You clearly have not learned how to drive a Prius. I live in Wisconsin a COLD weather state with plenty of snow. PUT THE CAR IN ECO MODE! Don't floor it and let the car teach you. My last car was a Subaru, the Prius is nearly as stable in snow, far better than high powered FWD cars. I had a'72 Jeep CJ5 with a V8 "that was the worst car to drive in snow bar none. Had to put in four wheel drive and start in 2nd gear to avoid sliding into ditches or oncoming traffic at stop signs or lights.
I live in Iowa and drive A 2010 prius V with the big wheels and low profile tires. Eco mode works very well in snowy conditions and I average 50-52 mpgs in the winter
Boy, sure would be nice to warm up to 16F! It's -25C here right now (about -10F). Pearl does just fine in winter. The ONLY thing a Prius doesn't have for winter is ground clearance. You can high centre very easily if the roads are not plowed and deep in snow. Because the Prius has less power and so much electronics helping, it's easy to drive in snow and on ice. I just have to keep away from the -other- nuts as they skid around in front of and behind me. As far as mileage, yup, it drops in winter. Just like -ANY- other car driven in winter. It just stares you in the face in a Prius with the MFD. Turn off the MFD and you won't notice. Pearl wears Nokian WR tyres and does very well. They are now three years old and getting worn, but they still work. Just not as well as when new. I leave them on year round. A four wheel drive will accelerate faster, but will take MUCH longer to stop, due to the extra weight of the drivetrain. Oh, and the Prius is NOT heavy! Check your door placard. It's just over 3000 lbs. Your Subaru was over 3500! So you're wrong on all but one point. For the others, he's trying to run on either the wrong tyres or on the original tyres. Of course it's useless! The tyres are! Also, as a GII owner, I guess he's posted in the wrong place as well.
The worst car in history in snow was the BMW 300 series. Cinderblocks in the rear trunk was a must. The Prius is FWD. No FWD car is as bad in snow. It's about weight distribution. Plus snow tires.
Wow. I like this forum but sometimes things get pretty weird... I had an '04 Prius (sold to my daughter so technically still in the family) and now have a 2010. I always thought they warmed up and got the heater going relatively and surprisingly quickly. I live in southeast PA. I don't have snow tires, they're the Hankook Optimus tires and do pretty good. I don't think any car in any situation is going to stop well on ice, right?
You have got to be kidding me with the OP comments and I seriously ? if he has a Prius at all. As for heavy the list of heavier cars is endless so stopping on snow and ice is better in the Prius and if the OP has an issue it is either driving style, tires or some combination. We just had a real storm here in Texas where I live with snow, ice and 20s all week and with original Toyota supplied tires no issues on stopping or traction what so ever. In fact our other two cars are a Scion and a Mercedes and both sucked compared to the Gen III
Don't forget the mwoks among the trolls. This one sounds like an extremely ignorant poster who's not using the proper tires.
YOU said it doesnt get cold in NJ not me,i said its cold here in winter.You my friend only read what u want.
Even if you lost 8 to 10 mpg you would still doing better than people who own conventional cars. The Prius actually warms up faster that any other car I have owned. If yours does not you may have a problem with your car.
Welcome back. Since you're not the typical slash and run negative poster, and since you yourself brought up the topic of reading what you want to, I think there are some good pointers herein to get you back on the road to automobile satisfaction. Seriously though....if you're that unhappy with the car....get rid of it. There are zillions of other cars out there that might make you happier----but I don't think they'll be more fuel efficient....summer or winter.
I used to live in NJ and I have experienced a lot of black ice type conditions..Driving while it is snowing is risky for "any" cars. Used to drive an acura integra then..and had my share of slip/sliding with the integra. I'd definitely look at snow tires for winter driving..I notice that the front clearance on prius is low..but reading the posts from the real cold climate folks, it seems like it is not an issue.
Wife's had two Prius's now, a 05 and 10. We live in upstate NY and have cold winters and snow. We always run winter tires and live on a hill and have never had a problem. All weather or M&S tires, without the snowflake emblem on the tires are not made to run in the winter safely. Low mileage, in the winter there is a different fuel blend and in addition to that this new E10 is the worst and you lose at least 5 MPG with that alone, not to mention the cold weather and ICE running longer to get the Synergy drive up to temp. Be happy.. my Highlander Hybrid is only getting 19-20MPG now with this gas where the worst I was getting was only 23-24MPG before E10. Can't wait till these idiots make us use E15, get your wallet ready.