Hey all,

Just thought I'd toss this out there: how does the Prius handle in the winter? Although its front-wheel drive, it sits fairly low to the ground (from the look of it), and I wondered if that was a hinderence in the wintery months. How about snow tire usage? What brands do you use?

John

John Smash!!

This coming winter will also be my first winter with the Prius but from what I've read it handles just like any other sedan.

Here is a link which discusses snow tires for the Prius.

I live in Colorado and my experience has been the Prius handles remarkably well, even on ice.

Just like any other car, if the snow is higher than the bottom of the car, you're in trouble.

I have all-weather tires, no snow tires. But my Prius handled snow and ice very well with the factory tires. Than again, I have VSC and that most likely makes a big difference for me.

Infael

2004 Gray Prius with smart start/entry and VSC

We got chains for our Prius I but never had to use them, even with no VSC and stock tires because it has traction control.

2001 Prius Photos       2005 Prius Photos
1992 Mitsubishi Delica Diesel-WVO Hybrid Photos

I acquired my '04 Package 6 Prius in 9/04 and went through a reasonably snowy winter with just the OEM tires. No problems, no complaints. But others are right that the Prius sits low, and if the snow depth is higher, you're in doo doo. You can't blaze 1st tracks down the unplowed street, but you certainly can go where [many] others (or the plow) have gone.

Mark
Portland, Maine

I have had my Prius II since 12/03, and the only problem I have ever had was when the snow managed get get up to the under-fascia of the bumper. I keep a small shovel in the back for just such occasions, as our city tends to try plowing people in, instead of directing the snowplow toward the 'no parking' side of the street.

mine

lol i never knew 01 priuses came with traction control HMMMMMMMMM

i got around 20 km a liter when i drove a civic 5 spd using advanced hypermiler techniques
and now I drive a salvage nwh20 prius that gets almost to 25 km/l with 195,000 km to date.

The Prius, like many front wheel drive cars, does very well in the winter. Exceptionally well actually. The OEM tires are nothing to get excited about, and they tend to break loose much more easily than I would expect any other m+s rated all season tire to do. I will be excited to let go of the OEM tires when they have served their useable life and move onto something much less likely to break loose and much better at grabbing the snow.

Other than the tires, the Prius is a very nice winter car. Just watch out for the ground clearance issue.

It has been said:
Hybrid drivers come in 3 flavors, greenie, techie and cheapie. Pick any 2.
2005 Prius, Melinium Silver over gray, package 5 (AI)

I will be going into my second winter this year with my '04 Prius. Last year was great. I live in northern NJ which has a great deal of hill, valleys and mountains and I had no problem in the snow. The best time was seeing a H2 sliding going up a hill then stopping on the side while I went flying past him .

There is winter in terms of temperature and there is winter in terms of snow.

a) It is fantastic having absolutely no concern about getting the car started in cold weather. Turn it, and it is running, almost like magic. I live in northern Illinois (Woodstock) and am going into my fourth winter. Regarding temperature, the worst thing is what it does to your mileage. It kills it. My all time worst tank was during a week of -15 to 0 degrees when I got 32.5 mpg out of a tank doing basically the same 60 mile round trip run that in summer I can get 60 mpg on.

b) Regarding snow, it handles just fine in anything under about 7 inches. There are, however, situations when I would much rather have a conventional drivetrain. Specifically, getting out of the end of my drive after the plows have pushed up 16 inches of heavy wet stuff right on the drive apron. You can't just bowl through it. And if you get stuck, it can be a real problem. You cannot rock the car at all well, you don't have the control. I have learned my lesson though; hopefully I can spare you the same one.