Good morning! I don’t know what the weather is like where you are, but if it’s anything like where I am, we got a little bit of snow. And by a little bit, I mean damn near a foot. Fortunately, I don’t have to go anywhere in it, so I can just stay inside and look at it being all pretty and stuff. But it does remind me of all the years I spent having to drive through this crap, so today I thought we’d look at a couple of cars that represent different philosophies of how to get around in the winter.
Yesterday’s competitors were both a little bit embarrassing, but apparently the overwhelming majority of you feel that tacky add-ons are less of a sin than wrapping a car in bright pink vinyl. The old Mercedes won in a landslide. Some of you even suggested leaving it as-is and leaning into the purveyor-of-illicit-substances look, just to mess with people. I think in certain neighborhoods, that could be a lot of fun, actually.
Me, I couldn’t leave it looking how it is, but I’m definitely on team Mercedes here. I just have no interest in an automatic Eclipse, no matter what color it is. The old SL would take some work, but you’d have something at least remotely desirable and interesting when you’re done.
Now, when it comes to winter vehicles, there are a couple of different schools of thought. One is to get the biggest, nastiest 4×4 you can find, because of course that’s what should work best, right? The other, and the one I typically subscribed to during my years in the Midwest, is to find something front-wheel-drive and low on power, preferably with an automatic transmission, and just make sure it has decent tires on it. Which method is better? Well, I’m going to leave that up to you, after we look at an example of each.
2000 Ford Excursion Limited – $4,300
Engine/drivetrain: 6.8-liter overhead cam V10, four-speed automatic, 4WD
Location: Anoka, MN
Odometer reading: 351,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well, needs a few things
Around the turn of the century, SUVs were big. And I don’t just mean the sales numbers; the trucks themselves had grown to truly ridiculous proportions. Chevy’s Suburban had been the biggest SUV on the road for decades, but in 2000, Ford one-upped it with the Canyonero – I mean, Excursion – based on its Super Duty truck chassis.
A big truck needs a big engine, and the Excursion did not disappoint – Ford’s 5.4 liter V8, the optional big engine for the F150, was the smallest engine available. This one adds two cylinders and a bunch of displacement, with a 6.8 liter ten-cylinder monster under its tall hood. It evaporates a gallon of unleaded once about every ten miles, but it’s got enough power and torque to move this big monster at a frightening clip. There’s enough, there’s wretched excess, and then there’s the V10 Ford Excursion. This one runs and drives fine, but it could use front brakes; the rotors are a little bit warped. Also, fair warning: some owner in its past removed the muffler and installed a straight pipe. All the better to scare pedestrians with, I guess.
It’s the fancy Limited model, so it has power everything and leather all over inside. I get the feeling that the front seats are less than pristine under those covers, but that’s to be expected on a family hauler with 350,000 miles on the clock. The photos in the ad show it full of stuff, which I guess means it’s still in daily use. Hopefully they clean it out before the sale, including that mysterious cinder block in front. Let me know why you think that’s there in the comments – wrong answers only.
It’s a Minnesota vehicle, so it’s no stranger to snow – or road salt. The rocker panels are shot, but the seller says the frame is solid, and the one photo of the underside seems to corroborate this. It’s a decent twenty-footer, at least.
2005 Ford Focus ZXW SE – $1,600
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Odometer reading: 293,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Back when I lived in California, I massively overpaid for a 2005 Ford Focus. It was a really good little car, but the bad deal soured me on it. I remember thinking that, even though it was not worth the price I paid, it was going to make someone a good cheap beater someday. The intervening twenty years have proved me right; cheap Focuses with a bazillion miles on them have served a lot of used-car buyers well. This one is well past its prime, but it looks like it has one or two more winters in it.
The Focus started out with either Ford’s ancient CVH four-cylinder, or the raucous twin-cam Zetec, but in 2005, the standard engine was a Duratec 20, Ford’s version of the Mazda MZR, which is well-known for racking up the miles. This one powers the front wheels through a four-speed automatic. We don’t get any info on its condition or history, but considering that it’s closing in on 300,000 miles, it must have been well maintained.
It’s the mid-level SE trim, which means it has power windows and locks, cruise control, air conditioning, all that good stuff. At this age and mileage, it’s anyone’s guess how much of it still works; the seller sings the praises of the heater, but that’s all they say. The interior does look surprisingly good. I would not have guessed a Focus interior would hold up this well, frankly.
As clean as the inside is, the outside definitely shows its age. It’s rusty, beat-up, and shedding paint. But it’s also only sixteen hundred bucks. Use it and abuse it with abandon, and send it on its merry way when it gets too crusty.
Travel any Interstate in the Midwest during a snowstorm, and you’ll see a bunch of cars in the ditch. Overconfidence and too much speed land a lot of drivers in hot water – or rather, deep snow. Too often, the cars you see marooned are 4WD SUVs; they’re great at getting out of snowy parking lots, but they’re not invincible on slippery roads. And honestly, I always did better with a simple little FWD clunker. But today, the choice is yours: will it be the big tall 4×4, or the dirt-cheap rustbucket?
