How does your 3rd gen handle driving in snow?

We recently moved to Montana and are experiencing our first winter driving in the snow. My wife has a 2016 limited 4Runner and the 4wd system is amazing. I on the other hand drive a 3/4 ton Chevy 4x4 Duramax and it's not nearly as capable. My question is how do the the Tacomas do in the snow? How would you compare it to other vehicles that you have driven in the snow?

 

With the right tires they do just fine. I run direction snows. Hankook

 

Even with stock tires I thought it drove really well. For long term use I would at least upgrade to a better snow tire.

 

Here, it was the end of days. Panic was rampant. We were desperate to get off the road and to our secure bunker.

That 1/4" dusting almost killed us!







Did I mention that the locals can't drive in rain or snow? Central Texas is not known for skilled inclement weather drivers.

 

and that is a fact!

most can't hardly drive on tarmac either but that's not specific to Texas, just specific to everywhere outside Finland.

 

Been where you are. We were stationed there for 3 years. Took some getting use to. Had aTundra and Rav 4 while we were there. I used 4 wheel drive more in those 3 years than I had in all my time in the south it seemed like. Take it easy, think about 15 seconds down the road and look other for the other assholes that think they can drive 900 MPH on slick stuff.

 

My Tacoma is great in the snow. I run studless snow tires and stay in 2wd 98% of the time. The only thing that gives me problems is when my driveway turns into a sheet of ice and then it rains on top of that, but any vehicle would have trouble with that.

 

I was up in MT for a few snows back in early May with my Michelin LTX Defender M/S and was pleased. Overall, what I notice that is different from my full-size 4x4 days is that the smaller spread front to back and side to side helps all things dealing with traction.

 

A Duramax Chevy makes sooooo much torque down low it can a handful in any low traction scenario even with great snow tires. The Taco is not overly afflicted with ft/lbs - so it's really easy to modulate in slippery conditions. I've got an M/T too so holding a gear on a downhill or a little extra slow slip to get going on ice and so on is not an issue.

I will say that the software that manages the brakes in the traction control needs a volume knob so you can turn it down. It's very pestery when you are trying to amuse yourself and it keeps straightening the truck out. Even if you turn it off it comes back on at somewhere around 30mph all by itself and ruins the potential fora sweet world rally 180. Basically - the Taco is great in the snow but it ruins half the fun of driving in the snow in the process.

 

Absolutely. It's all about what's in contact with the snow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E81E3p-GWOM

 

Stock tires with 18k on em and this truck is solid in the snow, new tires were obviously better last winter. These last two little snow storms ~8" I rarely used 4wd.

 

Had mine out a couple times so far on the stock tires, did just fine except I find the ABS to be a bit too aggressive

 

I'm looking to trade this Duramax after the first of the year. Judging by how good the 4Runner performs, I'm thing the Tacoma would be better than a full size truck, even a 1/2 ton.

 

Stock tires just OK, I put a set of Coopers AT3 and much better !!

 

Double cabs are great in the snow. I'm coming from an '02 access cab, which could get a little sketchy with the light bed. The bigger cab has more weight over the real axle and I find it's solid and predictable in the snow. Agree with what others have said, wish there was a way to turn off all electronic interference when you want to have some real fun during a big snow, but overall the Tacoma is a very capable truck in the snow if you have good tires on it. I thought the Open Country A30's that came on mine weren't even half bad in the snow, though I swapped them out for KO2s a month ago.

 

im gonna try to get one more season out of my OEMs before i get snows....last year they were absolutely fine. I drove up to vt during a blizzard one night at 11pm last year and was in 2wd 85% of the time with no problem.

 

Welcome to MT!
Tacoma is great in snow. My old 1st gen was good if the tires were good. BFG AT KO's were good, Cooper AT3's were better, but still used 4wd often. I have Blizzak DMV2's on the 2018 DCLB and it is AMAZING! almost never need 4wd unless it is steep and slick. I don't have any weight in the back, but I'm betting if I put about 200lbs back there with the snow tires you'd almost never slip.

After spending the last 15 years living in snow country (Colorado, North Idaho, and now Montana); I'm a firm believer in a dedicated snow tire. Sure you might be able to get by with a good AT, but nothing compares to a dedicated winter tire.

 

Here in Manitoba I have been doing just fine with my stock all season Toyo tires. I got stuck once in a Park, 4x4 got me outta there very quickly. I know if I had more aggressive tires (I’m still working on getting) I probably would have been fine in 2wd. But so far no issues

 

I'm pretty sure you can yurn off the traction aids by holding down one of the traction control buttons for like 5 seconds and it turns off completely, but don't quote me on that. Think i saw a video on YouTube showing it as well.

 

You can, but over 25mph they turn back on.