For winter here in Central Indiana, start with a Honda that has all-wheel drive (AWD) on the exact trim you buy. These 6 Hondas offer it:
2026 Passport: every trim comes with all-wheel drive, heated front seats and remote start.
2026 Ridgeline: a pickup bed, with all-wheel drive on every trim.
2026 CR-V: any trim can have all-wheel drive, gas or hybrid.
2026 Pilot: heated front seats and remote start on every trim, with all-wheel drive standard on the upper trims and available on the rest.
2027 HR-V: all-wheel drive available on the LX, Sport and EX-L.
2026 Prologue: the electric pick, and any trim can have dual-motor all-wheel drive.
Once the drivetrain is settled, the choice comes down to ground clearance, a Snow mode and the cold-weather equipment on each trim. When you know the model and trim you want, browse our new Hondas.
What Matters Most in a Winter Honda
The best Honda for winter here is the one whose trim carries what the season asks for, whichever kind of winter shows up. We weighed these points, in this order:
All-wheel drive on the trim you buy: On each Honda it is standard, available or not offered, trim by trim.
Standard means every vehicle in that trim has it. Available means you choose it or front-wheel drive (FWD), so 2 vehicles
with the same model and trim name can be built differently.
Ground clearance: The figure changes by model, by drivetrain and, on some models, by trim.
A Snow mode: It’s one of the drive-mode settings you can choose. Most of our winter picks have one, and
the first table below shows where.
Cold-weather equipment, trim by trim: That means remote start, heated front and rear seats, a heated
steering wheel, heated mirrors, rain-sensing wipers, and a heated wiper zone or windshield.
After that, body style breaks the tie: an SUV, a pickup bed on the 2026 Ridgeline, or battery-electric power on the 2026 Prologue.
Winter Features at a Glance
The first table compares drivetrain, ground clearance, Snow mode and the trims with heated front seats across the 6 picks.
Model
All-wheel drive
Honda’s name for it
Ground clearance
Snow mode
Heated front seats
2026 Passport
Standard on every trim
2nd-Gen i-VTM4 AWD with Trail Torque Logic
8.3 in
Among its drive modes
Every trim
2026 Ridgeline
Standard on every trim
i-VTM4 AWD
7.64 in
Every trim, in Intelligent Traction Management
RTL, TrailSport, Black Edition
2026 CR-V
Available on LX, EX, EX-L, Sport, Sport-L; standard on TrailSport, Sport Touring
Real-Time AWD with Intelligent Control System
8.2 in with AWD; 7.8 in with FWD
LX, Sport Hybrid, TrailSport, Sport Touring
EX and up
2026 Pilot
Available on Sport, EX-L; standard on TrailSport, Touring, Elite, Black Edition
2nd-Gen i-VTM4 AWD, with Trail Torque Logic on the TrailSport
7.3 in; 8.3 in on the TrailSport
Every trim
Every trim
2027 HR-V
Available on LX, Sport, EX-L
Real-Time AWD with Intelligent Control System
7.0 in on LX, EX-L; 7.3 in on Sport
Every trim
Sport, EX-L
2026 Prologue (electric)
Available on EX, Touring; standard on Elite
Dual-motor AWD
8.1 in with AWD; 7.9 in with FWD
Not listed (Normal; Sport on Elite)
Every trim
For contrast, the 2026 Civic and 2026 Accord come only with front-wheel drive. The second table lists the other cold-weather equipment on the same 6 picks, trim by trim.
Model
Other cold-weather equipment, by trim
2026 Passport
A heated wiper zone from the TrailSport up; a heated steering wheel, rain-sensing wipers and heated rear seats on the TrailSport Elite and TrailSport Elite Blackout; remote start on every trim
2026 Ridgeline
Heated side mirrors on the RTL, TrailSport and Black Edition; the TrailSport and Black Edition add a heated wheel, and the Black Edition adds heated rear seats; every trim has remote start
2026 CR-V
Remote start and heated side mirrors from the EX up; a heated wheel on the TrailSport and Sport Touring; rain-sensing wipers on the Sport Touring
2026 Pilot
Every trim has remote start, with heated side mirrors from the EX-L up; a heated wheel, a heated windshield and heated rear seats on the TrailSport, Elite and Black Edition; rain-sensing wipers on the Elite and Black Edition
2027 HR-V
Remote start and heated side mirrors on the Sport and EX-L
2026 Prologue (electric)
Heated side mirrors and rain-sensing wipers on every trim; the Elite adds a heated wheel and a heated wiper zone
The Picks, Model by Model
These are the 6 Hondas we’d shortlist for winter, starting with the 2 that come only with all-wheel drive.
