When it comes to traveling in the snow, you need a vehicle that’s designed to handle the conditions. An all-wheel-drive SUV is certainly recommended, but not all of them handle snow very well. One vehicle stands out as a perfect choice: the Toyota RAV4. 

U.S. News recently compiled a list of the best SUVs to buy for winter driving. Here’s what makes the RAV4 a pro in the snow. 

What features you can expect with the RAV4

The Toyota RAV4, a compact SUV, earned U.S. News’ 2020 Best SUV for Families award. With all the family-friendly features it comes with, it’s no surprise it’s a winner in this category. 

One of the best features of the RAV4 is the spaciousness of the cabin. There’s a ton of room, not only for passengers but also for cargo. Whether you’re hauling groceries, shopping bags, or winter gear for a trip, there’s more than enough area to use. 

Toyota also offers some decent safety features as well. The two most useful are the lane-keeping assist and lane-departure warning. These features will alert you if the SUV is drifting out of the lane or going off the road. 

What makes the Toyota RAV4 a pro in the snow?

The Toyota RAV4 boasts the Multi-Terrain Select driving feature, which allows you to change the way you drive. You can select modes for dirt, mud, rock, sand, and snowy surfaces. Each one will adapt to the type of road or path you’re driving on. 

If you run into some bigger snowdrifts along the way, the Toyota RAV4 can handle them nicely. With the upper trim levels, ground clearance for the SUV frame is 8.6-inches. Add to that all-terrain tires, and the RAV4 can tackle snow without losing much grip on the road. 

Another feature that will help you travel on snow-covered paths is the hill descent control, known in Toyota’s terms as Downhill Assist. This allows you to descend a hill at a consistently low speed while you concentrate on steering. 

For the interior, Toyota offers heated front seats to keep you warm when it’s cold outside. To help your hands stay warm, you can also opt for a heated steering wheel. 

What are the performance specs for the Toyota RAV4?

Powering it up is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 203 hp. This is the only motor option on the Toyota RAV4. Paired with the engine is an eight-speed automatic transmission, which gives this SUV enough power to handle clear and snow-covered roads alike. 

When it comes to gas mileage, the RAV4 excels, U.S. News reports. It gets 28 mpg on city roads and 35 mpg on the highway. If you choose AWD, you can still get up to 27 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway. The off-road package gets 32 on highway roads. 

Pricing for this sport utility vehicle is pretty average. The base trim is $26,050, which is probably the best value you can get because it comes with a decent number of features for the price. The upper trims can go as high as $34,600, and the off-road version comes in around $35,700.

The Toyota RAV4 is the perfect choice when it comes to traveling on snow-covered roads. If you go for one of the upper trims, you get plenty of ground clearance and road grip, as well as Toyota’s safety suite of features.