Need vehicle to handle deep snow and slush.

We currently have a 2021 Pilot that we were assured of being capable to handle the 1 1/2 mile of dirt road we must traverse coming to our place. It did ok until reality hit; couldn't get over aa approximate 2" ridge of snow left from the plow and it's ground clearance is insufficient to handle the depth of snow we get.

We are researching models and places to buy that may be conducive to our needs. Thinking about the SR5 Premium or the TRD Off Road Premium. I detest black interior so the SR5 Premium seems more appealing. I don't know if I'd need the locking rear differential as our 2007 worked great without it.

Appreciate any and all words of wit you may give. Thanks.

 

The Limited is honestly best for snow. It has full time 4WD, with the option to switch in to 4hi or 4lo.

Any of the models will work for your driveway situation, but with the Limited, you'll be better off when you get on the street in patchy snow.

The downside to the Limited is the cost, and it just doesn't look as cool as the other models, in many peoples' opinion. It's the more luxury model intended for on-road use.

 

I don't want the 20" wheels. I've seen the dented rims from not having enough sidewall for protection Other features on the Limited are nice, though.

 

My TRD OffRoad handles snow and slush fine. We usually have more than 2" here and I have yet to scraped bottom (my truck is stock with no lift). The 4Runners have around 9.5" clearance. In heavy snow and slush I'm in H4. I've not had to use L4 nor the rear locker for snow/slush - haven't encountered any situation calling for it. It's odd a 2" ridge of snow stopped the Pilot. If Pilot was stuck because all 4 wheels were spinning on ice, having a 4Runner won't help - you'd have to have a least one tire that isn't on ice (and this is where a rear locker or ATRAC on 4Runner could be useful).

 

+1

I love my ORP, but the Limited would be my #1 choice if snow traction was a top priority.

Still, the full time 4wd is superior to all other trims for snow traction. Get the limited, buy some 17" wheels and tires, and sell the 20's.

What tires are on your Pilot? My 4runner was shitty in the snow with the OEM tires.

 

then get some real dedicated winter tires if it snows a lot where you live. My Blizzaks have save me - literally.

 

Lots of vehicles are 'winter/snow capable', I sometimes get awakened by the phone at 1:00 am to plow snow, (my boss has snow plow accounts) until last year I ran a 2 wheel drive S-10 in some conditions that were less than favorable. Sometimes there was lots of pissin' around getting to where I had to be. Then came the ice... like we are getting here in central Wisconsin this morning. The S-10 has NO business on ice trying to get somewhere, ice will put a damper on any vehicle, 4wd or not. While 4wd will be a lot better at snow than 2wd, it can also get you in more trouble, like ditches etc. Back to your original post, I believe the SR5 would be the choice.... if it were me. The added ground clearance over the Pilot would be helpful in your situation, plus carries all the good character of the other models (except no full time 4wd) and most cost efficient. My 2 cents worth. BTW; Welcome from Wisconsin!

 

A set of even basic winter tires makes a huge difference.

It’s not just the tread pattern. Winter tires have a softer rubber compound that keeps them “sticky” in the cold weather.

My partner drives a low RWD convertible year-round, and with a set of winters she’s unstoppable.

All things being equal, my ORP can drive circles around her in bad conditions… but her coup on snows performed so much better than my ORP on the factory Highway tire.

 

Lots of siping on said winter tires also helps the tread to 'look' for places to get traction..Drive on!

 

I can neither agree or disagree with the comments about the limited. Because I have never compared the two. I typically know when I am going to need 4WD and I typically know when I won’t. However the limited does offer all time 4WD. I struggle to get over the pavement princess look on the Limited. That front bumper hangs down WAY lower on that vehicle than any other trim (not good if fighting higher snow).

Note. If your biggest issue is traversing the dirt road to your property then say no more. I would go with the SR5 Premium. I keep my 4WD on high if on the Main Streets with snow and ice on it. If I hit gravel and I am going straight I still keep it in 4WD. But once I am on asphalt I turn 4WD back off if turning (usually I know where I am headed).

Anyways here is my SR5 Premium. I got stopped because the snow was as high as my hood in the front and the vehicle is not a snow plow.

 

I am fine with 3PMSF all terrains. The OEM tires were junk. I mentioned it because the OP might have better luck with a new set of tires, rather than buying another vehicle.

I live where it snows a fair amount in winter. But, the roads get plowed, so snow tires aren't a necessity. If I lived somewhere the roads were unmaintained and you're driving on packed snow and ice constantly, I'd have a set of Hakkapeliittas for sure.

And, I might get a set eventually just because I know it would be fun.

True, it's a combination of soft rubber and tons of siping. Neither one is effective without the other.

We put a set of snow tires on my ex's TC and that thing was a beast! It's truly amazing to me how good it was in the snow with those tires.

The real advantage is that the Limited has a center differential. Full time 4wd is definitely nice, but that center diff is the biggest difference, IMO.

 

Welcome from Arizona!

 

@GrantA Couple years I was on pass in New Mexico near the Colorado line my premium 4R was stock to include tires. I got over the pass and heading down the other side about mile and slowly came to a stop. I was pushing snow not quite as high you but close. I wish had taken a pic as I was surprised how well and how far I driven pushing the snow the dueler tires. Luckly I backed upped and was able to turn around and follow my tracks out and over the pass.

 

Get a limited and add a 2" lift and you good.

You can also leverage your 20's for a different set of wheels and add winter tires to that set and switch to a different tire/rim combo for the rest of the year.

