Let's talk about the Prius AWD

If I still lived in Wyoming, I'd buy one, but I don't, and it's more like 1 day in 4 years that I'd need it here. The infotainmant is crappy, yes, but so are most infotainment systems I've seen in the last few years. I use bluetooth all the time and it works most of the time. You'll love dynamic cruise control.

 

The box it doesn't tick for me, and sadly all 2019 Prius levels in Canada except base are thus, is the lack of spare tire.

 

Not sure AWD Prius with the same ground clearance as non-AWD will help me in situations when I really want AWD. For most part, as long as road has been plowed, non-AWD Prius with a good snow tires will do the job. That said, I do want a high ground clearance AWD vehicle with a large cargo to go off road in occasions.

 

i would really have to want prius gas savings over a rav4h or subbie. no toyota infotainment works, but my daughters subbie CarPlay is amazing.

i guess price might determine my direction, are they knocking a ton off msrp?

 

$26,000+

 

This winter I have been making frequent full use of my Forester's entire ground clearance on the road to the family farm, not plowed by the 'gum'nt'. Sometimes plowed by us, but that is problematic under drifting conditions because it makes subsequent drifting even worse. So some other times we prefer to push a bit of snow with the undercarriage rather than plow that 0.6 mile section. (And there are still times that we didn't dare attempt it with a fully chained up F250 with a full load of feed in back.)

If you drive only on government-plowed and -groomed roads, then ground clearance becomes much less of an issue.

 

Something to keep in mind about the Prius AWD is that Japan is resource poor. Most likely already knew this in regards to oil and other fuels, but it also applies to salt. So Japan doesn't salt their roads, and the rusting issues seen in their early imports were because the manufacturers never had to deal with road slat before.

Ever consider a drift fence? My personal history shows that they will prevent drifts from forming on the road when placed right.

 

Wait, didn't I see that plow on a Prius???

 

Surely you are joking. No Forester has the traction, thrust, or super low gearing to handle much of the heavy wet snow experienced at this farm. The only vehicle we have that can push that stuff, has tracks, not wheels, similar to this:


Even the usual wheeled county vehicles that do the public roads, need chains on 4 of their giant tires, which I seem to remember as taller than these:

And when (not if) these can't get through, there are snowblower trucks for backup.

(Step)-grandad had a few rows of them, but they were never maintained and are now long gone. And they weren't in the right place for the current issues.

The deepest problem location would require placing the snowfences well in to a neighbor's pasture, not our own. And entirely for our family's benefit, not their's. The next level problem area would interfere with harvesting a significant portion of our crop lands. Something (climate change?) has significantly reduced the need compared to the years of my youth, so this hasn't bubbled up high on the priority and resource allocation lists. But this year has been unusual compared to recent times, reminding us of what things were often like long ago.

 

Don’t buy AWD in Maryland. It’s not worth the cost and the maintenance expenses that come with an AWD car. It will cost you many thousands over the life of the car and offer little benefit. Good snow tires will give you what you want without the hassle. I know this from AWD BMWs with the transfer case, control arms, front and rear differentials, etc. There are more things to go wrong on AWD, more maintenance items, and more expensive parts.

 

Really? I thought the Prius (and other Toyota / Lexus hybrid AWD) is implemented by putting motors in the rear wheels. It should be fully electric, no mechanical linkage to the engine.

 

OK, 0.2 inch increase. I still think it's a NO GO when more than 6 inches of unplowed snow is on the road, AWD or not. I want a minimum of 8 inch clearance.

 

That's not the same as "free" or "maintenance-free."

 

luckily, awd gets nimh batteries for very cold areas where it never snows more than 5.3".

 

That would exclude where your are, doesn't it? We certainly had more than 5.3" snow when I lived there!