Booking a rental car for a week in Breckenridge during Christmas 08, traveling from DIA. Do I need a 4WD? Also any suggestions on sleigh ride in Siverthrone?
thanks Williamston

Weather in Colorado is always hard to predict. If it were me, I'd rent a 4wd just to be safe.

Never done the sleigh ride thing, but I found a link for you.

http://www.summitactivities.com/summ...eigh_rides.php

For the record, I've lived in Colorado since 1994.

thank you for your input

Rent a 4WD just for the peace of mind, in case of stormy weather. But, don't expect a 4WD or AWD to stop any better on the icy roads than any other car.

We see too many SUVs off the side of the road here in the Colorado mountains. We assume people expect them to have flawless traction, which no car does. Drive defensively and expect the car next to you to be driven by an idiot-- that way you'll stay safer!

Don't know about sleigh rides, but I think they are easy enough to find at Christmas time.
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If you NEED a 4WD, you shouldn't be on the highway. They're well maintained, and a front WD should be fine.

Not always true, sylvia. Because sometimes you need the 4WD/AWD feature to navigate driveways and side streets, not the highways.
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The driveway thing is true. Been there done that. Otherwise I pretty much agree that a regular front wheel drive is suffiecient. And it is also fine to be on the roads with it in the snow. More times than not, we have left the mountains in a driving snow storm and while the going can be slow, we have never missed a plane. But I do love our 4WD, and when out there I love one also. If you can get one, go for it.

Sylvia is correct. The four wheel will be expensive and you don't need it. Unless you are very experienced with driving four wheel in adverse conditions, it actually will be more dangerous for you to have a 4-wheel. You are just driving to and from Breck. If you were going to spend more time in the mountains and in particular on the high passes. it could be useful. Why did you ask about Silverthorne? Are you planning to stay in that area?

Yes!!! Get a 4WD -- I just did the same trip in January and wound up with a Hyundai Elantra that just couldn't cut it. The weather on I70 can also be very unpredictable -- good driving conditions turned blizzard-like in the blink of an eye. And I can't tell you how many people pushed our car out of slippery spots.

4WD all the way!

It was probably the Elanta. I will standby my earlier comments. A lot of Colorado natives and semi-natives have seen many tourists in the ditch with 4wheel drive. Getting a vehicle with an anti-skid package would be far more useful.

Just curious--"anti-skid package". What is that? On a 4WD?

We've bought several cars, living in Colorado, and have never heard of an "anti-skid" package. Maybe refers to ABS?

We used to get everywhere on front-wheel drive sedans, but I think they are much lighter weight nowadays. For instance, our '99 Honda Accord has problems in the snowy weather. We'd never take it to the mountains. Could be the tires, too, but they are good all-weather ones that were rated very good in snow and rain.

I'll bet that Elantra was a flyweight car, too. We love our Hyundai Santa Fe for mountain driving. Also have a Volvo XC wagon and a Volvo S60R which are both AWD.

There's a reason most people you see on the mountain roads are driving AWD/4WD.
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We rented the cheapest compact car we could get (it was front wheel drive) and we made it through the pass without any difficulty 1 hours before the road was closed due to snow. It was a bit scary but in the end it's all about the driving, not necessarily the car...

Don't know about anti-skid packages? Where have you been? Maybe I am using the wrong phrase but I thought that is what they called. For several years Consumer Report has recommended it as the first option to buy on a new car. Not cheap -- about a $1000 option. Basically it is the next generation of technology above anti lock brakes. Not sure why it is called anti-skid because it doesn't prevent a skid but if sliding occurs it keeps the vehicle sliding in a straight line and under control instead of fish tailing out of control. We have it on our 02 Toyota. It works great and it has been tested. It lets you break in a nice straight line without spinning around.

Anti-skid sounds cool. We must have it on our newer cars. What will they think of next? Little heaters under your car to melt snow on the pavement as cars go over it...
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