I've been reading a bunch of posts concerning snow tires, and wanted to find out if anyone out there has experience driving on snow with the factory all-seasons.
I live in Vancouver, Canada. We don't get much snow here, maybe only one small dump a year, the rest of the time it's rain. Every year we contemplate buying snow tires, but I honestly can't see the justification in the city, because of the lack of snow. Snow tires are great on snow, but they really suck on pavement, and wear down too fast and cost too much to be really worth it.
I've had some limited experience with my 02 Impreza wagon on what little snow we get in the city - a couple of days of wet snow, nothing packed down. What experience I've had has been good - the AWD, ABS, and general weight of the car help tremendously. I've never felt out of control or worried about how the car would do.
What I'm curious about - has anyone out there had any experience in packed snow/dry snow, or snow at highway speeds, with the all-seasons? We've been out to Whistler a few times in the winter, but have so far managed to avoid snow on the road. This luck cannot last forever though, and I'd like to hear from people that have driven in the snow with the factory installed all seasons. How do they handle, and is it worth getting snow tires because of the occasional trip into the hills?
Thanks, Aaron