On snow?

[Guy DOYEN]

How does the Prius III run on snow? Should snow tires be used or could I run on snow this winter with the original tires?
The delivery of my Prius (Luna) will take place at rather at the end of November.

[eaglesight333]

Not sure. I havent had snow yet this year. But it is coming. I think there is only a few of us who currently may have driven in the snow with the 2010 prius. But there should be reports coming in over the next few weeks.

[blase]

Front wheel drive cars tend to do well in snow, especially if there's a significant amount of weight over the front tires, which I think the Prius III has. I haven't driven mine in snow yet but I have purchased four Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires. I've had these tires on another car and really like them. I live in NE Ohio where a foot or two of snow each winter is not that uncommon. We'll all know more next spring.

[Mt View]

Originally Posted by Guy DOYEN

How does the Prius III run on snow? Should snow tires be used or could I run on snow this winter with the original tires?
The delivery of my Prius (Luna) will take place at rather at the end of November.

I've driven mine in several snows, about 2" on the ground and then snow packed roads today. I still have my summer tires on and it did really well. The traction control seems to have been significantly improved over my 2005. However, I will be putting my studded snow tires on today. No matter how good your car is, braking and going up hill on snow needs good snow tires.

[CivicQc]

Originally Posted by Guy DOYEN

How does the Prius III run on snow? Should snow tires be used or could I run on snow this winter with the original tires?
The delivery of my Prius (Luna) will take place at rather at the end of November.

See Tested out TRAC, VSC, ABS tonight!

[pakitt]

Not yet - put on winter tires in any case - they reduce the braking distances and improve traction. I am also pretty sure that if you have a car accident with summer tires on, that your car insurance will say it was (partly) your fault, even if you were driving OK.
Winter tires are compulsory in Germany. I would *never* drive with snow or low temperatures (below 4C) with summer tires.

[Tideland Prius]

Depends on how much snow you get and how often... oh and how cold it gets in your area.

Frankly if your daytime highs will be frequently below 5°C and parts of the city will have compact snow all winter, I'd get a set of winter tyres.

The link that CivicQc provided links to a thread with a video demostrating the new TRAC and VSC systems. Note that all the tests were done with Nokian Hakkapeliita R winter tyres. Yes, the roads were that icy that night that studless winters could be easily spun.

[pdth]

I've driven in a couple of snow storms so far. I was trying to see how well the traction control works, but so far have not been able to make the car skid! So all I can report so far is the tires grip the road very well. Another storm tomorrow, so I'll try again.

[Jim Clark]

Originally Posted by pdth

I've driven in a couple of snow storms so far. I was trying to see how well the traction control works, but so far have not been able to make the car skid! So all I can report so far is the tires grip the road very well. Another storm tomorrow, so I'll try again.

Which tires came on yours? It's good to hear it's doing well with the factory installed all-seasons. We don't get much snow in northern VA. I'm not planning on installing snow tires. We have a Lexus RX400h AWD that the wife can use for her commute if it gets that sloppy.

You a golfer? Maybe a member at Castle Pines?

[pdth]

Originally Posted by Jim Clark

Which tires came on yours? It's good to hear it's doing well with the factory installed all-seasons. We don't get much snow in northern VA. I'm not planning on installing snow tires. We have a Lexus RX400h AWD that the wife can use for her commute if it gets that sloppy.

You a golfer? Maybe a member at Castle Pines?

Just the factory tires, whatever comes on the type 2. I'm strictly a mini-golfer.