Off-road Prius

robtmcr · 03-29-2007, 12:44 PM

Well, not really off-road..., but the question has to do with Prius toughness.

May favorite fishing spot requires that I drive over several miles of gravel road, some of it wash-boards, some ruts from wash-outs, and so on. I drive these roads carefully. My intention is to get to the fishing, not to come back with macho dirt streaks back of the wheel wells.

Does anyone have to drive in less-than-ideal conditions? What's your experience?
Thank you,
Bob

(FN: 1400 miles, 53 mpg; best trip, 64.2)

faith2walk · 03-29-2007, 12:52 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(robtmcr @ Mar 29 2007, 01:44 PM) [snapback]414260[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Well, not really off-road..., but the question has to do with Prius toughness.

May favorite fishing spot requires that I drive over several miles of gravel road, some of it wash-boards, some ruts from wash-outs, and so on. I drive these roads carefully. My intention is to get to the fishing, not to come back with macho dirt streaks back of the wheel wells.

Does anyone have to drive in less-than-ideal conditions? What's your experience?
Thank you,
Bob

(FN: 1400 miles, 53 mpg; best trip, 64.2) [/b]

Sure do, and you can treat it just like any other car!!

I drive alot...I bought my prius 13 months ago and have 96k miles on it already.

My driving takes me everywhere, and I live in michigan, so the roads go from dry to rainy to gravel to muddy, and quite frequently.

You should have no problems going fishing, but remember, it's a compact car with very little clearance...NO REAL OFFROADING!!!!!

The type of tires and suspension you have will make some difference, but with gravel/dirt and driving a non-4x4, your speed is the biggest difference. Too fast and you could lose control and destroy the struts (and lots of other things) if you hit a big hole.

Good luck and happy drivin'!!!!!!!!!!!

Squint · 03-29-2007, 12:53 PM

It's time for someone to write a Prius Outdoes Hummer in Offroad Performance article.

iaowings · 03-29-2007, 01:16 PM

I go hiking and some of the campsites and start points are off on dirt roads. Sometimes I borrow my friend’s 4x4 to get to the really good spots that no car is going to get to.

If you drive carefully the prius will handle some dirt roads with ease. The high torque really helps.

dandeman · 03-30-2007, 06:29 PM

Power (to climb hills) and traction (on surfaces that any non 4x4 vehicle is capable of handling) will not be a problem..

You do have to watch the low clearance...

I have both a Prius and Toyota 4Runner 4x4 so have experience with both..

I've pulled up 15% grades with no problem in the Prius..

Here's a pic from a trail road off US 50 across Nevada we drove in the Prius..[attachmentid=7210]

and the 4Runner is here... http://home.4x4wire.com/deddleman/

bulldog · 03-31-2007, 02:49 AM

You just need to do the right modifications to the Prius and it can pretty much go anywhere. It does hurt your gas mileage though.

A 4x4 Prius fully modded for some offroad work

See link

http://homepage.mac.com/paintlab/.Public/Priusweb.jpg

V8Cobrakid · 03-31-2007, 03:27 AM

If you look up Rampard Range Rd in Colorado. It changes from gravel to washed out dirt road... then to snow and then ice.

The Prius handles all of these with ease ( for a car )

There was only 1 time a truck out did me. I was going up a steep grade of iced over road. A jeep passed me when the trac wouldn't let me go any farther up the hill. As the jeep passed me, he slid sidewards into a tree. I wasn't too impressed. If i was trying reverse, or the power was from the back, i would have had better acceleration.

itsme · 03-31-2007, 08:48 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bulldog @ Mar 31 2007, 01:49 AM) [snapback]415398[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

You just need to do the right modifications to the Prius and it can pretty much go anywhere. It does hurt your gas mileage though.