 

I wish to thank everyone for their input. The Pilot didn't have issues with the snow until the snow melted some and then refroze. Currently, we have ruts in the frozen snow about 8-9" deep. The Pilot isn't designed for that and we shouldn't have bought it in the first place. I was focused more on the superb gas mileage it has and hoped its lower ground clearance wouldn't be an issue.

My 2007 4runner made it up after a bad plow job with some entertainment in roughly 10-12" of snow. We had Blizzaks on it at the time which definitely helped. Took some doing but she did it.

Today, we made an agreement with the local dealer on any 4runner equipped the way we need at MSRP and they valued our Pilot at $1000 less than what we paid for it. Wifey having ice run through her trailside needs the heated seats and I'd like the premium radio for some of its features. Can't have a moonroof as there's insufficient headroom for me in the passenger seat, and the cargo tray is a no go as our 4 legged children desire a lower height to jump in the back. They had a TRD Off Road premium we would have driven home but it had the sunroof and cargo tray (they would remove the tray but obviously one can't economically remove the moonroof.)

The sales manager came to the house in his TRD Pro to appraise the Pilot. He put it into 4Lo in the bad area and advised us to get good snow tires for next winter when we get our 4runner. That was my plan and Craigslist has many new wheels available thanks to people changing for non Toyota wheels right off. There's a set of 4 TRD Off Road wheels taken off at the dealer when the owner purchased their rig and replaced with after market wheels for $375. It's my plan to purchase them and get me some Blizzaks for next winter. Since we're committed to purchasing a 4runner I'll have fun watching to see what I can get off of Craigslist. I was a day late getting a set of wheels with Blizzaks that had less than 100 miles on them for $500.

Thanks again.

 

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, what tires are on the Pilot?

ANY 4wd or AWD vehicle on snow tires is going to be light years better than a vehicle on all season tires.

I would just hate for you to buy a whole new vehicle only to realize that the tires were the problem.

 

I can't see what the stock tires are exactly: Dueler HP Sport A/S. Again, my problem for the most part wasn't traction but ground clearance. When I tried to back over the little ridge, the tires were not spinning, the rig just stopped and wouldn't do anything. Even after I drove forward and tried to give it a faster try it just stopped without any tire spin.

Not to be insulting to anyone but off road conditions like we have are much different than public roads. I have driven for 54 years but only 15 where we live now. Here we get up to 4' of snow with it warming up and letting some melt and then refreezing. We wind up driving on or over ice ridges and in deep icy ruts. When we get additional snow, there is better traction if the new snow is over a couple of inches. Our Ram hasn't any issues with the Michelin Defenders on it and using 4Lo when required. I could get a second truck for less than a new 4Runner but do not want two trucks.

 

Oh, sorry, I think I misunderstood. The 4Runner can definitely be a beast in the snow with good tires. I just wouldn't expect much with the ones they come with.

 

For onroad trouble free snow driving there is nothing like the Limited. If you don't like 20in wheels I see that you can pick 17in wheels in the accessories section at the end of the build process in toyota.com.

Or else you can always buy 17in wheels and tires yourself and install. That's what I did to my Limited. I have 3pmsf rated Falken Wildpeak AT3W on my wife's Limited.

If you are ok switching to 4wd where there is snow and make sure to switch back to 2wd when road is dry other 4runner trims are good. For my wife that's too much work. She didn't like switching back and forth on the SR5, why she got a Limited. Our Limited got the automatic running boards and 3rd row seats. (Both SR5 and Limited got 3rd row option)

If you want luxury the is GX460 with same full-time 4wd like the Limited but doesn't have ground clearance like a 4runner. GX got fraction better ground clearance (8.1in) than a Highlander(8.0in) but ofcause way better than a Honda Pilot with 7.3in ground clearance. Even the Sienna Woodland minivan got 6.96in of clearance.

Either way going to Toyota you get better reliability and don't have to worry about injector carbon build up like on Honda Pilot as Toyota is not only direct injection. They are equipped with both direct and port injection.

Outside of Toyota world if you don't want a tougher truck like vehicle with 4wd you can also look at something like Subaru Ascent that has a good AWD system and very good ground clearance of 8.7in. There are many Subaru here in CO probably due to its ground clearance, awd system and better mpg.

Our Limited with 17in TRD Offroad wheels-

 

I concur. I live in an area where the snow/ice/wet areas are very patchy. So driving around running errands and pulling in and out of parking lots is annoying with my vehicle having to manually put it in and out of 4WD and wheel locking up on tight turns. I’m definitely trading mine in for a limited in the next year.
Only con is it’s a Limited, price, tires and style aren’t to my liking

 

Get a 100 series Land Cruiser or GX. AWD all the time. Like my truck.

 

It's probably cheaper just to get a set of winter tires than buying a new vehicle.

 

Limited, SR5 and ORP will all perform the same in the snow, it's your tires that make the biggest difference. So don't buy a 4Runner and keep stock tires and expect it to do much better than your Pilot. Think the Pilot has AWD too, not really great system.

 

Pull the trigger on the SR5P and do a tire swap to Defenders or whatever, then your golden. Welcome to the forum.

 

Micheline Defenders for snow conditions????

 

From what I see Pilot has one of the worst ground clearance in the segment. 7.3in. Outside of snow topic I see 2016+ Pilots having so many problems, lucky I have 2nd hand experience with reliability issues to put it in not to buy list.

Even vehicles like Toyota Highlander and Lexus GX460 doesn't have good ground clearance either. 8in.

Why I love the 4Runner here in CO with 9.6in ground clearance.