Winter tires urged for fuel-efficient automobiles

Q: I just endured a drive of 2 1/2 hours for an 11-mile commute due to nasty ice that formed on the pavement after a easly 2-inch snowfall. Nearly one hour was spent watching three different electric or hybrid subcompact cars with high-mileage tires try to make it up a hill. All kept trying and all failed. Each had to eventually slide down the hill to take another route. Would you do all snow belt cities a huge favor and let people with highmileage tires know they really, really need a set of snow tires for the winter? — K.J., Minneapolis

A: Life is full of compromises. Want good cornering and performance? Give up some tread life. Want efficiency and fuel economy? Give up winter traction.

“As a group, electric and hybrid vehicles are by design hyperfocused on efficiency, and anecdotally their original equipment tires bring along the largest trade-offs in traction and wear life. But they are not alone. Many vehicle manufacturers are making real gains in efficiency with their fossil fuel-powered vehicles. The tire is doing its part in this equation, too, and I expect to see a growing number of these vehicles struggling to get up that icy hill on their OEM tires too. In the end, we all benefit if we all have better traction in wintertime. Better traffic flow, fewer accidents, less stress while driving. Let’s hope more people find their way to good winter tires,” says Woody Rogers, director of tire information at Tire Rack. Bob Weber is a writer and mechanic who became an ASE-certified Master Automobile Technician in 1976.