Newbie - potential owner

Welcome Boston. The Prius does take a hit in the winter (Alaska style). I loose close to 8-10 mpg but I also have studded tires on. I will still average around 49mpg overall though.

I think the Prius handles as well or better than my Camry in the winter. Basically I am saying it does just as well as any other mid-size front wheel drive. As long as you don't have to travel long, steep hills, you should be just fine.

 

1. Winter weather. The Prius has a pretty good stability system. I suppose it's possible to swap ends, but, in a couple of hours of trying on a snow-covered empty parking lot, I was unable to do it. It's vaguely possible for the VSC to get a car into trouble, either in too deep snow (the Prius is no four-wheel drive) or under Strange Circumstances; but it'll probably get you out of more trouble than you'd get into in a non-VSC car like, say, a Corolla.
2. Mileage. Weirdly enough, without driving in a strange fashion, the Prius gets around 47-49 mpg on any type of driving you'd car to mention - and that includes city driving, local roads, interstates, et. al.. Go down the freeway in Mass at 70 mph: 47 mpg. Chug through Albany downtown: 47 mpg, and so on. At 55 mph, +-10 mph, it's possible (with careful driving) to top 50 mpg, and there's hypermilers around who seem to get upwards of 60 mpg. But they do pulse & glide and (not always) use special instrumentation to help in the effort. Summer times are the best for mpg; winter times are the worst. I get around 50-52 commuting in August and 43-46 in December. Word is that this kind of seasonal variation is worse in standard-drive cars, never mind the Prius, so you're not really losing much here. There are people who claim that blocking the grill in the winter ups the gas mileage to the warm weather numbers; I've never been quite that brave, myself.
3. As for buying: You more or less get what you pay for. The keyless locks work on only one door, the driver's, so, if you want both front doors and the hatch to have the keyless, you need to get a IV or V. The sound system on the II is supposedly pitiable, so there seems to be a regular series of people over in the audio forum churning through audio system upgrades. The NAV package either comes with or can have a backup camera; if there's one thing I wish the Prius had, standard, on all models, that would be it. Mine doesn't have it and I've been mumbling to myself about getting an aftermarket one attached to a rear-view mirror; some people have reported that dealerships will install same if asked (and paid for). Bluetooth for a cell phone comes with the III and up, although see the bit, above, where people install aftermarket radios to get it.

By and large a decent car to drive. Oh, yeah: By default, the car comes with a "feature" where it beeps continually when the car is in reverse. This drives most, but not all people insane. Like about twenty other options (listed in the back of the manual) this is configurable to a mode where it beeps once when one goes into reverse. However, it's the dealership that has to do the change. Most dealerships do it with nary a complaint nor charge; but there seems to be a subset of dealerships that either claim it Violates the Federal Regulation In The Sky (it doesn't) or they try to charge $350 for it. Calls to the national Toyota Care crowd may result in dealer wrist slapping.

When you get the car make sure that the wheel covers are on tight. There have been reports of missing wheel covers in the first thousand miles. This may be due to hitting curbs and such with a new car. Or maybe they weren't snapped on all the way when new. Check 'em.

Also, if you're inspecting the new car, check the bolts along the bottom of the front bumper that hold the under-engine cover on. Sounds stupid, but some people have reported that these bolts weren't tight, resulting in under-cover dragging along the ground until it breaks. The dealerships always claim that the driver "hit something", but it's $300 or so for replacement cover. So, look. A 10 mm socket wrench is your friend here.

Finally, there's the oil. The car comes with a full synthetic (or whatever passes for a full synthetic in these benighted United States) 0W-20 oil. Current Toyota practice is to replace this stuff with more 0W-20 oil once every 10K miles.

First, given all the fun people have discussing wear-in intervals there seems to be about twice as many opinions than owners about whether every 10K miles is a good idea or not. Your call when you change your oil for the first time.

Second, there seems to be a subset of dealers who, apparently, either put in 5W-20 (which the manual states can be used in an emergency) and bill for 0W-20, or put in 5W-20 under the mistaken idea that it's allowed. It's "allowed", all right, in the sense that (a) your gas mileage will suffer and (b) you're supposed to change the oil every 5K miles if you do, and (c) the warranty won't be voided. You Have Been Warned.

Good luck!

