Can you put the HIHY in 4WD MANUALY OR DOES IT GO 4wd AUTOMATICALLY,ie. IN SNOW OR ICEY CONDITIONS. I HAVE THE 2wd MODEL.

 

It's automatic. I look forward to the first snow day in it. I'll write about when it happens.

 

Unless you watch the screen you'll never know when it kicks in. Very smooth.

 

I have a 2006 RX400h. We had snow here in Colorado Springs a couple weeks back. The 4wd kicks in mainly when starting as this is when you usually lose traction on slick roads. I did notice that when I was going up hill and gave it extra gas to try to make the wheels spin, the 4wd would also kick in. It seems to work as I didn't actually spin the wheels. For the most part though, the 400h operates on 2wd in the snow just as it does on dry pavement.

Additionally, the ABS brakes worked really well. I did some panic stops to test them and I really like the way they operated. The pumping action was softer than I have experienced on other vehicles and the pumps seemed to alternate between the left and right. They brought me to a safe stop.