1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Clearance

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by tenortodd, Aug 8, 2020.

  1. tenortodd

    tenortodd Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2014
    20
    3
    0
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Hi all.

    i need some help. We are considering driving a long distance to obtain a crazy deal on a 2020 Prius Prime. As a former 2014 Prius owner, I remember how low to the ground it is. We scraped the bottom multiple times either hitting bumps in the road or going onto an incline.

    Well, our new home has 2 inclines on the driveway: one when you first drive up to it and another after the sidewalk. How in the world would I know of the Prius can clear them? There’s no dealer that would let me test drive the vehicle to my house...nor would they let me try a test that could possibly damage the vehicle.

    Any ideas? My wife thinks we just have to forget this deal.
     

    Attached Files:

    #1 tenortodd, Aug 8, 2020
  2. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2020
    2,069
    868
    0
    Location:
    California
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Should clear it no problem.
    If there was damage to the driveway and it was not level then you might have a problem.
     
    #2 AzusaPrius, Aug 8, 2020
  3. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2020
    2,069
    868
    0
    Location:
    California
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    You can do this if it was a problem. 20200808_085528.jpeg
     
    #3 AzusaPrius, Aug 8, 2020
    Montgomery and pghyndman like this.
  4. tenortodd

    tenortodd Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2014
    20
    3
    0
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    i tried to show in those pics... it’s not a level driveway. It’s quite an incline.
     
    #4 tenortodd, Aug 8, 2020
  5. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    22,449
    11,762
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    The current Prius and Corolla have 5.1 inches of ground clearance.
    The Prime's is 4.8", but that is mostly because of the plastic trim.
    I'm guessing that is a Fit in the photo; its ground clearance is 4.4 inches.
     
    #5 Trollbait, Aug 8, 2020
  6. Northerner

    Northerner Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2020
    121
    103
    0
    Location:
    Midwest
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    I have an inclined driveway that many guests scrape their bumpers on when turning in or leaving the driveway. Our Prime would surely scrape if I didn’t know the technique from lots of practice with previous cars.
    Just make sure to cross that line one tire at a time. It really does make a difference.
     
    #6 Northerner, Aug 8, 2020
    illumiN8i, Tips and Montgomery like this.
  7. ems2158

    ems2158 Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2012
    221
    162
    0
    Location:
    Bucks County, PA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    The left and right bottom edge on my fenders is really scrapped up from a driveway similar to yours.

    I'm not too concerned about it though. It's plastic and not going to rust and I can't see it unless I lay on the ground.
     
    #7 ems2158, Aug 8, 2020
    jerrymildred likes this.
  8. schja01

    schja01 One of very few in Chicagoland

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2005
    1,765
    1,169
    0
    Location:
    Chicagoland
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    To be safe I try to attack ramps at an angle whenever possible. Learned that trick during my flying days to avoid “Prop Dings”.
     
    #8 schja01, Aug 8, 2020
    jerrymildred likes this.
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    45,024
    16,243
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    No way a Fit without load is 4.4” - maybe you’re quoting a full car with passengers and cargo?

    Honda Canada lists unladen at 5.4” and fully laden at 4.4”

    Their 2014 Prius is listed at 5.5”. The Prime is 4.8” (all unladen).

    The issue is the longer overhang on the Prime compared to the regular Prius. If they’re scraping the bumper with the old Prius, they’ll scrap with the Prime.

    Hell, I’ve scraped the bumper on a standard curb, pulling up curbside (I thought I hit the curb with the wheel but it turns out, it’s the front bumper).
     
    #9 Tideland Prius, Aug 8, 2020
    Montgomery likes this.
  10. PT Guy

    PT Guy Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 23, 2016
    1,085
    711
    0
    Location:
    Washington, the state
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    #10 PT Guy, Aug 8, 2020
    Montgomery likes this.
  11. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,518
    14,128
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    The Prime is lower, as already stated. And the front overhang is longer.

    But the front overhang is angled up on the bottom. So places that used to scrape the front bottom of my PiP do not scrape the front bottom of the Prime. I don't scrape as often against parking blocks with the Prime either. However, a rock that the PiP would straddle might be too tall for a Prime.

    On steep driveway transitions, I do like @schja01 and take it diagonally. It works most of the time. And, again, it's plastic. Won't rust. Not visible except to oil change personnel and to any slow pedestrians who don't get our of your way. :whistle:
     
    #11 jerrymildred, Aug 8, 2020
    Tideland Prius and schja01 like this.
  12. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,518
    14,128
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I measured mine this morning. Front center had 7-1/2" clearance. Toward the sides it was more like 7-1/4". That's quite a bit more than my PiP had even though the Prime extends farther forward from the front axles. Oh! And I didn't notice any scrape marks on the bottom. The car has about 45,150 miles on it.
     
    #12 jerrymildred, Aug 9, 2020
    Tideland Prius likes this.
  13. Tips

    Tips Member

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2019
    128
    65
    0
    Location:
    Grand Forks, B.C. Canada
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Maybe try backing in. Lots do! Im thinking of purchasing a back-up camera and mounting it on the frount.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #13 Tips, Aug 9, 2020
  14. 1x1

    1x1 Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2007
    147
    45
    0
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    My Gen 2 would always scrape the curb backing up from the garage to the street. The Prime does not do this. YMMV, but in my experience it is better/improved. Can also try doing it at an angle as that can help.
     
    #14 1x1, Aug 13, 2020
    Tips likes this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)