How is the Prime in the snow?

Living in this winter wonderland, I'm most worried about the low clearance in the snow.

 

I haven't ever had any trouble with any of my Prius (here in Minnesota over the past 16 winters). I was always able to get around just fine.

Don't expect to ram your way through a deep unshoveled driveway though. A simple rough snow removal (few minutes with the shovel to make a trail) does the trick.

 

This reminded me of my first experience with heavy snow after growing up in the desert. We had moved to MA and I woke up to a foot of snow in our 100 ft long driveway. I had to get to work and had not planned on spending a lot of time moving snow so I cleared two paths just wide enough for each tyre track.

Luckily my neighbor saw my foolish behavior and came over to help and explained the issue of clearance. Ahh...

 

The critical point is the tires.

 

So far I'm noticing little difference between my old pip and prime. The prime seems to have a bit better control in not plowed and icy roads.

I initially thought something was going on with my prime on one if my drives. The steering was so loose and I felt the car sway that I thought I needed to get it serviced

The thing is, I don't hear the same sounds when it slips as the old pip. The old one sounded like something electrical was breaking. The prime just swayed and I didn't know (my phone was blocking the indicator) . But I've felt I've climbed roads that the old pip would've gotten stuck on.


Now bottoming out..i do fear that with the vehicle being lower to the ground. Hasn't happened in a mound of snow yet but I want to be real careful..love the vehicle!

 

The Toyo A29 tires will give your ABS and stability control a good workout on slick snow & ice. Real winter tires are highly recommended.

 

For all vehicles in your area?

Here in Minnesota, I only know of a handful of people who switch. We all just make sure we've got good all-season tires with decent tread.

 

Mine came with Dunlop Enasave 01 A/S tires. Tire Rack didn't have ratings for this one, but another Dunlop (SP31 A/S) was the lowest rated tire in the groups listed for the Prius Prime. I expect I will replace them very early.

 

We had some light flurries yesterday so traction was not an issue. The caved-in split hatch rear-view was a BIG problem. When driving slowly, instead of being blown off, the snow collected in the scoop and blocked the view. The temp was a few degrees below freezing and the rear defroster was not able to melt it off quickly enough. The lower portion of the hatch stayed clear giving a tiny slit of a back view.

I would like the option to have the rear view camera always on in part of that huge screen.

 

I doubt Toyota even thought about snow, with this whiz bang rear window.

 

I was afraid that would happen when it was first announced there would be no wiper. Although, the rear view camera gets a good coating of road salt and becomes pretty useless also.

But I agree, there is no reason to not be able to see the rear cam view on demand.

 

Rain-X

Bob Wilson

 

It's probably a liability issue, which is likely why Tesla still has side mirrors. They've wanted to replace them with camera & screen for years now.

The wiper didn't live up to the challenge. It caused the snow to collect at the bottom of the window, rather than remove it from the vehicle. At least the dip lowers the field-of-view.

Also, take a look at the latest sedans. Some now have a pitch similar to that of Prius... and no wiper either.

Bingo! The window treatment solutions work really well, which is why the premium carwashes offer it.

 

Replacing side mirrors require changing the vehicle code. The US one is so dated we can't get the latest headlights.

 

I rainx all my glass first thing on a new car just as soon as I get it home. It does help a bit when scraping ice, but snow sliding off when driving? No, that doesnt happen.

 

This is fairly typical of hatchbacks, but right now the back of my car from the spoiler on down to the bumper is coated in salt.

 

That's correct. Doesn't last long either (~2 months).

 

Timed to work with tire inflation.

Bob Wilson

 

I gave up Rain-X in favor of PPG's Aqua-Pel. Seems to last more than 6 months and helps keep snow and ice from sticking better than Rain-X. Been using it since 2001. Doesn't help at all with snow in the rear window valley.