Prius On Snow And Ice

[J N]

Bought an 07 Prius T spirit automatic and just wondered if anyone could tell me how they perform on snow and ice. Previously owned a Rav4 which gave me no problems but wanted to downsize and economise. Really like the car so far but concerned about it during winter conditions.

Thanks

J N

[Chris Dance]

The Gen 2 Prius is not too good on ice and snow on the normal tyres. If the wheels slip the anti skid device cuts in and drops the engine revs. If snow tyres are fitted the car is fine on snow and ice. I am not speaking from my own experience but that of my son who uses the Prius in the French Alps in Winter for skiing. My son has normal tyres on the car until late October then changes them for snow tyres. He also has a RAV 4 he uses in the Alps. His local UK Toyota dealer stores the tyres and changes them as required. Some folk have a spare set of wheels one set with winter tyres the other set with normal tyres. They just change the wheels as necessary.

[J N]

Thanks for the response...much appreciated.

J N

[timberwolf]

What an unusual time of year, in the middle of the summer, to be thinking about winter driving.

The Prius Gen 2 with the standard, factory, summer tyres, has easily been the easiest and safest car that I've ever driven on snow and ice. Are there problems with traction control? Yes, but if you understand what's going, and prepare for it then the car IMHO is one of best cars out there.

I've have been abducted by aliens and replaced with an identical clone...or have I?

[Jan&tone]

What an unusual time of year, in the middle of the summer, to be thinking about winter driving.

The Prius Gen 2 with the standard, factory, summer tyres, has easily been the easiest and safest car that I've ever driven on snow and ice. Are there problems with traction control? Yes, but if you understand what's going, and prepare for it then the car IMHO is one of best cars out there.

I've have been abducted by aliens and replaced with an identical clone...or have I?

I agree. (with the summer snow bit!) however Judith does live in London and we all know that Londoners are a weird bunch. We also know that London rarely gets snow in any quantity so it stands to reason that the first snowflake to settle actually causes the trains to stop (wrong kind of snow) the buses to hide in the garages (the bendy ones can't cope with snow) so obviously she is thinking ahead so that she will still be able to pay Her congestion charge (i believe the gen2 exemption has been withdrawn?)

On a more serious note, I never got to use my Gen2 in the snow, nor did the Gen3 venture out into the wilds of the Essex countryside last winter. The Aygo did the duties while the white stuff was on the ground and, I might say, coped admirably with between the 6 inches and a foot of snow that we accumulated here. Why didn't the Gen3 come out and play? Quite simply that the snow had drifted up the front of the garage and I couldn't be bothered to dig it out!

[kithmo]

SWMBO had no problems last Winter in her Gen 2 once I'd explained what traction control was/did (she'd never had a car with traction control before).

[Mkuk0]

Picked up my gen 2 in Jan 09, pranged it within days on the snow purely because I hadn't got my head around how a Prius works. Good call getting your car in the summer and thinking ahead, come winter you should be fine. Last year mine outperformed any car in our street (live at bottom of a hill)and got me to work and back when others failed. Once you know the car I think its great in the snow.

[daveybee]

We have an Auris rather than a Prius, but with the same running gear and tyres as the Gen III, I'm guessing it behaves much the same way. As you know, last December and January were pretty bad but the Auris never missed a beat - a gentle right foot was the order of the day, so with a few months to practice, you shouldn't have any problems come the winter. Dave.

[Dave R.]

The key thing about the Prius in snow is that the traction control has absolutely full control over the wheels, so if it decides that you are losing grip, it will kill ALL power to the wheels - so you are unable to sit there like an idiot with your wheels spinning madly on ice whilst the car goes nowhere. It's rather a strange sensation - you put your foot down on the accelerator, the car goes "click" and then nothing happens! In this situation, just hop out and shove the floor mats under the front wheels to get some traction.

I had a "fun" experience last winter getting up a very steep, very snowy hill.... I just put the Prius in "eco", D and went for it (very slowly). There was a lot of groaning from the front wheels - it sounded a bit like the sound of crunching tyres on new deep snow, but I think it was actually traction control kicking in and out very rapidly in order to maintain grip and momentum.

It's fun when the stability control kicks in too if you go round a slippery bend too fast!..... all that happens is a warning light comes on & the car just corrects the skid automagically.

[cootuk]

If you're out in the sticks then winter tyres would be a benefit.

We live in a northern city and just have a pair of snow boots for before the ploughs have been out.

We also put a couple of bits of old carpet in the boot to throw under the front wheels if neccessary - but last winter used those for other cars and not ours.

[Phoenix999]

My wife had little trouble with her year old Prius during the snow of last Winter .... in or around London we don't get too much snow anyway, even so it coped nicely

[doctor cummins]

Bought an 07 Prius T spirit automatic and just wondered if anyone could tell me how they perform on snow and ice. Previously owned a Rav4 which gave me no problems but wanted to downsize and economise. Really like the car so far but concerned about it during winter conditions.

Thanks

J N

Had mine in two lots of snow without issue. But then it depends how you drive and how much experience in these conditions. Being Front wheel drive traction is as good as any other similar drive car. One tip they may help is to start off on EV mode (electric only). Should allow better control on acceloration. Stopping is a case of giving every one more space and don't do anything suddenly. Smoothness counts. (My old Dad used to say drive like you have an egg under your foot on both the throttle and brake.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

It's the tyres that make the difference. The Bridgestone LLR tyres that are stock on the gen3 t3 are great in wet and dry conditions but I found them to be bordering on useless on ice or compacted snow. I remember attempting a moderate incline and getting nowhere fast.

I believe the Michelin and Yokohama LLR tyres are a little better in the ice but proper winter tyres make it almost as if the ice wasn't there.

But as others have said; smoothness counts - braking and accelerating. And keep a big distance from the car in front ;)

[Dacre]

I had to go out and collect my son from a party on the only night we had snow in London last winter - when I tried to take the car (2010 Gen3) off the drive it was useless - so I put the Autosocks I had bought in November on and it was like normal driving in 4" of snow. Highly recommended

http://www.autosockdirect.co.uk/?utm_source=adcenter&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=AutoSock

[Trevor M]

All I have read makes complete sense from traction control to the 'click' explanation and the importance of good tyres. The only advice i can offer is 'take it easy'. You are no longer driving a Rav4 and the Prius will definitely be different. Try EV mode if possible and apply slowly - if it 'clicks' you are going nowhere! Remember it's not going forward that's the issue in bad weather it's the STOPPING and no amount of technology will help you there!