Tacoma for high elevation rockies?

I'm looking to trade my 2009 prius in for something a bit more appropriate to my lifestyle. I'm currently living in the mountains at a high elevation (~10,000 ft) where snow, bad weather, less than pristine roads, etc are common. I also often find myself in remote places with no cell service and poor roads. (One time I got a flat in the middle of nowhere in Moab, Utah. That was fun.) While the prius is a great car for certain things, it doesn't feel safe in the conditions I often find myself in, especially during winter. I grew up in the snowy northeast and even with the best winter tires and my driving experience I've still run into some real scary situations with this car so I think it's time for a change.

The things that I like about the prius would be: its fuel economy (although this wouldn't be a deal breaker for me), it's upgraded JBL stereo that actually sounds great, it's reliability and low maintenance costs.

Things I dislike: winter performance, "off road" performance, it's looks, it's bad visibility on the road, it's A pillars (I think that’s what they are called?) that somehow swallow pedestrians/cars in parking lots until they magically appear when I almost hit them, it's visibility at night (very bad glare from other cars headlights, combined with bad light intensity from its own headlights) and various other things that don't make this anything close to an adventure car. Also I think it’s too small for me. I kind of have to contort my legs when I drive since I can’t keep them in a natural position. On long drives this tends to hurt the inside of my right knee a lot.

I'm looking for a car that can excel in bad weather, can hopefully perform semi well at 10,000 feet, can handle dirt roads (no rock crawling, but fire roads and remote trail roads) has a lot of cargo space, could hopefully sleep in, has a good stereo (pretty important to me), good infotainment system, is safe and is super reliable. Good gas mileage would be a major plus although it's not a deal breaker. I'm also interested in some of the new safety features that some of the new cars have, like pre collision braking and lane keep assist. I think they could be helpful. I'm thinking about newish to new so I want this to last a long time (10-15 years).

I'm 5'10", 165 lbs so I can fit in a lot of cars comfortably, just not a Gen 2 prius.

Cars that are on my short list: 2019/2020 Toyota Tacoma, 2019/2020 4Runner, 2020 Subaru Outback and 2019 Rav4 Hybrid. I've test driven all 4 a couple times and I'm still having a really hard time deciding.

I go back and forth on the Tacoma. Part of me thinks they're badass, another part of me thinks "do I really need a truck?" I've also heard mixed reviews about the newer third generation ones. Some people say they're nice, some people (especially on the 4runner forums) think they're trash.

How is yours as a daily driver? How does it handle serious winter conditions? Do you wish you went with something else? For those of you who didn't really need a truck are you glad you have one? Etc.

 

I have a 19 Tacoma, I like it. However I vote 4runner

 

I also vote 4Runner

 

Honestly based on this at your list I would go Subaru.

I love my Toyota but it’s not great on gas, not that great doing the passes at 10,000 feet but it will perform great offroad and in snow.

That being said, if you don’t need a truck bed, the Subaru has the best AWD on the market which is great for snow, decent ground clearance for offroad and fire trails, has way better gas mileage and gas optional turbo engine which is great for high altitude.

We own both Subaru and Toyota.

 

I also vote 4runner. To get lots of cargo space and sleep in it you'd likely need a shell so at that point you basically already have a 4runner

 

Actually hell yes. The Subaru Crosstrek with the small lift and methods.

 

If high altitudes is an issue get something with a turbo or SC.

 

Get the 4-Runner with a tow hitch and towing package, if you ever need to do "truck stuff" you can pull a trailer.

 

Once you go to a truck, it will be hard to go to anything else. Truck is very handy in many situations.
Definitely vote against Subaru, on the reliability point. It is fun to drive, good visibility, but many Subaru engines have oil consumption issues even early on

 

The old Imprezas to include the one we own (2012, but also has 160,000) does burn some oil buts it’s far from unreliable. By the time it burns anything worth mentioning it’s time to change it anyway. This is 2020 models bro, most of that is resolved.

 

I would take a look at how you feel with selectable 4WD (Tacoma, 4 runner) and a low range gear box plus all the off road goodies like crawl control and down hill assist versus an AWD platform (Subaru) without all that extra stuff that's always there so you don't need to think about engaging it.

Do you feel competent as a gear head to be comfortable knowing when to engage 4-hi, 4-lo, lockers, etc...

 

My dad's 2018 and my wife's 2013 both have oil burning issues. The 2013 needed major engine overhaul, used to burn enough oil to need top up at EVERY gas stop. 2018 so far is better, but seems to be slowly creeping that way. I wouldn't buy another Subaru for that reason.

 

Also, OP was considering a used vehicle, correct?

 

He’s looking at 2019/2020 vehicles to include the 2020 outback...

 

The only thing I can add to this conversation is that my JBL stereo is ok and good enough for me, but there's a hundred audiophiles here who will complain about the tweeters or whatnot. Also, do the 2020s have decent infotainment packages? My '16 is nice to me, but it's not my wife's Acura. When I bought mine, I got all the factory tech and comfort packages, and they're not all that impressive. I don't know what's available in the way of infotainment, but I'd really try to find one and test it out first, especially if it's a dealbreaker for you.

The Tacoma is not on the bleeding edge of tech and comfort... That's not its niche.

 

Just because I'm feeling chatty... I can guarantee that your Prius has more cool computer and tech functions than the Taco. Well, except for the terrain selection/crawl control stuff (OR/Pro models). That is fun in a gimmicky-but-cool sort of way.

 

My dad has a 17 tundra and a 17 Subaru Outback. They really enjoy the Subaru when they go to there house in pagosa springs. AWD, 30+ mpg, comfortable, affordable, dependable. Granted they don’t have dogs to take or any young kids, it works for them.
Personally I think I would need more space, dogs and (future kid (s)) I would do a 4Runner. But for you, might have to vote Subaru

 

I own both a 6speed MT Outback, and an AT DCLB Tacoma. Personally I prefer the Outback to mob around in the snow with. The Tacoma is better fun on the summertime dirt roads, and for those times you really need a truck. Id vote for finding a used Outback with the 6speed MT as they no longer make them, and only have it offered in that Gross CVT! If not, get the Tacoma

 

After watching videos on YouTube about outbacks in snow I'm very happy I didn't buy one. Also, I am very anti cvt trans.

 

If it were me in your situation, 4Runner, something you can keep 20-30 years if you want. Sounds like a Suby fits your needs but I had a manual transmission burn up on my 2002 at under 100k and it costs me almost $5,000 to put in a used one, between that and my good friend's 2010 burning a quart every 1000-1500 miles, I'll only lease one ever again, unless it's a beater.
That said, not sure there's an AWD that can beat the Suby technology, I just couldn't commit tons of money to it. One of the things about your Prius you're spoiled too is little maintenance, 4Runner ftw.