 

Hey Boston Big Red,

In the past Prii had traction control issues you might read about that would cut power to wheels when slipping on snow. These issues have been fixed in the newer generation models.

The consensus is that snow tires will help immensely, otherwise the stock tires are not terribly good in snow, so you'll see lots of "Prius is terrible in the winter" info out there. Personally I had no problem this winter in the Northeast with the original tires on my used 2007, but then I always drive carefully in wintry weather...maybe that's the secret

kbeck, great writeup!

See "Personal data" graphs on left sidebar at following site, and check out various lifetime mpg graphs for the different model year Prii John has owned:

John's Stuff - Toyota Prius and more

He's said before he drives it "normally", without hypermiling. You can see winter mpg dip there, or check out Fuelly.com and check out any Prius' history with a decent number of fillups spanning the seasons.

 

I had puchased a new 2010 II for my wife last July. She uses the car for commuting 20 miles round trip to work and for errands. I purchased Blizzaks mounted on wheels for the winter. I live in the Hudson Valley in NY. The car drives the same as any other front wheel drive car in snow. The only gauge she looks at is the speedometer and the gas gauge. I check the milage gauge at the end of the week to see how she does on milage. She is getting between 39 and 42 right now in the cold weather with snows mounted which is 2x the milage she got with her old Highlander. When we got the car last July, she was getting 45 - 47 mpg. I just bought a IV for myself and commute 52 miles round trip to work. I watch the power gauges and keep up with traffic. I am getting 51 - 54 mpg. It really doesn't take much effort to increase your mileage. Just accelerate a little slower and allow the electric motors to do some of the work. My wife just steps on the gas and goes.

 

Welcome to PriusChat. EVERY car takes a winter hit in terms of MPGs, performance and sounds. The forum has lots of cold weather Prius around the globe. Best wishes as you continue your research.

 

Hitting the uphills late in the trip will be 'cheaper' then starting uphill each trip.

 

Actually, not so much as you might think. First, the Prius's gas engine is pretty efficient; a slight uphill won't faze it all that much, although, you're correct, you'll lose MPG going up.

However, the spiffy trick is coming back down. Even at 70 or so, going down a "slight downhill" results in MPG numbers, during that downhill, that are over the 100 mpg max scale on the instantaneous MPG meter on the dash. If it's steep enough, the Prius isn't shy about turning off the gas to the ICE and then either letting the battery run down a bit on the downhill or even charging the thing, again, if steep enough.

That's why my earlier post said something along the lines of, "It's weird, but.. " the Prius really does get around 47-48, round trip, to wherever it is you're going. Or better.

Where I work is about 300 feet up from the plains in these here parts. The MPG meter will say 55 at the base of the hill and, after going up the hill, around 44. On the way back down it recovers all that and I'll be back to 53 or so. I would imagine the same for your wife.

KBeck.

 

I didnt go through everyone elses replies, but here is my two cents.

Cold weather has a pretty large effect on mileage in ALL cars. No matter the situation, the prius will get better mileage than nearly any other car on the road.

That said, be prepared to have loads of fun eeking out every last mile out of each gallon. After a while, you stop caring as much and you just drive the car and enjoy the quiet ride. :rockon:

Another common misconception is you will be able to fund your retirement with the gas savings. You can expect to use way less gas, but just take a look at everyones gas mileage that is clearly listed here. Its pretty good, but not a massive amount of money either.

 

isn't boston, new york an oxymoron?

 

As the others have said.....with good snow tires on you should have no trouble getting around. Your only drawback will be ground clearance......as long as you know this.......Happy Motoring !!!!!!!!!

 

I have owned a 2010 level IV for about 2 years now. I get about 42 to 47 in the winter months & about 48 to 54 in the warmer months. I haven't experienced any problems in the winter snow that I didn't have with any other car I have owned.
As far as the NAV. system, a lot of people think that it is not worth the extra money.
I bought my Prius when the Cash-For-Clunkers was ending & it was the last one on the lot. It had the Nav. system and I was pleasantly supprised. The touch screen controls functions such as listing radio stations name & number, play list for the CD player, touch screen calling for your blue tooth phone, back up camera, calendar, schedular for maintance functions, ect.
I think if you can afford the extra cost it is well worth it.
If you go with the version IV or V you have "touch handle" locking & unlocking for all four doors & hatch back.
Good luck with your decision...