Trail or Limited for snow on city roads

Out of curiosity, why is this deleted? I find it to be a very useful feature.

It is deleted from the LIMITED in favour of the REAR-VIEW CAMERA.
In the quote provided by Toyota Canada it shows all options available for SR5, Trail Edition, Limited and Limited with NAVI.
In the case of the Limited with NAVI the deleted option is replaced with the "HIGHER END" option of Rear Camera.

I guess.
 
Thanks moonpath. I have the same question for you as I mentioned previously. If I don't mind putting it into 4 when I see snow (it's usually either snowy or not here, for the most part), am I better off in part time 4 than full time?
No, you are not better off with part-time. If you lock the center diff on the Limited, then it behaves just like a part-time in 4WD -- the front and rear driveshafts turn at the same speed. The fulltime 4WD system has all the capability of a part-time 4WD, plus more.

Also, there is a lot of talk on this forum about making sure your truck is OUT of 4 when on dry surfaces. I never knew that and was never really concerned about it on my Xterra. Is this a big deal?
It can be.
 
I really enjoy my limited. And it frustrates my husband, when I can pull out of the driveway, and tool around town and not touch a thing, when he's spinning tires and sliding around in our diesel. I dont miss having to pull a lever or remember to stop and turn it back out when I'm done. I've found it works awesome in all forms of weather, the only thing I have not encountered so far is heavy ice...which i'm sure I will when we make the trek home to WA to visit my family early next year.
 
Monday night we ventured out into what became the first horrible storm of the season in Western Washington, with the traffic jam on I-5 making national headlines, heading east on I-90 up to Alpental/Snoqualmie Pass. Our excuse was learning how to handle the TE in storm conditions but really, we just wanted to let our puppy play in the fresh powder before the ski lifts opened for the winter.

We passed the snowplows 14 miles from the summit. Unbeknown to us, they closed the highway after we had passed the last exit, 5 miles from the summit. Prior to that it was merely a traction tire/chains requirement, which meant we were fine with the Duratracs. Two miles from the top, visibility was maybe 500 feet and as we came around the last bend to our exit we were met with a highway filled with big rigs that had tried to cross without chains (or been caught by surprise) and were now stuck. They had a grader coming down the exit ramp as we picked our way through traffic which made me ponder the wisdom of continuing, but the road to Alpental was mostly 18" of fresh powder over a packed based of 3"... and the tracks of other vehicles guided me to the parking lot at the base of the ski run.

The point of all this is that we went up and down the mountain, on roads that had been closed due to the horrid weather, through an area that was quickly becoming an ice rink, and we never once lost traction. Not even so much as a warning beep from the ATRAC. I was very impressed with this truck's performance. Trail edition, E-rated Duratracs (44 psi), 45-60 mph on I-90, 20-35 mph on the side streets, in 4WD Hi, no lift. Wootness!
 
yea i'm wondering how badly my folks are digging themselves out right now. we live in rural WA, and I doubt the county decided to go out to clear roads until it all stopped.
 
Maybe I missed it, but the SR5 with upgrade package would more than suit your needs in Toronto if you never go off road — and even if you did go off road for that matter. The Canadian SR5s look a lot like the Trail, but do not have factory Nav (but so what, buy a Garmin or whatever and save the $2,000).

There are other differences between the SR5 and Limited, such as the LTD's full-time AWD as mentioned in above posts (and yes, sonar is deleted in LTD) as well as X-REAS suspension and interior enhancements, most notably the optitron guages and kick-ass stereo.

What the SR5 gives you is the look of a TE with about 75 per cent of the TE's capabilities but at a significantly lower price than the Limited.

Click here to read about the Canadian winter test of the 4Runner SR5.

And good luck!
 
Monday night we ventured out into what became the first horrible storm of the season in Western Washington, with the traffic jam on I-5 making national headlines, heading east on I-90 up to Alpental/Snoqualmie Pass. Our excuse was learning how to handle the TE in storm conditions but really, we just wanted to let our puppy play in the fresh powder before the ski lifts opened for the winter.

We passed the snowplows 14 miles from the summit. Unbeknown to us, they closed the highway after we had passed the last exit, 5 miles from the summit. Prior to that it was merely a traction tire/chains requirement, which meant we were fine with the Duratracs. Two miles from the top, visibility was maybe 500 feet and as we came around the last bend to our exit we were met with a highway filled with big rigs that had tried to cross without chains (or been caught by surprise) and were now stuck. They had a grader coming down the exit ramp as we picked our way through traffic which made me ponder the wisdom of continuing, but the road to Alpental was mostly 18" of fresh powder over a packed based of 3"... and the tracks of other vehicles guided me to the parking lot at the base of the ski run.

The point of all this is that we went up and down the mountain, on roads that had been closed due to the horrid weather, through an area that was quickly becoming an ice rink, and we never once lost traction. Not even so much as a warning beep from the ATRAC. I was very impressed with this truck's performance. Trail edition, E-rated Duratracs (44 psi), 45-60 mph on I-90, 20-35 mph on the side streets, in 4WD Hi, no lift. Wootness!
nice report. sounds like fun to me!
 
