All Gen IIs are front and rear LSD stock, with traction control. This is excellent for most snow driving. The off-roads rear locker would be ideal for those steep hills when the snow is very deep. For ice the improvement over the electronic LSD would be minimal on the Xterra. Just remember, no aftermarket locker exists yet, so if you decide you want it later, youll be waiting. I am building a house with nasty hills and will only use locked rigs with mud terrains so I can get out on deep snow days. For normal icy days we plan to get a Subaru with studded snows.