A huge snowstorm finally hit, making commuting in my Honda Civic very difficult. I'm talking about so much snow that the car is starting to hang up on the snow and it's making it difficult just to go forward. Yes I have winter tires with studs on them, since they are in good shape they are about as good traction as I can get out of the car. I have to turn left coming onto a highway which is very difficult. The car very slowly lurches forward in all the deep snow. Nevertheless, I am still able to commute. Winter storms like this are not very common in this area. Since I'm a shift worker I have to get to work every single day. No matter what the snowstorm is like, I have to be able to make it to work. I was thinking about getting the Toyota Prius, but all the hybrids do not have the ability to turn off the traction control. I'm wondering if in deep snow like that Toyota Prius might get bogged down in the deep snow. My Honda Civic does not have traction control, so it's able to forcefully plow its way through the deep snow. Will the Toyota Prius be able to make it some similar conditions as my Honda Civic? The cars have probably similar ground clearance and I would put 15 inch rims for the winter with studded winter tires.
I have found in the past week, with 2 smaller snowfalls, 6" +/-, the Toyota Prius is handling better than my 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid did.... My Civic didn't seem to have as much control on a slippery curve/turn. Thus far I believe it to be part of the VSC & TRAC systems on the car that have improved that. Will see what happens in deeper snow and I will post those results as well...
We had the same snowstorm hit Calgary too. Small residential streets that havn't been plowed with a good solid feet of snow have not given me problems yet. The VSC and TRAC light up often, but I havn't been stuck once between last weeks gongshow of ice and this week's snow storm. I've got X-Ice 2's on my 15 inch rims as well.
I can say the Prius exceed my expectations. Here are a couple of photos. I went down into a picnic grounds parking lot after about 5-6" of snow (not plowed). Granted it was nice fresh, soft powder the car did great. There was a grade down into the lot. I am not good with estimating the grade but it was noticeable. On the way out, half way up the lengthy grade the car did kind of slow down (even though I was giving it more gas) but the tires were not spinning that I could tell. With snow coming over the hood, I wasn't going to take a chance so I jumped back into my tracks going down. No problem. I would have give this little experiment a second thought with my 97 Camry for sure. The Prius (Gen III) felt confident. Peter
Pearl is in the garage. I was so worn out just shoveling my walks and short driveway, I couldn't be bothered to venture out on the roads with the way folks in this area drive! Besides, I didn't think -I- should be the one to plow the back alley. Yup, lots of snow followed by a really nice strong wind. Don't you just love snowdrifts (some of them 2' high)!
Did yours come with the Rendler Spindle? I've heard they can be noisy, but maybe worth the boost when passing. When not spinning, they can do wonders on mileage, even increasing tire life, some say
While I am not looking forward to the first of the road salt hitting my new Prius, I am really curious to see how it does in the snow. My previous car was an 88 Honda CRX Si and it did surprisingly well in the snow. I've driven it through snow deep enough that it was plowing. I think it had only slightly more ground clearance then the Prius and of course it had no VSC/TRAC/ABS and was a manual trans. I never missed work due to snow and I never got stuck in 6 years of driving it in the snow. I've just started wondering if there are areas that receive annual snow that sticks around more than a few days that does NOT use road salt to melt snow and ice and if so, do they use sand or other alternatives or nothing?
Lake Tahoe area gets tons of snow, and only uses sand, due to concerns about the salt getting into the lake. They use a lot of sand.
I'm pleased to say my Gen III stands head and shoulders above my 2005 in handling in the slick mess we had today. I tried to get the TC to kick in on the hills, even flooring it, which would have left me at a standstill in the '05. The TC did kick in, but the car kept moving forward in a straight line with the vsc light blinking merrily away. I'd like to try it in some different conditions but, as of this experience, I think I'll be happy with it.
Was this with or without snow tires? Where I live we don't use snow tires since we get at most one snowfall a year. But it's very hilly and when it does snow, many roads don't get cleared--we wait the day or two till it melts. So I'm interested in finding out what it would be like to drive in snow with the regular tires.
