I live in Michigan and the winter here is pretty nasty sometimes. I have been reading previous posts on winter driving, snow tires, problems with traction control, etc. I have two questions about winter driving and would appreciate any information. First, is it really necessary to buy snow tires for winter driving and second, have the problems with the traction control been fixed on the 2010 models? I would appreciate any updated information.
3 winters with a Classic model 6 winters with an Iconic model 1 winter with a 2010 model All in Minnesota. The 2010 has been the best of the bunch for me. You'll be pleased with even just the factory tires in basic winter conditions, which is what I used last year. For the heavy stuff, I used high-traction tires with my Iconic... but not observe the need for the 2010. For the really nasty driving (unplowed, deep, hilly), some find snow tires a worthy upgrade. .
I used to live in MI. I think it will do fine. I did drive mine through over 6inches of snow a few times and i was impressed on how it did. I liked the way the traction control system works. I have heard the 2010 are alot better then older ones.
boston gets pretty nasty. i've been driving the gen II for 5 winters. it's as good as any 2 wheel drive car i've ever had, and i've had a lot of them. factory tires only. gen III should be even better!
With 2 monsterous northeastern blizzard this past winter, my prius took it like a champ. Drove perfectly fine in 7" of snow.
In Alaska and I think it does GREAT![IMGLINK]http://priuschat.com/forums/attachments/gen-iii-2010-prius-accessories-modifications/19871d1257796987-got-snow-snow1.jpg[/IMGLINK]
I had no trouble driving in Minnesota snow this past winter. Actually the day I drove it home from dealer it was snowing pretty good.
Tires are always a compromise. The traction of snow tires on snow is far superior with any vehicle to the ordinary 'all season' tire. As far as the Prius goes, the car is not a snow plow, so the road surface can't have too much snow, but it handles well on a snow covered road, and cold weather is never a problem. As with most things about driving, the best or worst results depend almost totally on the quality of the Nut behind the steering wheel.
I disagree. Last Tuesday I drove through 18in of unplowed spring snow (heavy wet snow). I had to dig out my door to get in, and about a minute of rocking back and forth with traction off, I was able to bolt out and maintain speed to get to the interstate. It snowed yesterday too, but it wasn't too bad...
In Raleigh NC, where it snows and ice-over periodically during winters (and that we have very little snow-removal equipment), my 2010 Prius III should do fine. I do plan to change the current Yokohamas with Goodyear TripleTred for additional traction (yes, I know it will reduce my MPG a little, but read on...) I also have a Gen I, and I changed the tires to Goodyear Integra since the OEM Potenzas were horrible ... they even slipped on dry pavement. I ended up in a single-car accident, which was exacerbated due to these tires, and after I changed the tires, I have had no issues. Despite what Toyota dealer told me in "voiding the [Gen I] warranty if I don't use the Potenzas", I still got 42-48 MPG during spring-fall and 38-44 MPG during the winters (most likely due to engine warmups) with the Goodyear brands. I also watched the overall vehicle's weight not to exceed the tires' loading capacity (Gen I had XL tires). The Yokohamas are a lot better than the Potenzas, but I still plan to change the tires to the Goodyear brand before winter hits. Call it personal risk avoidance for me
I'm from Grand Rapids, MI. My 2010 handled the snow just fine this year. I still have the stock tires. We did take one trip up to Cheboygan at Xmas time and we didn't have any trouble. It handled better than my previous car, for sure, a 99 Buick Century Limited.
We had snow the first week I got my Prius III, 2010. It went better than I expected it to. It didn't feel very heavy, but I guess because the batteries are above the back wheels, and the engine is above the front wheels, it was actually pretty good in the snow. I think the wieght distribution is something like 62% rear, and 48% front.
The prius is great in the snow, Traction and stability control work really well in the deep fluffy stuff as well as on Ice. I would recommend snow tires, and remember your A/S tire will last much longer if you're only using them april - Dec so you're really not out much extra$
