Any suggestions for a car for ice and snow?

My daughter may be moving to the Northeast part of the country next year. We live in Texas and she's never driven on anything slicker than a wet road. We're going to replace her car before she goes and I'm looking for ideas on a good 4WD Toyota. My first thought is a 4WD Rav 4. Does anyone have other suggestions?

 

RAV4. A used 4Runner. Or a Subaru?

 

Subaru, it has safety features from another planet.
I believe it's built on the same line as the Camry... does Camry have AWD yet?

 

Subaru all the way. Can't beat the fullftime awd. My wife's Subaru with all season tires destroys the snow. Would be an absolute beast with snow tires.

 

Wife has a 2005 Subaru Forester. Awesome car in the snow.

 

Subaru Forester all the way!

 

I believe Toyota owns 20% of Subaru, btw.

Anyway, yeah, an AWD Subaru: as someone else said, safety features are unmatched; and they are highly reliable, not to mention affordable.

 

Where is she going Randy?
My wife has a Subaru Legacy and loves it and gets about 25+/- mpg.

 

Thanks for all the responses!

Price point is a bit of a question, we're saving now and may use that as a down payment. It'll cover the majority of the cost and financing the rest would be easy. I'll definitely look into Subaru, I had one in the early 80's and it was great. Looks like reliability has been maintained.

 

She's not sure. She wants to branch out and get away from the Texas heat.

 

Subaru or 4Runner

 

Any of the small awd cars or crossovers are fine, just make sure she gets snow tires for the winter

 

Well, other than my tundra, I have three Subaru's.

 

We bought our daughter a Rav 4 adventure and so far it’s been perfect for her. Perfect size and it drives great

 

Stay away from New York, way too expensive and cold. I plan on leaving in 3 years .

 

I'm afraid she'd have way too much fun in one of those. I know I would.

 

We had a 2014 Forester. It was great in snow but that was it - unfortunately it was a disaster. It would burn 1 quart of oil every 500 miles. Head gasket issues, and a bunch of electrical issues and some other suspension components wore out prematurely. Despite a class action for the oil consumption issues, mine wasn’t part of it and Subaru would do anything to help me out. They actually told me to travel at all time with 2 spare quarts of oil in the vehicle.

An uncle has a 2012 Forester and is having the oil consumption issues too.

A friend has a 2016 Outback and it also has a ton of electrical issues and oil consumption problems too.

If you do some digging, some of the Subaru models have scored poorly in reliability recently. I was surprised because I assumed - which is a reason we bought it - Subaru’s were bullet proof.

Learned our lesson straying from the Yota family.

 

Good advice for any vehicle.

But to be fair, I the newest subaru I own is a 2004. I'm not sure I would want any of the current gen ones.

 

I’ll add to the Subaru recommendations. My wife got a ‘19 Crosstrek last fall and it’s amazing in the snow and mixed conditions. Excellent safety features and 33 mpg. The Eyesight system saved my ass once when I fell asleep on a long trip- it’s worth every cent.

We originally wanted a 4Runner but decided she needed the Limited for the full-time 4WD. Remembering to shift into 4WD before you need it is key- forget and hit the gas on a freeway entrance and the rear can come around on you quick if you’re not prepared for it. The Subaru ended up being a better option as we needed at least one vehicle that gets decent fuel mileage. Good luck with your search!

 

Toyota Sienna AWD with Bridgestone Driveguards.

When driving in snow or slush give a good distance away from the car in front of you like at least a car length back. No tailgating

Anticipate the guy in front might brake hard.

Welcome to the northeast!

 

Have you heard about the Toyota Tundra?

 

Anything AWD would be fine, if budget is an issue the Mitsubishi Outlanders start brand new at 20k.

 

I live in Syracuse NY. We get plenty of lake effect snow. I’ve driven front, rear, awd and 4wd vehicles. It’s all about tires. Any vehicle will work with snow tires. Unlike mud, the issue with driving in snow and ice is the ability to stop and turn. Awd and 4wd doesn’t help you do either. An awd with snow tires would be the best. But if it were one or the other, I’d go with snow tires.

 

You’re right, safety rating and reliability factored in, get a Rav4 and Blizzacks.

 

Get her a used Rav4 100%. Or if she wants a car get a used 2013 Audi A4 or Q5. Quattro is amazing in the snow. My Audi A4 crossed the Sierra Pass from Reno to Sacramento "under caution and not recommenced by NHP/CHP". The only other vehicles on the road were HD trucks. Seriously sick on the road

 

Let me just add a consideration to your list. Height. One of the issues living in snow country is the plows always dump a berm of snow across the bottom of your driveway.
I drove a Z3 with snow tires as my CT winter car for several years - no problems until I tried to get home. Always had to stop in the road & dig out a hole to get into the driveway - & those plow droppings are heavy! Now I have a Prius which with low weight & narrow tires does great in the snow, but also can't get in the driveway after the plow passes.
So many SUV's up here, tall with snow tires is never a bad option.

 

@Randy Morton I know this isn't the best answer for MPG's, but in my opinion bigger is better. Obviously the cost goes up from a RAV4 to a Highlander or 4Runner, up more for a Sequoia.

Any of those would be my pick.

I think bigger is often safer. I also think having good tires and staying off slick roads when it's not necessary is big. I know there are times you can't avoid it, but they are a disaster waiting to happen.

Also I would make sure you buy it down there before shes moves. Buying used vehicles in the NE is a game of rust hunt.

If it ends up being PA let me know!