Just bought a 2008 Prius, PLEASEEEE ease my nerves! :(

[stefcat]

hi, i had not prob.. with driving in snow or ice...in my 07 prius..my father taught me to drive in bad weather. No hot wheeling ect.

[SageBrush]

I drove a FWD Dodge Colt (aka Mitsu Mirage) in the years I lived in Buffalo. Slow driving, gradual braking, and slow acceleration make all the difference in addition to good winter tyres.

I was surprised to see how many locals drive poorly in the winter. In particular, many people spin their tyres at intersections when they start going, turning the intersection into a dangerous ice rink. Start your slowing down *way* sooner than usual.

[a_gray_prius]

Like everyone else has said, a good set of winter tires will go a long way. That said, if you're truly serious about being proactive about it, you can go to rally driving school where you will explicitly learn car control in the snow.

Team O'Neil Rally School & Car Control Center

* This is not an endorsement of this particular school, however advanced driver training does lead to lower incidence of accidents: International Injury & Fatality Statistics Countries with the strictest driver training standards tend to have lower rates.

[Halisaurus Rex]

Hey MelissaK.. I would like to also congratulate you on your purchase. I would like to put my "two cents" into this thread. I bought a 07 Prius in California and drove it there happily for over a year. Then i had to move to upstate new york (capital region). The first (and only) winter here was rough... scary, even. I definitely was not prepared. I grew up in Indiana, so i was familiar with driving in the snow.. unfortunately, last season up here.. was simply RIDICULOUS.

I had about 30-35K on my stock tires.. and she was slippin and sliding EVERYWHERE. I had problems getting any kind of traction and several times she almost bottomed out to the point that i couldn't get her out. Plus i live in a very hilly region, and there were some hills that she just could not ascend. I guess the best advice i can give you is to get at least NEW all season tires. Getting new snow tires and having them changed out twice a year can get costly. I have talked to a number of people about it. If you can afford good snow tires and the changeout.. than i heard it makes a world of a difference.

Other considerations you should keep in mind: your gas bladder WILL shrink in the winter. PLUS you will be getting a HUGE knock down of your gas mileage because of running the heater. In Cali, I was averaging 52 mpg. New York summer about 48-50 mpg, but in the winter i was lucky to get 40 mpg. This isn't an exaggeration. A lot of times i was looking at 38. So in addition to the gas bladder shrinking and the hit on mpgs.. i went from getting well over 500 miles/tank to like 360. Winter is hard for the prius. I'm sure there are many people here who have survived successfully, but my first year was hard.

you might want to consider putting a little bit of weight in your cargo area. I haven't tried this personally, but I will try it this year. I will try anything that i can! I love my car! hopefully this year will be better!

but fear not.. just be cautious. You won't drive a prius the same way as a neon anyway. Just drive her deliberately and you'll be fine. I guess, if you're adventurous, it can be a whole lot of fun once you get a hang of it!

-Hali.

[jburns]

Originally Posted by Halisaurus Rex

you might want to consider putting a little bit of weight in your cargo area. I haven't tried this personally, but I will try it this year. I will try anything that i can! I love my car! hopefully this year will be better!


-Hali.

All good advice except the above. Putting more weight in the rear of a front drive vehicle is counter productive.

[jackmccullough]

WR-G2?
I just looked at my local Vianor (Nokia) outlet's web page and the WR-G2 is listed as a year-round (read all-season) tire.
I would never recommend an all-season tire for winter driving, particularly where you are likely to see significant amounts of snow. You need a real snow tire.

[tpfun]

Originally Posted by Halisaurus Rex

...
PLUS you will be getting a HUGE knock down of your gas mileage because of running the heater. In Cali, I was averaging 52 mpg. New York summer about 48-50 mpg, but in the winter i was lucky to get 40 mpg.
...
-Hali.

Interesting, is the heater purely electric ?

[pdhenry]

Originally Posted by tpfun

Interesting, is the heater purely electric ?

No, but the engine has to run more to keep the coolant warm in the Winter.