Winter driving
Edmonton, Alberta....7 months of ice and snow made me decide "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" so off I went and sold my beloved 2001 camry and bought a brand new Rav 4 Sport V6 this past July. I've never driven an SUV before this and a couple of things concern me in terms of what to expect when driving in winter conditions. The accelerator is extremely sensitive and the weight of the vehicle makes me wonder how it will respond on winter roads. Could someone please give me some advice on the following concerns: (a) would you normally drive the Rav 4 in "drive" on icy roads or would you use a lower gear with better engine breaking capability?; (b) should I just let the computer do it's own thing in terms of the traction control, vehicle stability control, 4WD etc or should I be switching to manual 4WD and if so when?; (c) what other adjustments should I perhaps consider making in terms of the vehicle's automatic road/condition sensors? d) when would you use the downhill assist button and is that safe to do on icy roads? (e) should I be buying winter tires?
Thank you!!