WildPath Transportation is a private, chauffeured car service based in Aspen, Colorado. Most passenger Sprinters in commercial service are rear-wheel drive. Ours — the 11-passenger Sprinter — is all-wheel drive, which is why it runs the Interstate 70 mountain corridor and the Roaring Fork Valley through the winter rather than turning around at the first snow-packed grade.
Last updated: September 16, 2026.
A rear-wheel-drive van puts its driven wheels at the back, under the lightest part of an empty vehicle. Loaded with passengers and luggage that improves, but on a snow-packed climb the physics do not change: the front wheels steer without pulling, and traction is decided by whatever grip the rear axle can find. It is fine on dry pavement and marginal on a Colorado grade in February.
All-wheel drive sends power to all four corners. On the same climb, in the same conditions, that is the difference between a trip that happens and a trip that gets cancelled at the bottom of the hill.
Colorado activates a traction law on the Interstate 70 mountain corridor, and it applies to commercial passenger vehicles the same as private cars: snow tires, mud-and-snow tires, or four-wheel or all-wheel drive, all with adequate tread depth. Our Colorado traction law guide covers the detail.
An all-wheel-drive Sprinter on proper tires satisfies the requirement on its own merits. That is worth knowing when you are booking a February airport run and the forecast is uncertain — the question to ask any operator is not whether they have Sprinters, but whether the one assigned to your trip is all-wheel drive.
Denver to Aspen. Four hours over Vail Pass and through the Eisenhower Tunnel, the stretch where traction law is activated most often. See Denver to Aspen.
Eagle Airport to Aspen. Interstate 70 and Glenwood Canyon, then up Highway 82. See Eagle Airport to Aspen.
Aspen and Snowmass Village local work. Steep resort access roads and unplowed private driveways, which is where all-wheel drive earns its keep at 6am. See Snowmass Village.
For outbound timing in winter conditions, see how early to leave Aspen for a flight.
If you book WildPath Transportation’s 11-passenger Sprinter, yes. All-wheel drive is an option on the Sprinter rather than the standard build, so most chauffeured Sprinters in commercial service are rear-wheel drive. WildPath does not sell or rent vehicles — we drive them, and the 11-passenger van is all-wheel drive.
Yes. All-wheel drive on proper tires handles snow-packed mountain roads well and satisfies Colorado’s traction law on its own merits. The combination that matters is drive type plus tread depth — all-wheel drive on worn tires is not a substitute for either.
An all-wheel-drive Sprinter on proper tires runs Aspen year-round. A rear-wheel-drive van is far more limited once Interstate 70 is snow-packed or traction law is active, and is the most common reason a group’s transfer gets cancelled or downgraded mid-season.
For any Colorado trip between November and April, yes. “We have Sprinters” and “your trip is on an all-wheel-drive Sprinter” are different statements. Ask for the second one.
Related: Sprinter seating and luggage capacity, and Sprinter limo compared to a limo bus and a stretch limousine.
WildPath Transportation runs an all-wheel-drive Mercedes Sprinter and luxury SUVs from Aspen, Colorado. Full fleet detail on our Mercedes Sprinter van service page. Call 720-967-9956 or book online.