2026 Honda Passport
You don’t have to hunt for the right 2026 Passport trim: all-wheel drive, remote start and heated front seats come on every one, and there is no front-drive version. Every 2026 Passport has 8.3 inches of ground clearance, which ties the 2026 Pilot TrailSport for the most among these Hondas. The 2026 Passport’s drive modes include Snow.
Look elsewhere if you want a heated wheel on a Passport below the TrailSport Elite trims. On the 2026 Passport, the heated steering wheel, rain-sensing wipers and heated rear seats come only on the TrailSport Elite and TrailSport Elite Blackout, while the heated wiper zone starts at the TrailSport. Unlike the 2026 Passport TrailSport, the 2026 Pilot TrailSport and 2026 Ridgeline TrailSport both have a heated wheel. See the Honda Passport for sale.
2026 Honda Ridgeline
The 2026 Ridgeline is the pick for a pickup bed, and every trim has all-wheel drive, a Snow mode and remote start. From the RTL up, the front seats and side mirrors are heated. The TrailSport and Black Edition add a heated wheel, and the Black Edition adds heated rear seats.
The trade-off is at the entry trim, where the 2026 Ridgeline Sport goes without heated front seats. If ground clearance tops your list, the 2026 Passport sits higher. Browse the Honda Ridgeline for sale.
2026 Honda CR-V
Choose the 2026 CR-V if you want all-wheel drive on any trim, gas or hybrid. It’s an option on the LX, EX, EX-L, Sport and Sport-L, while the TrailSport and Sport Touring come with it standard and have no front-drive version. The LX, EX and EX-L use the 1.5-liter turbo gas engine, and the other 4 trims are hybrids. A Snow mode is listed for 4 CR-V trims (the LX, the Sport Hybrid and the 2 AWD-only trims). Those trims range from 3 drive modes on the LX to 5 on the Sport Touring.
If a heated wheel is a must, look only at the 2026 CR-V TrailSport or Sport Touring. For rain-sensing wipers, the Sport Touring is the one 2026 CR-V trim that has them. See the 2026 CR-V for sale.
2026 Honda Pilot
The 2026 Pilot puts the cold-weather basics on every trim: heated front seats, remote start and a Snow mode. From the EX-L up, the side mirrors are heated too. All-wheel drive is standard from the TrailSport up, and it’s an option on the Sport and EX-L, which you can also buy with front-wheel drive.
The 2026 Pilot TrailSport has the most ground clearance of any Pilot. It also has a heated wheel, a heated windshield and heated rear seats, and all 3 come on the Elite and Black Edition too. The 2026 Pilot’s rain-sensing wipers come only on those 2 trims, so look at another model if you want them below the Elite. Browse the Honda Pilot for sale.
2027 Honda HR-V
Choose the 2027 HR-V if you want all-wheel drive available on every trim, along with a drive-mode selector that includes Snow on the LX, Sport and EX-L. The 2027 HR-V Sport and EX-L add heated front seats, heated side mirrors and remote start, which the LX goes without. That means an all-wheel-drive LX gives you the drivetrain without the heated features.
The 2026 Passport and the 2026 Pilot TrailSport both sit higher than any 2027 HR-V, so consider them if ground clearance leads your list. If you’re also weighing a 2026 HR-V, confirm its equipment on that vehicle, because features can change between model years. See the Honda HR-V for sale.
2026 Honda Prologue
The 2026 Prologue is the electric pick. Its EX and Touring trims come with a single front motor or with dual-motor all-wheel drive, and the Elite comes with all-wheel drive only. Every 2026 Prologue has heated front seats, heated side mirrors and rain-sensing wipers, and the Elite adds a heated wheel and a heated wiper zone.
If a Snow mode matters to you, note that none is listed for the 2026 Prologue. Its drive modes are Normal on every trim, plus Sport on the Elite. You can also browse our new Honda SUVs.
The Front-Drive Hondas
Every 2026 Civic, sedan or hatchback, is front-wheel drive, and no 2026 Accord trim offers all-wheel drive. If all-wheel drive is on your list, start with the 6 picks above. If you’ve already settled on a sedan, compare the equipment on each trim before you choose, then shop our new Civic and Accord sedans.
All-Wheel Drive and Heated Seats Can Start at Different Trims
For most of our winter picks, the drivetrain and the heated features are separate choices, and they often start at different trims. So shop in 2 passes: settle the drivetrain first, then read the equipment list for that exact trim. Equipment can change from one model year to the next, so check both on the specific vehicle before you sign.
