Awd?

wow, where to begin? IL winter like that in AK?? uhm... no. But yes, occasionally you'll get a healthy amount of snow and when that happens, a Prius is NOT good. To low and too light. I know from experience with IN winter two years ago. Could barely get down the unplowed alley.

Jeep... buy used. You're going to lose A LOT of value the moment you drive off the lot. And plan on a large gas budget.. they don't get great mileage. However, you can turn the 4x4 off when not needed and that will help. Jeep was owned by AMC until Chrysler bought them to get the Jeep brand. Has Chrysler increased Jeep's quality?? That's up in the air really. Jeeps are not the best quality vehicle on the road, that's for certain and much of the technology behind them is decades old.

Try a first generation AWD Honda CR-V. Decent mileage, good in snow (I've owned one), very good interior room for the size and Honda reliability. A low mileage used one can be had for under 10k. Or check out the Highlander Hybrid.. though, admittedly, I know nothing about them and don't know if you can get them in 4 wheel drive. Oh.. if you do a CR-V, avoid the 97-98 years.. underpowered. 99 and up had better engine and better transmission.

 

I drove a Jeep Grand Cherokee before getting the Prius, and, while it was a nice ride, I did have a lot of $250 repairs that were somehow not covered under the extended warranty; toward the end of my ownership, the repairs started getting more expensive ($1700+ for new carrier bearings in the differential, for example; out of warranty by that time). I put almost 100K miles on it in 7 years, but was pretty disappointed in the outlay for repairs compared with, say, my Camry, owned over the same period.

If you really need a 4WD, the Jeep is a good choice, but there are others to consider. But I think the Prius is not one of them if AWD is the paramount concern.

Maybe someone will come up with an AWD hybrid someday, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

Why not try Lexus Rx 400h... Hybrid AWD...

 

What about a WRX (wagon?)...I mean if you don't care about gas mileage that much (hey, you wanted the SUV). You could go with a turboback, a boost controller, an intake and an ECU reflash (COBB tuning AccessPORT?) and probably still get better mileage than the SUV (and be a hell of a lot faster too). There's a guy on here with a blue one (as I remember).

 

The Highlander Hybrid has a AWD option. The front half is like a Prius, in that it's HSD, but the ICE is larger for more power, which would appeal to you. An additional electric motor in the back can give you AWD at the flip of a switch.

 

i put on bridgestone blizzaks on my prius & had the same great winter performance as with my blizzak's on my vibe, and before that, my corolla.

you see, the main problem with all these modern cars is the ground clearance. most cars hover in the 5.4" to 5.6" range.

I think more cars should take a lesson from the Audi Allroad. It has around a 6.5" ground clearance in the city, when you hit highway speeds it'll lower to 5" for aerodynamics and when you activate snow mode it'll raise the car to 8.5" to drive over the snow . . . its very expensive as the allroad is a lot more than an A6 Avant but i'm sure its worth every penny in the snow belt.

along with a nice set of snow tires (bridgestone blizzak, michelin x-ice or yokohama ice guards) an adjustable suspension is all the Prius needs to drive in the snow. And no illinois winter compares to an alaska winter. Do the parking meters in illinois allow you to plug an ebh into them so that your engine block doesn't freeze? I don't think so.

 

hybrids such as the highlander and 400h don't have 4wd or AWD switches. they are simply assist engines and are not designed for high reving 4wd activities. In fact, in mud my parents rx400h will spin the front wheels before the back helps out enough.

great on any other surface.. just not a true 4x4 system.

 

I hate to recommend that junk RX400h or some highlander, they are gimmicks and won't get you anywhere offroad (made for soccer moms and to lure GM customers, hence the cheezy commercials) though they will get through snow on the road

maybe consider a prius with nice, thin winter tires or get a wrangler or something...I'd go for an awd sedan or wagon like Volvo S60R or Audi A4/S4/RS4 or Volvo S40 , etc etc