How well suited is Toyota prius for a long drive , with a U haul trailer attached on its hiny..?

I don't think it is supposed to tow anything.

 

I have towed my boat without problems - about 750 lbs total but it is all along the coast in the north east so fairly flat. Out west I'd be scared about mountains - getting up with a trailer might be hard but coming down would terrify me.

 

It's not a good idea at all.

 

Likely voids the warranty. Read the manual.

 

Not a good idea, but U-haul does rent small box trucks that you could tow the prius with.

 

It is wonderfully suited to a long drive without a trailer.

The hybrid Hilander is rated to tow up to 3500 pounds. That would make a tow vehicle for small loads.

A hybrid Colorado can tow up to 6100 pounds.

 

The next gear up from 'D' is 'N'. It provides no thrust.

 

Read the manual - no towing anything. Don't even put a bike rack on the rear of the car etc.

 

I wouldn't plan on towing anything. Also, there is no gear "1" as such. It is a CVT. The only selectable "gear" is "B" for braking while going down hill - it is not a "power" gear.

 

DING, DING, DING. We have a Winner!

 

We have a Class I hitch on my wife's 2010. The only considerable load I've pulled with it was a 4' x 8' trailer with 800-900lbs of top soil, in addition to the 300-375lb trailer. I have not taken it anywhere/distance at or near highway speeds. The car seemed very capable of handling the load (when properly distributed on the trailer) and keen attention was paid to upcoming braking situations.

For me, the Prius has proven an very capable tower. I monitor parameters that many here and on other forums have deemed crucial in towing situations for any hybrid vehicle. Given the OP's initial comment about shifting to a "gear" that doesn't exist, I am going to suggest that you not tow anything with it until becoming more familiar with the car and the items of note that will be important to monitor while towing.

 

How far/often do you need to relocate? Don't your company pays moving costs? How much stuff do you need to carry with you to need a trailer?

with money saved on gas you can rent U-haul/Penske/etc or minivan with unlimited mileage

 

The Prius was not designed to tow anything. Don't be stupid. Rent a truck for packing your stuff and tow the Prius on a trailer.
:nono:
SEE THE MANUAL!!!

 

As you can tell by the other responses, it's probably not a good idea to tow much of anything with a Prius. My suggestion (as was another person's) is to buy a Prius, and when the need arises, rent one of those moving trucks with a tow bar (or similar gizmo) to take your Prius with you. All one way.

I no longer think the bigger cars are worth hanging on to for its limited purposes. I hung onto my Ford Explorer way longer than I should have, solely because I needed to haul plywood. Now, I just have Home Depot cut it to approximate size and put it in my Prius.

Point being, for whatever purpose you think you need your larger car for, see if there is a way around it.

Mike

 

I can think of several reasons why this is a bad idea.

The regenerative braking system results in more front wheel braking than a conventional car. With extra weight hung off the back it might be more likely to jackknife or handle badly during braking. The stability control etc. may or may not be able to compensate since it wasn't designed to cope with a trailer.

The low rolling resistance tires, suspension, etc. may not handle the extra braking load and extra forces as well as a conventional vehicle with heavier components.

You might even overheat the hybrid system if you run at abnormally high power levels for a long time due to the extra drag of the trailer. If you do, you could end up with a very expensive repair, and since towing is not allowed, this might not be covered by warranty.

I'd follow the recommendations in the manual, and not tow if it says not to.

 

A bike rack is just fine (max 200lb). It's static weight bolted to the frame.

Towing on the other would be foolish over those long distances. You'd probably be fine with short and slow city distances and the load distributed properly to keep tongue weight low.

 

Saturn made a 4 cylinder BAS hybrid Vue (they advertised a V6 two mode hybrid Vue as well but went under before making it) The Hybrid (and indeed all the 4 cylinder Vues) are not rated to tow. V6 Vues are rated to 3500 pounds. The V6 hybrid was also rated for 3500, but so far as I know, none were made..

 

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