2016 models. No 4-wheel drive?

For 2016, AWD is not available in North America.

Prius AWD - What are the specifications? | PriusChat

 

There is so much plastic in a Prius, required to make it light-weight and give better fuel-mileage; that I think it would be a serious disaster to go off-roading in a Prius.

I drive in a region that experiences 'winter', so obviously we drive through a fair amount in snow and across frozen water-ways. The Prius works great for these driving conditions.

But they are not rough and tumble vehicles. I think the first time that you playfully roll a Prius you will likely total the vehicle.

Making a 4X4 Prius will require a huge addition of support metal and rigging, along with jacking it up a foot.

There are many slow-moving 4X4s out there that already get low fuel mileage. I see no reason to compete in the low fuel-mileage market.

 

AWD in a hybrid is pretty unobtrusive...just add a third motor/generator and a rear differential with half-shafts. The fuel economy penalty should be pretty modest.

I find the Prius to be quite rough-and-tumble...at least the 2nd genny.

 

It's popular in Japan and some hope for USA introduction next year,

 

Your Prius is a '07 gen 2. Mine is a '11 gen 3. I have found that a lot of the body work has became brittle began cracking and the grommets pop loose, resulting in pieces of body work flapping loose. I assume some of this is due to flex and some is due to UV brittleness. I have used a body shop to re-anchor body to support, and to re-staple along the cracks.

My wheel well liners were the first things to pop-out completely and were gone. I still have not had them replaced, yet.

I have had many friends who enjoy their mudding. I have a hard time picturing a Prius surviving that treatment.

 

I have had many friends who enjoy their mudding. I have a hard time picturing a Prius surviving that treatment.

I certainly agree with that.---- there are MANY more vehicles out there that are better suited than a Prius.

 

The e-Four option has nothing to do with off-roading. It's for getting up a steep driveway that's iced over, getting started on a hill when you are at a red light on an icy road, and so forth.

There have been times where it took me more than 30 seconds to cross an intersection after the light turned green because of the ice and the lack of traction from the front wheels, and when I got there I was still under 10 miles per hour. I have a spot on my daily trip to work where there's a stop light on a 7% grade. When it's icy, I often struggle to move at all.

E-Four would help enormously with these situations.

 

would it be possible to import one?

 

So far as I know, they are only sold in Japan, which drives on the other side, so you would be looking at gutting the interior and all the lights.
Since AWD would have both MPG and EPA changes I bet you need at least one for the testing, perhaps another to crash, as well for NHSTA

 

So 4wd might get you through that intersection in 15 seconds? That's still doesn't describe great traction that would give you control. Get proper snow tires or put on chains if traction is that limited.

 

The thread was about trying to get 4X4 instead of e-four.

Sounds to me like your studds are gone.

Every year when we change from summer tires to winter studds, we have to check how many of the studds are still present. A few of them work themselves out every 10,000 miles you drive on them.

Just make sure you still have all of your studds and you should be fine.

 

Never, ever use studded tires around here.

 

Hard to drive across the lake without studds.

Or as a previous poster mentioned, it may be hard to get across an icy intersection, without proper tires.

 

Studs are useless here because it's hard pavement 99% of the time.

 

Studded tires are illegal here. And yes, I want AWD not for off-roading, but for urban/suburban driving on icy roads.

 

on earth?

 

If studded tires are illegal on Earth for now, one wonders where they DO sell them?

 

moon rover?

 

Heh. Southern Ontario. Specifically, I live in Toronto. No studded tires allowed. AWD is a popular purchase here, even amongst those of us who never go off-road, although I'd say the vast majority of AWD is the type like you'd find in the RAV4 - not really meant for off-roading. In fact, I'd hazard to guess that 95% of people buying AWD vehicles here are basically those who drive in the city and on the local highways, who only occasionally go on gravel roads for say a weekend mountain biking trip or a weekend ski trip. No hardcore trails, ever. (At least not in the car. Maybe in hiking boots or on the bike.)

Studded tires are allowed in Northern Ontario, but that's basically the middle of nowhere. You need all the traction you can get up there.