If you have driven into Maine only as far as Lewiston, you have no idea what the Next 325 miles is like.Again I'm NOT disagreeing with you. I'm just saying that the vast majority of people in NE don't have enough adverse weather to warrant getting snow tires. I know we surely don't. Boston doesn't. Southern Me doesn't. Places north of Lewiston ME surely do. Upstate NY where I grew up it's definitely advisable to get snows. But those are isolated areas and not very populated. There's a reason people don't want to live there...too much snow/ice.
If you really want to give your 4 Runner a work out, drive north another couple hundred miles....then hang a left to the Allagash.
I had a nice workout with my 4runner 5 years ago visiting my sister in Pulaski NY. My brother-in-law and I went to his friends who live in Montague NY for some weekend snowmobiling. We left on a Friday during a snow-storm. Storm finally ended on Monday…but not till 95" of fresh snow fell. We had to stay at his friends until the 10’ snow thrower the town owned cleared the road. My 4runner was in the driveway…completely submerged in snow. Driving to and from there the 4runner never got out of 4wd…and I don’t think I got over 30mph.