weinkaufjr

New guy here from the RX forum. My awd RX has be great but I am interested in a new ski vehicle. I spend some time at Lake Tahoe during ski season, traveling from the SF bay area to Lake Tahoe, about 180 miles. Want to be comfortable and not use chains. Looking for input on awd RC in moderate snowy conditions.

Infrared

Hey there weinkaufjr, I drive my RC350 AWD F-Sport in the snow here in Colorado and it does pretty well.

Tires make all the difference, however, even with AWD. If you like stopping and turning anyway I have the stock tires which here are an all season I think. If you're going to be traveling any sort of distance in snow, in traffic, through Donner Pass or that area, I would say snow tires and the AWD RC are a solid combination.

It helps that the car weighs 4,000 lbs.

toyotatom

Just remember the ground clearance on the RC is a lot less than the RX and if expect snow more than 4 or 5" you might want to stick with the RX, especially on a trip that long.

SW17LS

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the GS, IS & RC all use the same AWD system. My GS truly surprised me with how good it is in the snow. I would say with snow depth less than 4 inches, I actually think the GS is more stable in the snow than my Jeep.

My concern about driving it to say Lake Tahoe would be deep snow.

weinkaufjr

Thanks for the feedback. The roads are plowed pretty regularly so unplowed snow over a few inches is rare in the places I go. Usually just enough snow that the highway dept requires chains to be put on but if you have awd with M+S tires you are good to go without chains. Donner Summit in a storm is an interesting drive.

Limited availability of awd vehicles but I drove a rwd yesterday and liked it. I have a print out on a awd vehicle that I am considering but have not had the opportunity to get a firsthand look at it. When the tires are indicated as “All season Tires” do they have the M+S designation? Its a 19 " tire if that matters. (235/40r19)

SW17LS

Yes, they are M&S tires.

weinkaufjr

I appreciate the confirmation. The M+S on my RX are pretty mild but have worked well for my purposes.

SW17LS

They're going to be mild.

GregCanada

M&S tires are most definitely not snow tires. I would get proper snows for the winter time - the traction / performance compared to all seasons is incredible.

SW17LS

The problem is that if he puts snows on it for his trips skiing he has to drive on snows when he's home in CA and they're actually a detriment to his traction.

Never gets cold enough in the bay area to need winter tires.

Its like wearing ski boots all the time because he goes skiing a few times a winter.

JDR76

I will say that my AWD 3IS handles snow better than my AWD RX, both with stock all seasons. I'd expect the RC to be very close to the IS. My RX is competent, but my IS really impresses.

SW17LS

Much more sophisticated AWD system in the IS than the RX.

weinkaufjr

Pretty much. I am not doing any serious off the road in snow country, just want to satisfy the highway dept check points so I do not have to put on chains - no doubt snow tires would be better if the circumstances were different. Though a couple years ago I woke up with about a foot of new snow on the ground, I was a littler nervous but the M+S on my RX worked fine to drive out.

weinkaufjr

Really glad to hear this.

weinkaufjr

Thanks for giving me a comfort level on this vehicle. I brought home an awd home yesterday. There were only 2 awd in Northern CA. This one is Nebula Gray Pearl with black interior, colors I like and is well equipped. Nice car to drive. About 6.5 inches bottom clearance (2 less than my RX) but I think it will be sufficient for the highway snow amounts I anticipate. With the fold down rear seat I do not see any problem with a couple of pair of skis and gear for two skiers but that would be max. 19 inch tires are marked M+S so I think I am good to go if we ever get any snow, terrible ski season at Lake Tahoe so far this year.