AWD is amazing on this beast!

I am so jealous! A couple of weeks ago, I drove some 40 miles during a snowstorm, and, as best as I could tell from the car video display, the AWD never came on (except from 0-6 mph).

But, I'm driving up to Vermont tomorrow ...

 

Doesn't that mean that the car detected no slipping of the front wheels, thus AWD wasn't needed? I.e. your tires were plenty good for the situation?

Or were you detecting slip episodes where AWD would have been helpful?

 

Please update your profile. I assume you sold the PiP?

 

Very interested in following this post. Would love to hear from other folks with the new awd prius on how it works and does in snowy climates. Please mention where you are from and any personal stories you have about it’s performance. Thank you

 

OK, I admit it, AWD was not needed.

But, I've never had AWD before, and the 2019 Prius has been getting great reviews for the AWD, and I've been waiting since July! When do I get to brag about it?

I guess the winter is still young ...

 

The AWD only activates at like real low speeds. I don't remember it off hand though.

 

AWD is activated unconditionally from 0-6 mph, but then, also, as needed, up to 43 mph.

 

(I signed up specifically to give my input on the subject)
So I have actually have my Prius for just 2 weeks now (and I love it to death), where I work the lot is almost always unplowed. This means I got to run some tests on the AWD system and here's my experience with it so far:

Now a bit of background, my previous car was a subcompact hatchback and obviously FWD and the storm that dropped a few inches of snow happened on the day I was due to pick up my new Prius, this meant that I pretty much had a side by side comparison between my old car and the new Prius (I call her my pearl baby). Since I've had pretty bad experiences in the snow with my old car, I decided my next car had to have AWD and snow tires, hence my pearl baby. Now my experience can be pretty much summed up as "You won't notice it".

Let me elaborate. While driving my Prius in the snow (both virgin snow and horrible slush) I noticed that she pretty much handled as if she was on dry pavement. For those wondering, I did have the AWD monitoring up and she did engage her AWD system while I was running around at 40-50kph and doing harder acceleration and tight turns. The computer basically handled all the work about deciding what was needed to maintain the comfort of stress-free driving. Drive like you would normally (well normal for a Prius driver) and the snow won't feel any different from dry pavement.

Coming directly from a car that didn't have it, doing the same stunts on it made it oversteer and I always felt stress to keep the car in control during a heavy snow fall. With my pearl baby the launches are always confident and the steering is always as I expect it. In all, I feel a lot more stress free when driving in the snow with her than my older car. The only stress inducing moments was when I was testing her new systems like the DCC which gets a little too close to the car in front when its slowing down for my comfort though a bit of training and setting adjustments let me grow out of that.

Now as my experience with the AWD system itself. I did not actually hear it engage over the normal noises she makes while in operation. I am only aware that the AWD engaged from the monitor and my own experience with a different car under the same conditions. The way I see it is that you're not going to see some kind of amazing performance increase by the AWD. What it excels at is maintaining a comfortable level of driving in unfavorable conditions. So yeah, to sum it up "You won't notice it until you don't have it".

 

i helped push a lady out of her parking spot in a fancy merc suv yesterday. perfectly flat, icy surface, tires just spun

 

You couldn't wait for her to leave or find a different spot??

 

Christmas shoppers, the place was packed!

 

I was driving for a few miles today in light snow, and FINALLY the AWD came on! A couple of times, at about 25 mph. It was very brief, but I will treasure the memories.

 

Today I did some more driving, in a rural area, including a few miles on unpaved roads. The roads were plowed, but, on dirt roads, this cannot remove all the snow, but, instead, polishes it to a slippery surface.

The AWD was used, with great effect (as shown visibly on the Prius AWD graph) when going uphill on snow-covered roads.

This will be a review for many PriusChat readers, but it is worth mentioning, that AWD does not help when going downhill on snow-covered. For that, you use (snow) tires and (anti-lock) brakes.

There were a few times when I was driving over 43 mph, and I could imagine that AWD might have been helpful. This was on roads that were well plowed, but there might have been a snowy or icy patch, or I might have steered a little to the right to give more room for an oncoming car. This will be a review for many PriusChat readers, but it is worth mentioning, that AWD is not a substitute for exercising proper caution.

 

Most snow drivers know that AWD doesn't help with stopping, that's the express purpose of snow tires. The AWD however does improve control when in motion, so when launching, turning and cornering the AWD system helps to provide stability. Unless the AWD system can suddenly reverse tire spin on the fly (which is a horrible idea anyways, don't even think about it) you won't be stopping any better with or without the system. So yeah, the combination of snow tires + AWD gives you a piece of mind knowing that you will stay in control and have the stopping power necessary if you get into a situation.

The thing to remember is: AWD systems on ANY vehicle isn't going to help you stop, for that you need snow tires. Drive safe in the snow.

 

I wouldn’t personally call it a “BEAST” but all 4 wheels turn. So that’s a plus! Lack of ground clearance and non grippy low rolling resistance tires are the two biggest issues in my book. With a touch more clearance and a better all season tire (dedicated snow tires would be a game changer) I think the Prius will be in a league of its own for a capable AWD 50 mpg vehicle.