WINTERTIME TRAVEL

[ANTEBUS]

I'm new... how does the Prius do in the snow.... I am giving up a 4runner for a Prius and I know that is a big trade off, but what can i expect to get from the PRIUS in return. I live in PA. country? will I really regret my trade or love it? ANXIOUS IN PA!!!!

[Tideland Prius]

I know there are a few PA owners here. I remember one of them asked about tyres. Just throw on a set of good winter tyres and you should be good. The traction control is super sensitive because of the electric motor so running on stock AS tyres isn't a good thing if you have snow on the ground for a couple of months. Try to get one with VSC. It greatly helps with stability in slippery conditions. Note that the Prius will not have the same ground clearance as the 4Runner. It's quite low.

[jeromep]

The Prius is going to protect its drive system from overspin using traction control, so there is no traction control defeat, and the traction control system is rather sensitive.

The factory tires are not so wonderful. They are the definition of adequate rubber. Good enough to get the car on and off the boat and for you to drive around on for a while, but they aren't ideal for snow or ice and only adequate on wet pavement. Not too bad dry, but not all that sticky either. If you feel so inclined, get some snow wheels and some very good studless tires, such as Artic Alpines or Blizzaks and use them in the winter.

[Jerry P]

Welcome to a fellow Pennsylvanian! I'm seeing more and more Prii up here in Erie and I can tell you, after 2 full winters with my 2004, that if you put 4 decent snow tires on your car you will be fine. The VSC is great when the roads get icy but the traction control takes a little getting used to, though it works just fine once you trust it. I don't thing anywhere gets more snow than we do, especially since I live in the snowbelt south of the city, so I consider myself a 'snow expert'!

[Beacher]

I took our Prius directly from the Toyota Dealer to the Goodyear dealer and traded the OEM tires for the Goodyear Comfortreds. They are a better all-season tire than the somewhat sucky OEM tires. I'm hoping that will be enough and I won't have to put on actual snow tires to deal with our Wisconsin winters.

[jayman]

Well, no car would be able to match a 4Runner just due to the ground clearance.

Speaking from experience (You can search using my member name to get the details "snow tire" "Graspic" etc) the touchy Traction control combined with all-season is a bad combination. Yeah, I'm the forum member who got stuck trying to go up a parking ramp last winter on "all season" tires.

I was raised to never use "all season" tires in winter, so was really nervous until my winter tires arrived. I run Dunlop Graspic DS-2 on all 4 wheels, with their own steel rims.

I'm sure the PA DOT dumps just as much road salt on the roads as they do here in Manitoba. With the steel rims on for winter you won't pit or etch the nice factory rims.

A day and night difference with the Graspic tires on snow and especially ice. I've never had a problem even with 12-15 inch drifts, and the slush is also easy to handle.