(Image credits: sellers)
That Excursion is scary in the wrong way. I hate those mid 2000 Fords so it would give me pleasure to ruin that Focus over a winter anyway. I don’t really want any of them but there was no button for «neither».
Voted Ford for the stupidity factor. Really I just want to do V10 donuts in a parking lot. The correct answer is the car with proper winter tires.
Erm… they’re both Fords.
Dammit.
Hate both, so I went with the cheaper one.
Cinder block = parking brake.
Went wagon, unless snow is deep FWD and good tires are just fine. The smaller car often stops and steers better and more predictably as well.
Can we choose neither. the Focus at least does not have the DCT nightmare that the later units have and although FWD, it would likely still get stuck in foot deep snow. the Excursion is still really only 2WD (1 front wheel and 1 back wheel) but it is likely running on 8 cylinders with two plugs blown out the block due to fords design. hell the straight pipe might be to cover up all that noise.
the correct answer is to buy a rusty but trusty 2000 – 2006 Silverado Z71. I feel like you can still find those around your neck of the woods with similar miles and much more reliable and cheaper to fix drive trains.
Wagon erry dang day, and I’d sure as heck rather visit Milwaukee than Anoka.
Edited to add: 4WD will get you twice as stuck as 2WD.
How about both? That Ford excursion is a very good price you could pay double for it in California. The focus wagon would be great for my little commuter car.
I would only consider that Excursion if it has the 7.3. And even then those have plenty of known issues, just less annoying than the turn of the century 5.4 triton and V10.
As much as my heart wants the Excursion, I had to vote Focus. Having navigated a sudden snow storm in a 1997 Buick Skylark Custom with a questionable radiator with greater success than my Ford pickup (I was passing X-Terras and other 4WD SUVs going up hill on untreated surfaces and used the Skylark to get to the truck the next day). That Skylark drove for nine straight hours through stop and go traffic, up hills, and never complained except for a bit of steam early on. I am a big fan of lightweight and FWD. The wagon means you can keep a ton of emergency supplies in the back that are accessible without getting outside the car, but don’t deal with all the silly weight like in the Excursion.
Sometimes it is the tires. I had researched all weather tires a lot and settled on some Kumho tires that I had to special order for my old Passat. that old 2.5 5 cylinder and those tires were pretty near unstoppable on most roads. Passed plenty of AWD SUV’s with one front wheel and one rear wheel spinning away.
true, my dad owned the same powertrain in a Jetta and he never got stuck while he lived in the snow. He got Sumitomo Winter tires on his, though
cinderblock? i would assume traction
Both of these are likely to be rolling disasters, but the Focus is much cheaper and will make a much smaller dent in whatever you slide it into. I have a big 4×4 SUV at my place in Maine – even on winter tires it’s not as useful as one might think when the going gets slippery, as opposed to just deep snow (barely a thing in a place with more plows than people). That whole “objects in motion want to stay in motion” thing that Newton was always going on about. I have never needed more than 2wd and proper tires in Maine to get around all winter. AWD lets you write checks your driving talent can’t cash a bit too easily. Having 2X stop than you have GO is a good thing.
Thankfully, here in SW FL, my “winter beater” is a 128i convertible. 70F and bright sun at the moment. Going to get cold tomorrow though – 60F! I need to dig out my parka and gloves. Brrr.
The guy across the street parks directly opposite my driveway cut, so it would be difficult to back the Excursion out of my driveway. I guess it can be done – my brother brought stuff over to store in my garage in a short-bed, crew cab Ram 1500, which probably isn’t that much shorter – but a regular thing would get old very quickly, even though an Excursion would crush my neighbor’s puny Honda without noticing.
So if I were in the situation where I needed a winter beater, the Focus would be it unless I felt like parking around the corner on a wider street. I had a 2002 Focus SE sedan that my insurer valued at what I paid for it in 2004 (the deductible was cancelled out by compensation for recent tires and personal property tax) after five years and 50,000 miles of use, and I felt the ride and handing and wet-traction difference over the 1990 Protegé it replaced. I even adapted to the old 2.0/4A.
I’m just not in that position, though – yesterday and today have had the biggest snow events locally in three years, and it didn’t even cover all of my grass. And while a family emergency made it necessary for me to drive three years ago, my Mazda 3 made it fine over to my brother’s house during that hefty (by local standards) snow. So, while I understand that people in frequently snow-cursed parts of the country can’t do this and not everyone around here can do it because of job duties, I pick #3: Stay home.
The Focus got my vote, though it feels a bit high for its value.
I went for the Focus, because it’s the descendent of one of the best winter cars I ever had, a ’91 Escort with snow tires. It never got stuck, and due to its very low purchase price, I wasn’t afraid of blasting through the plow banks left at the end of residential streets, or how much salt was making its way into the already-70%-bondo-and-rust body of the car.
Also, the Excursion would be great in *snow*, but when the roads are icy, all you’ve got is a really heavy thing that’s going to be even harder to stop with all that weight, and whatever it hits is going to get more messed up that if you were driving something smaller.
