Winter is the season Subaru engineers for, which is good news if your week runs along M-72 and the shore of Grand Traverse Bay. Serra Subaru of Traverse City helps drivers in Traverse City, Acme, and Kalkaska, MI find a model that makes snow season feel routine.
Every Subaru SUV arrives with standard Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, so the real question becomes how much ground clearance, cargo room, and seating your routine calls for. The sections below cover the features that count in snow, then break the lineup down model by model.
Four things carry you through a snow season: all-wheel drive, ground clearance, traction management, and cold-weather comfort features.
Sort by those four and the right model tends to pick itself.
Ground clearance separates these four quickly, since that number decides how deep a drift you can push through.
| Model | Ground clearance | Seating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crosstrek | 8.7 inches, 9.3 on Wilderness | 5 | Tight downtown parking plus unplowed side streets |
| Forester | 8.7 inches, 9.3 on Wilderness | 5 | Wide glass and high visibility during a whiteout |
| Outback | 8.7 inches, 9.5 on Wilderness | 5 | A long cargo floor for gear runs toward Kalkaska |
| Ascent | 8.7 inches | 7 or 8 | Three rows for a winter weekend at Shanty Creek |
The Crosstrek is the compact pick, with dual-function X-MODE standard on every trim. Forester adds a tall, upright cabin for visibility in heavy snow along with 74.4 cubic feet of cargo room. Outback carries the longest cargo floor of the five-seat models. Meanwhilr, the Subaru Ascent seats seven or eight behind a 260-horsepower turbocharged SUBARU BOXER® engine and tows up to 5,000 pounds.
Wilderness trims add front skid plates and all-terrain tires, worth a look if your driveway sits off a county two-track.
Traction starts at the tire. Four winter tires shorten stopping distance on packed snow well beyond what all-season rubber manages, and all-wheel drive cannot make up that difference.
Crossbars carry skis or a roof cargo carrier, while all-weather floor liners and a cargo tray handle the salt and slush that ride inside with you. Ask our parts team which accessories fit your model year.
The Outback Wilderness leads the lineup at 9.5 inches, followed by the Crosstrek Wilderness and Forester Wilderness at 9.3 inches. Standard trims across the SUV lineup sit at 8.7 inches.
Every Subaru SUV comes with standard Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive. The BRZ sports car is the exception, since it uses rear-wheel drive to suit its performance tuning.
Yes. All-wheel drive improves how you accelerate and corner, while braking and stopping distance come down to tire compound and tread design in cold temperatures.
Serra Subaru of Traverse City stocks the models that handle winter in Traverse City, Acme, and Kalkaska, MI. Browse the inventory online, compare ground clearance and X-MODE settings side by side, then contact our team to schedule a test drive on a cold morning when it counts.