What Winter Brings in Central Indiana
The first measurable snow here normally falls around late November, and the last around mid-March. In between, a normal December through February brings 21.2 inches of snow, an average temperature of 31.4 degrees and about 26 days when the high stays at or below freezing. A normal winter also has 3 days with a low of 0 degrees or below, and on average 1 storm a year drops 5 inches of snow or more.
One winter here can look nothing like the next, so the averages won’t tell you which one you’re getting. In local weather records, 2023 was the third least snowy calendar year, while 2025 came in 6.1 inches above normal. The record season, 1981-82, brought 58.2 inches, and January 1978 alone brought 30.6. This isn’t Buffalo or Minneapolis, but a Honda bought here in the fall has to be ready for either kind of winter.
The land across Marion County is flat to gently rolling, so the test here is snow and cold rather than climbing.
Buying Used, Certified or New
On a used vehicle, check the drivetrain on its listing or with us before you settle on one. Ed Martin Honda carries all 3 HondaTrue tiers: HondaTrue Certified, HondaTrue Certified EV and HondaTrue Used. A HondaTrue Certified Honda is a 2021 to 2026 model under 80,000 miles that has passed a 182-point inspection, with a report you can download. Every HondaTrue tier comes with a CARFAX history report. Compare the 3 HondaTrue tiers, then browse our used SUVs or search all of our used vehicles.
We’re at 770 North Shadeland Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46219, on Indy’s east side. Narrow your list to 2 or 3 trims, then set up a test drive so you can compare the heated seats, the heated wheel and the remote start for yourself. Before you head over, check our hours and get directions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Choose the drivetrain first, then the trim. Look for all-wheel drive on the exact trim you’re buying, then compare ground clearance, drive modes and the heated features trim by trim. All-wheel drive is standard on every 2026 Passport and 2026 Ridgeline and available on the 2026 CR-V, 2026 Pilot, 2027 HR-V and 2026 Prologue. When you’ve narrowed it down, search our new Honda vehicles.
For the fewest trim decisions, choose the 2026 Passport: all-wheel drive, remote start and heated front seats come on every trim. The 2026 Ridgeline pairs a pickup bed with all-wheel drive on every trim. The 2026 CR-V, 2026 Pilot, 2027 HR-V and 2026 Prologue all offer all-wheel drive, so on those 4 the trim decides what you get.
Start with HondaTrue, then check that the exact vehicle has the drivetrain and cold-weather features you want. Every HondaTrue Certified Honda has passed a 182-point inspection with a report you can download, and every HondaTrue tier includes a CARFAX history report. See how the HondaTrue tiers compare.
Browse our used vehicles for sale and check the drivetrain on each listing. A model that offers all-wheel drive can also be built with front-wheel drive, so the model name alone doesn’t tell you. Ask us to confirm it on any vehicle you’re considering.
Yes. Every 2026 Passport and every 2026 Ridgeline has all-wheel drive, with no front-drive version of either. It also comes standard on a 2026 CR-V TrailSport or Sport Touring, a 2026 Prologue Elite and the 2026 Pilot from the TrailSport up. See the 2026 Passport.
Not always. The 2026 CR-V LX and 2027 HR-V LX can both have all-wheel drive, but heated front seats start at the EX on the CR-V and at the Sport on the HR-V. Every 2026 Ridgeline has all-wheel drive, but the Sport goes without heated front seats. Check both on the trim you’re considering.
It depends on the model. The 2026 CR-V has one on the TrailSport and Sport Touring, and the 2026 Pilot on its TrailSport, Elite and Black Edition. The 2026 Ridgeline has one on the TrailSport and Black Edition, the 2026 Passport on the TrailSport Elite and TrailSport Elite Blackout, and the 2026 Prologue on the Elite.
The 2026 Passport, 2026 Ridgeline and 2026 Pilot. On the 2026 CR-V, remote start begins at the EX, and on the 2027 HR-V it comes on the Sport and EX-L.
Every trim of the 2026 Pilot, 2027 HR-V and 2026 Ridgeline has a Snow drive mode. The 2026 Passport has Snow among its drive modes, and so do 4 trims of the 2026 CR-V, which the first table names. No Snow mode is listed for the electric 2026 Prologue.
Among the Hondas in this guide, the 2026 Passport and the 2026 Pilot TrailSport sit highest, with 8.3 inches of ground clearance, and every 2026 Passport trim shares that figure. The 2027 HR-V LX and EX-L sit lowest, at 7.0 inches.
The first measurable snow normally falls around November 24 and the last around March 16. A normal spring still brings 3.4 inches of snow.