A 4x4 Prius fully modded for some offroad work

See link

http://homepage.mac.com/paintlab/.Public/Priusweb.jpg
[/b]

That is pretty cool have always had jeeps now have the prius to help on gas savings and low co so that is very interesting

tagnew · 03-31-2007, 10:29 AM

Yes the Prius does just fine with bad roads- I've got 10 miles to traverse before I see any pavement. But...The one time my wife took the car, she managed to bust a tire on a pothole in town. $200 and a week later after waiting for the tire to be delivered to the dealer (this is a Touring '07 loaded) I realized the biggest limitation of the car on bad roads is the tires. No tire dealer could come up with the tire- this was December, hopefully that has improved. So I drive even more carefully now on the gravel, wary of another exorbitant tire saga. And forget about driving on the "spare"- that is one of the worst insults in the car world. The car looks like it is on crutches. The car itself does just fine on bad roads- tight, comfortable ride, good traction, but is limited by the tires.

03-30-2007, 06:29 PM	#5
dandeman Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Posts: 34 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post Friends: 0	Power (to climb hills) and traction (on surfaces that any non 4x4 vehicle is capable of handling) will not be a problem.. You do have to watch the low clearance... I have both a Prius and Toyota 4Runner 4x4 so have experience with both.. I've pulled up 15% grades with no problem in the Prius.. Here's a pic from a trail road off US 50 across Nevada we drove in the Prius..[attachmentid=7210] and the 4Runner is here... http://home.4x4wire.com/deddleman/ Attached Thumbnails

03-31-2007, 03:27 AM	#7
V8Cobrakid Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: hell Posts: 2,886 My Car: 2004 Prius Model: N/A Package: #9 Thanks: 9 Thanked 17 Times in 17 Posts Friends: 5	If you look up Rampard Range Rd in Colorado. It changes from gravel to washed out dirt road... then to snow and then ice. The Prius handles all of these with ease ( for a car ) There was only 1 time a truck out did me. I was going up a steep grade of iced over road. A jeep passed me when the trac wouldn't let me go any farther up the hill. As the jeep passed me, he slid sidewards into a tree. I wasn't too impressed. If i was trying reverse, or the power was from the back, i would have had better acceleration. __________________ Silver 9 as of June 12th '04 (over 123k Miles now) Decals, Mud Flaps, 1200Watt Modified sign wave Inverter, BT Tech Rear Brace, coastaletech 2" receiver hitch, and 215/45/17 tires.

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03-29-2007, 12:44 PM	#1
robtmcr Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 4 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Well, not really off-road..., but the question has to do with Prius toughness. May favorite fishing spot requires that I drive over several miles of gravel road, some of it wash-boards, some ruts from wash-outs, and so on. I drive these roads carefully. My intention is to get to the fishing, not to come back with macho dirt streaks back of the wheel wells. Does anyone have to drive in less-than-ideal conditions? What's your experience? Thank you, Bob (FN: 1400 miles, 53 mpg; best trip, 64.2)

03-29-2007, 12:53 PM	#3
Squint Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 68 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	It's time for someone to write a Prius Outdoes Hummer in Offroad Performance article.

03-29-2007, 01:16 PM	#4
iaowings Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 450 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I go hiking and some of the campsites and start points are off on dirt roads. Sometimes I borrow my friend’s 4x4 to get to the really good spots that no car is going to get to. If you drive carefully the prius will handle some dirt roads with ease. The high torque really helps.

03-31-2007, 02:49 AM	#6
bulldog Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: CA Posts: 215 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: Package: #6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	You just need to do the right modifications to the Prius and it can pretty much go anywhere. It does hurt your gas mileage though. A 4x4 Prius fully modded for some offroad work See link http://homepage.mac.com/paintlab/.Public/Priusweb.jpg

03-31-2007, 10:29 AM	#9
tagnew Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 14 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Yes the Prius does just fine with bad roads- I've got 10 miles to traverse before I see any pavement. But...The one time my wife took the car, she managed to bust a tire on a pothole in town. $200 and a week later after waiting for the tire to be delivered to the dealer (this is a Touring '07 loaded) I realized the biggest limitation of the car on bad roads is the tires. No tire dealer could come up with the tire- this was December, hopefully that has improved. So I drive even more carefully now on the gravel, wary of another exorbitant tire saga. And forget about driving on the "spare"- that is one of the worst insults in the car world. The car looks like it is on crutches. The car itself does just fine on bad roads- tight, comfortable ride, good traction, but is limited by the tires.