Prius in snow?

Without the benefit of actually having driven in the snow in my Prius, I will offer the following opinion/conjecture:

Pros:
Narrow all-season tires should bite through snow
Vehicle Skid Control (if your Prius is thus equipped)

Cons:
Traction control is very sensitive and kicks in quite quickly
ABS also kicks in quite quickly in rain - probably alot worse in snow

 

Bob:

We met some time back at with Danny and others at Salty's in West Seattle. You had just taken delivery on your unit.

I've already driven my AM-7 Driftwood Pearl (includes VSC) in snow and it did well. The VSC only kicked in when got too aggresive for reasonable traction. The itsy-bitsy fog lamps actually reflect well on the snow and help to define the edges of the roadway.

The only caveat would be if the road is plowed or snow is drifting; the front spoiler may become engaged - you'll know!! (that same sickening sound when you graze the curbing pulling into a parking stall...).

Looking forward, I've got just under 28k on the ODO and may go with Michelins, which may give sightly better traction in rain and snow.

As always, decide whether you want to venture out in the frist place.

Even if VSC and Traction control let you go up the hill, they can't stop the guy in front from backsliding into ya!! I have a business meeting in Redmond this evening, it's starting to snow and I'm only too happy if everyone cancels; aluminum dents very easily...

Regards,

Bob in Seattle

 

Be very careful when trying to accelerate on hard packed snow (i.e. ON ramps tot he freeway). If the Trac Control kicks in you'll have your foot on the floor, but you'll be "coasting" until the tires get some bite. This happens very easily on UP hill on ramps (Tahoe last year).
The cable type chains work very well and are very easy to put on and off the Prius front tires(plenty of room).

 

On the news tonight there was a picture of a prius lodged in the in the ditch in south pueget sound. I offer my condolences and hope all is ok with driver and car.

 

I think the combination of my Package 6 (VSC, traction control and anti-lock) along with the Blizzaks makes the the best car I have ever driven in the snow. We have a pretty good layer here (new snow on old snow + ice base) and this combination of car and tires has performed very well.

I always thought of my Jetta (with winter tires + studs) and my considerable snow driving experience to be a good combination in the snow, but the Prius with the Blizzaks and the Package 6 put it to shame.

The only thing I have had close to this was a 4WD Tacoma with studded snow tires all around (in 4WD), that was a pretty good combination too. But, the Prius still feels better than the Tacoma was when it comes to braking and high speed stability, even though the Tacoma would beat it in acceleration (if you were in 4WD).

 

Thursday evening 12/1/05 11:09 PST

Just droe back from a late business meeting in snow. only 32F indiated on the display but snow piling up and getting a little "greasy", traction-wise.

Same as last year but sucky OEM tires have less tread.

NEVERTHELESS same as last year; absolutely no problem uphill or downhill, stopping, steering. Again, I had to floor it or slam on the brakes to see VSC or ABS kick in (no sweat - no other cars in sight at the time...).

This is turning out to be one of the best "snow cars" I've ever owned.

Safe at home in the Renton Highlands,

Bob in Seattle

 

Oh, like what happened to me last winter when I tried to drive up the ramp to park at a local mall? Yeah, I received plenty of good-natured kidding over that.

What really irked me was the old rusted out s***box in front of me had NO trouble navigating the ramp. But that guy had fairly new studded tires so he had an "unfair" advantage.

When my winter tires finally arrived, I had a score to settle with that parking ramp. Drove over to the same mall, stopped halfway up the ramp, then stepped on the gas again. No problem, proper tires made all the difference.

Due to the sensitive Traction control, this car NEEDS good winter tires.

 

What model and size Blizzaks are you using? I have a one year old set from my Mazda Protege 5 that I hope to use on my '06 Prius. They are 195/55 R15 850. Any idea if they will fit on the Prius?? Thanks.