I owned a 2005 Focus ZX3 (ZX-33) and it was great. After 200k I traded it in for a Soul. (no pun intended). The FWD was all that was needed in rain or sand. It doesn’t snow much in the Petro Metro. Vote Focus!
I don’t love the rust on the Focus, but I also don’t love the thought of maxing out my credit card every time I fill up the Excursion. We’ll take the lil longroof.
Huh. You and I have a different idea of fun. I’m thinking it could be terrifying in “certain neighborhoods.”
I picked the Ford.
The cinderblock is for dealing with idiots who drive like idiots in bad weather. You follow them to their destination, and after they go inside, you throw it through their windshield.
They’re both Fords
I’m choosing the vehicle whose only noteworthy asset is the “heat blows fire.”
I can only imagine the droning from that Excursion straight pipe/resonator set up. No thanks.
I always liked the look and practicality of those Focus wagons. Wanted to pick one up but I haven’t seen any for years around here in the Northeast. Probably all reduced to a pile of rust, like this one soon will be.
That cinderblock is Bigfoot’s cupholder. I guarantee if you try to take a picture of the current owner it’ll come out blurry.
Cupholder was my thought as well – the stock ones don’t look big enough for a big gulp.
Close. The square holes in cinder blocks were intentionally sized to hold liter bottles of Jack and Jim.
Hey! Try showing a little cultural sensitivity here! We don’t make fun of you huma… well, actually, we kinda do. A lot. But you’ll never be able to prove it because the recordings are always static and garbled.
I was thinking aftermarket cruise control.
The Excursion is the size of a 15-passenger van on the outside, while being the size of a minivan on the inside.And the price of this one is too high. The gassers are worth nothing, while the 7.3L diesels are worth almost the price they were new. The 6.0 diesels are worth much less than the 7.3 due to being shitty.
While the Focus isn’t the greatest car, it’s better than a fucking Excursion. The Mazda influence also showed up on the outside in the form of rust LOL. Well, at least the MZR is better than the Zetec!
Yeah the Focus wagon is awesome. It’s also the last 4-cylinder wagon Ford sold here. 2007 was the last year Ford sold wagons here. The Focus, the Taurus, and the Mazda6 wagon were the last ones. Sadly, the Mazda6 wagon was only sold with a V6 here 🙁
I voted for the Focus, even though Ford got lazy and didn’t sell us the Mk2 Focus and just gave us this cheapened Mk1
The Excursion is smaller than a crew cab short bed pickup truck.
so are the 15-passenger vans 😛
The Flex was also a wagon. V6 only, though.
eh, the Flex and Freestyle/Taurus X are a bit too tall to be called wagons.
was it, though? If I recall the Flex was about 6″ of ground clearance, very carlike if you ask me. A Subaru Outback is still considered a wagon despite being at least 2″ off the ground.
I agree that little front wheel drive cars with good tires make great winter beaters. Mine is exactly that, a grandmother white ’99 Corolla with an automatic transmission. Mine is far less rusty though. I won’t drive a unibody vehicle with rusty rocker panels. That sumbitch will wad up like a beer can on a frat boy’s forehead in an accident. In this case, I’ll take the Excursion. At least it has mass and a frame on its side.
Neither if I’m being honest. If I had to make a choice the Excursion is a better value, if only because the competition is a Focus with terminal rust and terminal mileage.
I voted Focus
Disagree, I feel like a manual is better in the snow, can use the motor/tran to slow the car down and save the brakes for stop lights.
Yep, and if it is too slippery you can sometimes get moving by starting in 2nd gear.
You can do that with an automatic also…that’s what the ‘2’ notch is for.
I’d still take a manual over an automatic that, if put in ‘2’, doesn’t start in second, for winter purposes.
(Edit: Think ‘winter mode’ in Ski-Klasse or a Volvo 850, or some old three-speeds from the ’70s.)
But they do (or did?) start in 2nd instead of 1st. Very handy for minimizing wheel spin on takeoff for older v8 rear wheel drive cars on slippery roads.
Yeah, a manual is much better, especially if have a 2spd transfer case.
Good to know that these behave properly in that regard. I’ve driven a couple of Foci, both manual and automatic, but never in the snow, so I never tried starting the autobox in second.
The manual was still a lot more fun, of course.
This is mostly a psychological dilemma with a bit of Darwinian theory thrown in for good measure.
If I own the Focus, I’m much less likely to overestimate its foul weather capabilities (or mine). Looking out of the window on a winter morning seeing it’s tiny form buried in a drift, I’m more likely to stay home and who could blame me? And I’m less likely to die for this reason.
If I own the Excursion, I’m more likely to worry about being perceived a sissy by colleagues if I won’t venture out in my manly 4×4 because – screw a big enough lever – if Archimedes had an Excursion he could move three worlds, right? So, I boldly venture out and thereby increase my odds of not propagating the species.
Also, which vehicle would you want to clean the snow and ice from if you absolutely had to drive?
Finally, I just assume the cinderblock is a typical Excursion key chain.
Having driven an auto Focus with all seasons on all manners of wintery roads back when we actually got snow, I’ll vote for the rust magnet.