Best trim for dirt roads and snow

We are in the market for our first 4Runner. The county decided it would be a good idea to rip out the county road we live on and lessen some curves, so for the next year and a half we will be driving 8-10 miles (each way) on gravel/dirt, everytime we leave the house, which is a lot- I have 3 very active boys who play sports. anyway- we get a lot of snow too, and the drifts get huge out here. So I was thinking limited for the all the time 4wd for the snow- we travel a lot to hockey rinks in all winter conditions ice, deep snow, etc in the winter. However will the limited be ok getting covered in dirt from the gravel/dirt roads? Or would I be better off with am Off Road trim more designed to get dirty? Thank you!

 

Limited

Non of the trims are more designed to get dirty, they all have Toyotas notoriously shitty paint. Don’t buy white.

 

+1 for the Limited.

It's the only trim with full-time four-wheel drive, which is a major advantage in snowy climates.

 

That is what I think too. Our Limited is the best winter vehicle to my family taste.

However we did not like the factory wheel size and tire. Right now I have 17in TRD Offroad wheels with A/T tires with 3 peak mountain snow flake rating.

You could try Off Road trim but my wife cannot use the 4wd shifter. On trips / dirt roads I shift for her sitting on the passenger seat. With Limited I just sit back and relax. Even smaller tech like DAC (down hill assist control) I thought its useless but I was surprised how good it is on a slippery offroad downhill. Of cause everyone loves A-trac.

 

Great question and welcome to the group! I have two 4Runners - a 22 Limited AWD/4WD (which is my wife's) and a 21 Venture (which is mine and shown in the picture).

About the Limited, keep in mind that despite the luxury appointments and exterior bling, it has 100% 4Runner DNA and is tough as nails and will serve you well on gravel, mud and light recreational off-roading. The full-time AWD is amazing. It is exactly the same drive system as the Lexus GX. My wife loves it. We actually looked at the GX and just didn't like the body style at all. Our Limited is white pearl and is just beautiful.

We live in a rural area on the Texas / Oklahoma border and have lots of roads we need to travel (including our long driveway) that are gravel or dirt (and mud when it rains). The Limited is more sure-footed on those with its AWD system vs. the Venture in 2WD. I can always put the Venture in 4WD-High, but for short hops through mud I usually just leave in 2WD and waller through. The takeaway here is that our Limited takes all of that guesswork and shifting into/out-of 4WD off the table. BTW, there is no noticeable difference in gas mileage between our Limited and our Venture.

I will say that when we go deep into the trails or into the sand on our beach we do take the Venture, but for anything other than the really deep sand, I am confident that the Limited would have no trouble.

You will not be disappointed in the Limited. It's also a great road vehicle with the really-nice JBL audio, dual climate controls, memory seats and other nice features that make it a pleasure as an everyday driver.

Good luck!!!!
Brad

 

Limited for sure.

 

I like white.

 

Any will do but the Limited is more prepared for snow situations with full time 4wd. It's also the most expensive and not the best looking.

 

Yeah - from your description I would go with the Limited. I recently replaced my everyday driver 2010 Tacoma TRD Sport with a 4Runner Limited. Love the full time 4WD. Was not a huge problem to switch into 4WD with the Tacoma - but here in mid-MO where I live it is typical to get snow, sometimes heavy snow, that ends up staying longer in some places than others. Main roads and highways might get cleared pretty quickly - but backroads, subdivisions, parking lots may stay snow packed for some time. So you end up needing to switch in and out of 4WD frequently. But with the full time 4WD in the Limited - no worries about that. And with the big snow drifts you describe - if you need to lock the center differential, put it in L4L, and turn on ATRAC you can pull yourself out of some deep stuff if needed. The Limited will handle muddy gravel/dirt roads - no problem. If you get hung up in a mud hole in full time H4H - dial in L4L, turn on the ATRAC and you'll pull yourself out of a lot of situations that other vehicles could not. The part time 4WD systems in the other 4Runner trim levels wouldn't necessarily be any better or worse in these type of situations - but the Off Road and PRO trims would definitely have better tires for getting out of the deep stuff. The 20" wheels/tires that come on the Limited trim are definitely intended to stay on pavement most of the time - but they can handle snowy roads and wet dirt/gravel roads. If you intend to go rock crawling or drive through mud bogs - there are better trim levels for that - but with a lift and more off-road suited wheels/tires you could take a Limited just about anywhere.

 

White looks great, but it’s Toyotas most troublesome paint. They recently did a warranty extension for white paint on a bunch of different models because it was flaking off on so many different vehicles.