Maybe I missed it, but the SR5 with upgrade package would more than suit your needs in Toronto if you never go off road — and even if you did go off road for that matter. The Canadian SR5s look a lot like the Trail, but do not have factory Nav (but so what, buy a Garmin or whatever and save the $2,000).

There are other differences between the SR5 and Limited, such as the LTD's full-time AWD as mentioned in above posts (and yes, sonar is deleted in LTD) as well as X-REAS suspension and interior enhancements, most notably the optitron guages and kick-ass stereo.

What the SR5 gives you is the look of a TE with about 75 per cent of the TE's capabilities but at a significantly lower price than the Limited.

Click here to read about the Canadian winter test of the 4Runner SR5.

And good luck!
to the OP: back when i was still looking/pondering, i really enjoyed dekeman's review of the SR5. good stuff.
 
OP, if driving around TO is your concern, a good set of snow tires are a must. either model will get you going around here, but, the way locals drive, stoping/steering a heavy suv becomes a priorty. I've had both FT and PT gearboxes, definatly go with the FT, you can't always slow down to shift into/out of 4wd, ie. highway driving.
If your interested in snows, I can recomend a place at 404/steels that carries Toyota take-offs at good prices. (just a happy customer)
 
What you have to remember is the Limited has the advantage of full time 4WD through the use of the Torsen locking center diff which incorporates limited slip. On dry pavement the diff (not locked) will provide a 30F/70R torque split. As the traction changes the center diff will automatically shift more torque (variable) to the front. The TE/SR5 models do not have this feature. This is a GREAT feature that I can’t believe Toyota would not include in ALL models.

Get the Limited!

Koz
 
I just want to thank you all again for the advice. As mentioned before I am going Limited. As a matter of fact I have gone Limited. It's supposed to arrive on Dec. 8th, meaning I'll probably have it on the 9th or 10th. Hopefully there will be no delay!

For those in Canada, I can tell you, I ended up getting $4,600 off MSRP, which I believe is only about $500 - $600 over invoice. I'm quite happy with the price.

Thank you again to all of you. I will definitely be a permanent visitor of this forum!
 
Monday night we ventured out into what became the first horrible storm of the season in Western Washington, with the traffic jam on I-5 making national headlines, heading east on I-90 up to Alpental/Snoqualmie Pass. Our excuse was learning how to handle the TE in storm conditions but really, we just wanted to let our puppy play in the fresh powder before the ski lifts opened for the winter.

We passed the snowplows 14 miles from the summit. Unbeknown to us, they closed the highway after we had passed the last exit, 5 miles from the summit. Prior to that it was merely a traction tire/chains requirement, which meant we were fine with the Duratracs. Two miles from the top, visibility was maybe 500 feet and as we came around the last bend to our exit we were met with a highway filled with big rigs that had tried to cross without chains (or been caught by surprise) and were now stuck. They had a grader coming down the exit ramp as we picked our way through traffic which made me ponder the wisdom of continuing, but the road to Alpental was mostly 18" of fresh powder over a packed based of 3"... and the tracks of other vehicles guided me to the parking lot at the base of the ski run.

The point of all this is that we went up and down the mountain, on roads that had been closed due to the horrid weather, through an area that was quickly becoming an ice rink, and we never once lost traction. Not even so much as a warning beep from the ATRAC. I was very impressed with this truck's performance. Trail edition, E-rated Duratracs (44 psi), 45-60 mph on I-90, 20-35 mph on the side streets, in 4WD Hi, no lift. Wootness!

Horrible Storm? Please, I heard Seattle got an inch or two of snow and the entire city shut down due to peoples stupidity. I grew up in Seattle, and never understood why people in their BMW's would try and drive up Capital Hill...
 
Horrible Storm? Please, I heard Seattle got an inch or two of snow and the entire city shut down due to peoples stupidity. I grew up in Seattle, and never understood why people in their BMW's would try and drive up Capital Hill...
I never understood why people who grew up in Seattle have to talk smack on the internet but won't bother reading the link to the national news story and totally fail to comprehend that I never once talked about Seattle's roads or Capital Hill.

But thanks for chiming in and happy holidays, Jeeper.
 
Good job on your purchase. You'll love the LE. And good work on the price, most Canadian dealers wouldn't have budged that much, but maybe Toyota is getting nervous, their sales were down 26.6 per cent in Nov (though 4Runner is selling well.)

What dealer did you buy from, if you don't mind me asking? And if you financed, what rate did you get?

Oh, and don't forget to post pics!
 
This is my first post here. In the market for a 4Runner.
Thanks to all for all the great info on this board. Was going to post with a number of questions but most have been answered through searching of various threads.

For the Trail vs. Limited question, I fall more in the group of not needing true off road and from the posts above, seems like people would suggest Limited, although I really love the Trail look.

My question is: Limited with the FT 4wd clearly seems to better for normal mixed bad weather driving (I live in Philly where a few inches is typically what we would get a a lot of mixed stuff).

That being said, is the Trail in 2wd still a very good option in its handling in wintry conditions (without switching between 4wd, where most of the time the conditions wouldnt be that bad to allow it)? And how much does the answer change with and without the KDSS?

Appreciate the feedback.
 

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