Would you want a Prius AWD?

Those were my first thoughts as well.

 

I am a GII owner, but I would not want an AWD in any car. Of course, I livei n Southern California, so I would not need one in any case.

However, a significant part of my appreciation for the Prius is fuel efficiency, and the AWD would compromise that, for a function that is not needed for most drivers, and not in a hatchback vehicle in my opinion.

 

Hi All,

I think that a low-powered AWD system could be done that would provide lots of low speed torque in the rear wheels and little to no mileage impact when not being used. 5 HP Wheel motors put on the rear hubs would be great for getting through snow, and in the summer, they just free wheel. Might even be able to replace the rear friction brakes altogether, which would lessen the costs.

The reason AWD is so much a gas guzler in other cars is the continuous turning of all the power transfer and gearing from the front of the car to the rear. With Electric AWD, that inverter just gets turned off, and does nothing, and eats no electricity when its not in use.

What is more, Toyota already has this type of system (albeit with a center motor instead of wheel motors) in the 4WD Highlander and AWD GS450h.

 

In my neck of the woods where it's easy to have snow 8 or 9 months of the year I would LOVE to have an AWD Prius for my commute. I have a truck for off-roading, I don't need huge clearance on my commuter vehicle. I'm talking about the pure safety benefit. My drive is 2 mountain passes and a decent amount of time hugging the top rim of a canyon. Mistakes are deadly and ice is frequent. That and the frequency of rocks coming down the mountainside in spring and fall makes you want all the traction you can get when it gets critical. Living here actually makes me wonder why all cars aren't AWD, though I do see the reasons flatlanders get away with F or R...

It actually felt like a risk to purchase a FWD car here, and lots of my friends are placing their bets on whether I'll still have this Prius by winter of 2011. Here's hoping, since I love it!

BTW - a locking differential would be even better!

 

I was going to suggest this as well but you beat me to it! Sure a little bit of complexity and weight is added, but I doubt it would impact the mileage too much. It would be nice to have low speed traction in the rear wheels in snow and going up steep hills in rain and snow. Isn't that how the RX400h works?

I really doubt that Toyota will consider AWD for the Prius but you never know. Having owned a few Audis I can say that AWD is a real nice feature to have.

 

I don't need it, FWD is more than sufficient to drive around in snow for me, and I wouldn't consider the Prius for offroading. I actually think having AWD makes people think they can get away with more in the snow than they can when it really doesn't do much once the vehicle is moving.

 

I took my TCH off the driveway onto the grass which had dew on it and as soon as I hit a very slight grade my car's traction control shut me down. I won't even consider driving my Prius in the winter without snow tires this year but even then I don't trust it. I'll be driving the HH (similar concern but at least it has 4wd-i).

 

But then you're stuck with the 15" wheels and not all the Adv. Tech. features available in U.S. Prius, no?

 

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No, no, and no!
It would not be a Prius. More tire wear, lower mpg, minimal handling gain, and a move in the reverse direction from Prius technology which is all about substituting electronic control for old-fashioned mechanical solutions.
In snowy conditions in New England I saw too many SUV's in the ditch on a corner, presumably ending up there in the mistaken belief that 4-wheel drive gave a vehicle better lateral stability.

 

Man, to read some of these comments, you would think AWD is the cause of bad driving skills!

 

Yup. I live in Minneapolis. If the Prius came with AWD I would've purchased one years ago.

:rockon:

 

This is why our other car is the Subaru Outback. My wife feels safe in the snow in the Outback. Great for a trip to the local ski area on a snow day! Don't think we'll try this in the Prius, even with dedicated snow tires!

 

Actually we used to own both a Ford Expedition and a Honda CRV, and found that for off-road places we like to travel to (trailheads and campsites), the CRV was just fine other than being under-powered. We really didn't need the 4WD and ended up getting rid of the Expedition as it was not economical and was starting to need a lot of repairs.

But the thing is, most people, ourselves included, just don't travel off road very often. We go maybe 4-5 times a year and that's probably more than most SUV owners. Very few go on difficult 4WD trails and yes they use tougher equipment. So Toyota's solution makes a lot of sense, because you don't have to invest too much weight in a feature you might not use very often.

We replaced the Expedition with the Forester, which has more power than the CRV and is now our first choice for off road use. We found in our recent road trip that the Prius has more power than the Forester (i.e. able to climb steep hills more easily). So if there were a vehicle with the Forester's capabilities but more economical like the Prius, that would interest us when the Forester comes up for replacement.

I'm not sure which is more responsible for the Prius' fuel economy — the hybrid engine or the aerodynamics. I suspect it's both. So an efficient AWD vehicle probably wouldn't have the usual SUV boxy shape. But that's just fine with me.

 

I traded in an '08 Highlander Hybrid with the 4WD-i setup, and on acceleration and when wheel slip was detected the rear wheels got power. Otherwise only the fronts got power, so "most of the time" it handled like a FWD vehicle.

With the traction control and VSC and all the other stuff on the Prius, I think it's just fine like it is. I didn't find the 4WD-i on the Highlander to be any great shakes, and certainly didn't ever feel like it gave me any more confidence driving in adverse conditions.

 

Reading this thread I just have to wonder how much semantics might influence peoples feelings.

The second you call it a PRIUS AWD a lot of people dislike the idea because they are applying Prius expectations to the whole concept.

I wonder if it just was the same concept, idea and general vehicle but you called it something entirely different, if people wouldn't relax and go "Hmm..sounds interesting"?

 

I'm not picturing an SUV at all. An electric motor in each wheel, with full traction control, would be brilliant. It'd be more efficient, not less. With an height-adjustable suspension, an AWD/4x4 Prius could be the safest, most capable car on the road.

 

I'm with you there. Surely Toyota's already designing the 2015 - where do we put our suggestions for that?