On snow?

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.

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.

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.

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.

See http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/70557-tested-out-trac-vsc-abs-tonight.html

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.

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?

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

I live on the Colorado Front Range, about 10 miles north of Denver. We're having our first winter storm and it's a bit unusual in that the snow is a wet heavy snow, which we usually don't see until our spring storms.

I have four Hankook I-Pike W409 Winter tires. My time on snow is limited to one trip into the suburb town I live near this morning with icy roads on the way into town and ice and snow on the return trip. The combination of the Prius traction control and my Winter tires, I had no problems getting around. That includes no slipping, sliding, or skidding. I have noticed there appears to be the anticipated drop in mileage; I don't have enough miles on these tires to quantify the mileage reduction. -- TK

I just saw on the news that Denver and surrounding areas around it had lots of snow today. How did your prius do on it? Because I still have my factory tires (bridgestone) and I hope they do well on snow. Yesterday it snowed here but didn't really stay on roads so I haven't driven on a real snowy road with my prii yet.

Starting yesterday it got really cold here (around 30 degrees) and I do see a significant drop in my gas mileage too!

I had over 3 feet at my house and the roads were all ice and snow packed. With my studded snow tires I was able to get going from complete stops even uphill and drive as fast or faster than anyone. The tires would spin on startup, no skidding at road speeds. My 2005 was very good on snow, but my 2010 seems better especially starting from a stop uphill which my 2005 would not do. That said, if you have to go over more than 6" of snow you would be in trouble. Road clearing is good around here and I have a tractor and 8' blade for my driveway.

Do I understand correctly that your '05, even with studded tires, bogged down due to the blankety blank TC?

I loved my '05 but thought it was downright dangerous on any slick or loose surface.

With studded snows it was OK. With my all season, stop on any hill and you were done for. My 2010 was OK with all season, great with studded snows. Had a difficult time making my 2005 skid but I had the skid control option (VSC?). Honestly I much prefer driving my Prius in snow than my 4Runner.

You've probably got it as bad as we do in Roxborough. I took mine out for a little "stroll" last night (OEM tires as well). It feels surprisingly sure-footed, particularly in deep snow.

I remember with my Civic, I sometimes had traction issues even just getting up the slope of my driveway. The Prius just feels like it's geared to the pavement and pulled right in.

Hi G3PriusV, Yeap, it has been colder (we did not get above freezing today) and I suspect part of the mileage drop I'm seeing is colder weather combined with the winter tires. I just remind myself that even my reduced MPG is three times better than the vehicle I got rid of and higher than 90% of all the other cars on the road. --TK

It is all relative isn't it. I have to remind myself that when I dropped 4 mpg this fall and was getting upset. Then I remembered that my 97 Camry (by no means a gas guzzler) was only getting 28 on the same route I am getting 52 on now.

Really cold? 30 degrees! Where do you think you are, Florida?