 

I think of OP as she stated "we travel a lot to hockey rinks in all winter conditions ice, deep snow, etc in the winter.", there is a big ground clearance gap between GX460 and 4R Limited might be a deal breaker for deep snow. 9.6 on the 4Runner vs 8.1 on GX which is about the same as a Highlander.
Also Limited comes standard with full fuel tank skid along with front skids vs not on GX460.
And few other features where 4R Limited took the ticket for my family vs GX460.

 

Yes I heard about that. It figures, I have a nack for choosing the most troublesome paint on every vehicle I’ve ever had.
So far after 4.5 years, paint has held up well.

 

Agree as an owner of 21 White runner, I have accumulated more general road chips that my 10 years Tundra. White paint very thin and even bettle has chipped paint.

 

I thought the "blizzard pearl" white on the limited was better than the single stage white that is on the other trims.

 

Agent_Outside is there something for newer models, as the articles I have read only go up to certain years (2015) being the latest.

 

As time goes on and their paint still doesn't last they have updated it. It's up to 2019 model years currently.
https://www.larrymillertoyota.com/bodyshop/toyota-paint-peoria-az.htm

 

Welcome, where are you located ? Doubtful a T4R will give enough comfortable space for 3 growing hockey boys and their gear bags and equipment, Sequoia or a Lexus LX might be a better option

 

But remember new Sequoia and Lexus LX is more BMWish than Toyota if you look at the engine design. Personally for me they both are out of my list.

 

Another vote for Limited. You want full-time 4WD with the Torsen limited slip differential and not the part-time 4WD stuff. So if not the Limited, buy a used 200 series Land Cruiser. Amazing full-time 4WD and build quality.

 

Any of the 4Runner trims in 4WD will work. If you're concerned about when to put it in 4WD vs 2WD, then I would go with the other suggestions of the Limited trim. Just make sure to get a dedicated winter wheel/ tire setup. Studless or studded will really depend on your location and how much ice you'll have on a regular basis.

 

I love the new Sequoia except the lack of useable cargo space. We currently have a 2020 Escalade ESV and and 2020 Prius Prime, we have had Yukon XL’s and Escalade ESV’s for the past 20
Years. The last two, though covered under warranty, have spent more time than Id like in service, with the transmission going out on one before we hit 20k miles and the one we have now had a engine issue making us have to search for a service department in the middle of no where enroute to a tournament. We thankfully made it to the tournament in a loaner thanks to a great service manager, but it was so stressful. Truck only has 27k miles on it and keeps having issues. Ive been wanting something more reliable and something smaller my almost 16 year old could drive if needed in bad weather. Everything I read leads me to the 4runner. But your right, it is a lot smaller in both cargo and passenger space. If one of the boys wants to bring a friend we wouldn’t have the space if all of us were together. However we probably wouldn’t break down like in the Escalade

Would like to size down some but need cargo area for equipment, sticks, dogs, dog food-haha. We use the cargo space a lot. Its a tough call. The Prius Prime has been absolutely perfect. Not one issue. We drive her spring, summer and fall everywhere and have nearly 80k miles on her. We rarely drive the Escalade except in the winter, or if we need the extra space.

 

Another vote for a Limited. I have two Limited's and two TRD ORP's.
The Limited is the best choice because of it's fulltime 4wd system.
As another member mentioned dump the 20" wheels and pick-up a set of Standard TRD wheels - cheap to find and a great wheel.
The single stage white paint on my TRD is very prone to rock chips.
The tri-stage paint on a Limited is much better but much more expensive to repair.
For me the best color has been the silver on my 2019 Limited.
I would also consider a high quality ceramic coating.

 

Does the dealership offer ceramic coating, or where do you have that done. Ive been reading about it a bit and It sounds like a good idea. Our Prius Prime paint could have used that for more protection, shes super sonic red, but like others have said, the paint chips easily.

 

You should get the limited, the all wheel drive system on the limited will be better. If not, then any trim would be fine.

 

A good cargo carrier on the roof for those boys to put their hockey gear in.

 

Everyone is saying Limited. Well I actually have a Limited, and I say...

Yeah, get the Limited

Srsly all the trims are great but the Limited is the no-brainer choice for your situation.

 

How is the Limited the most expensive 4R? Did they discontinue the TRD Pro?

 

Oh yeah. I forgot about the Pro Bro. It's the less important one of the offerings.

 

You could buy a magnetic gray, which I think is a great color btw, however it blends in with the road (especially asphalt) so someone in a hurry does not see you early in the morning or late in the afternoon and pulls out in front of you. Ask me how I know. Go with a color that is easily seen and does not blend with the road is my advice.

 

I was thinking TRD Pro is way more expensive too. But if not for that $1000 discount looks like they both are pretty close in pricing, around $55K.

(Edit - Note that I picked 4WD 3rd row with automatic running boards for the Limited, not the basic 2wd)