a good sign. The 2023 Jeep Wagoneer is a massive SUV and feels sure and stable on the road no matter what. However, I was curious how the vehicle would handle when there were icy roads, raging wind, and snow flying everywhere.
How the 2023 Jeep Wagoneer handles icy conditions
Here’s the curious thing about all-wheel drive on icy roads. You can actually feel when it works. I’m not sure how the human body knows this, and what keen senses are at play, but I do know how it works from a technical standpoint in the vehicle. As I drove, the tires sensed slippage and auto-corrected my driving, insuring I didn’t slip or go into a fish-tail.
That means, as I was driving, the Wagoneer would actually throttle back power to a specific tire to make sure the vehicle was still driving straight. It almost felt like skating — the tire would act like my leg swinging out with skates to stay upright.
This happened maybe a dozen times on that drive home, each time with that sense of sure handling. Jeep does a great job of explaining how it works: “Toggle through the Selec-Terrain Management System and get dedicated control over different driving conditions. This legendary system adjusts shift patterns, engine performance and torque distribution for maximum traction on tough roads.” Okay, Jeep — will do. I had selected the Snow mode before I left the library. And what I was sensing was exactly that — adjusting the shift patterns, engine performance and torque distribution. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Thankfully, I didn’t need to understand or explain it in order to use it, and I was impressed with how capable the system worked for such a large SUV.
By the time I got home, I wasn’t even thinking about the blizzard, or the tires, or even the technology in the car. That’s the best compliment you can give a safety feature. It just worked. Driving up to my house, I was only thinking about my pile of books.