Snow + Prius= funnnnnnn!!

Starting Thursday morning we had a record setting snow fall in the metroplex! I ventured out to check the conditions and see how well the Prius handled the snow. I have a set of four Bridgestone Potenza RE960 AS pole position tires along with the VSC system. I was amazed at how well the car handled the weather. From deep snow to slush and icy roads the Prius dealt with it in strides. I passed by the town of Rhome and encountered very deep snow (deep enough to make the front bumper work like a plow). The traction control and VSC worked flawlesly and allowed me to go up some very steep hills. I saw many vehicles unable to go up some of the hills in my area; with the TRAC and VSC system I was able to pass them with no issues at all.

The only two problems I encountered were:

1) If you drive the vehicle in slushy areas be prepared to loss steering clearance. This car loves to carry slush in the front and rear wheel wells. I found myself unable to turn the more than 1.5 turns multiple times. I had to manually clear the slush out of the suspension area. The rear wheels suffer from the same issue but I didn't bother with them, even when you could hear the noise from the ice rubbing against the tires. (due take into consideration the fact that my Prius has the mudguards; I have a feeling they were somewhat responsible for the buildup of slush inside the wheel wells)

2) Starting from a dead stop on deep snow is an issue! I found that using the B mode allowed more wheel spin from the traction control. I assume that since B mode keeps the engine rotating the damage threshold for the PSD goes up. That extra wheel spin was all I needed to get out of any situation. Since the wheel spin was controled by the brakes, I didn't cause me to loose control. Next time you get stuck due to the traction control, try engaging B mode and step on the accelerator. Let the computer sort out the power and you will be out fairly quickly.