Driving in SNOW?

Mike I live in a climate similar to Buffalo. Tons and tons of snow normally although we had a mild winter this year I know it won't last. We have had ours out in the snow with no more difficulty than any other FWD car. The ground clearance could be an issue in a bad storm if the snow is ahead of road crews but those are times I stay in anyway. (rare)

The feedback I've seen is the low rolling resistance tires can get slick after some wear so we plan to buy some snow tires for next winter.

Honestly it handles the winter just fine with some common sense which I lacked when I first moved north from the sunny south but you learn quickly.

You will take a small mileage hit for snow tires but the v still outdoes anything in its class. Some here can tell you more on this first hand. I wouldn't let upstate NY slow me down. =)
W
Edited to add take a peek in the accessories and modifications forum and look for the topic winter tires tips and tricks for some first hand info.
http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1494003

 

I took a Subaru Outback for a long drive this summer and he head rest is very uncomfortable. It presses on your head but your shoulders aren't touching the seat so on a long drive it is not very comfortable.
The new Subaru Impreza 2012 I had an intension of buying it (and was not looking at Toyota at all), has a adjustable had rest (very nice done) but there is a lot of road noise on highway speed.
If I was to make a 300km road trip I would need to stop every 100km and relax my ears. I'm not exaggerating.

The weekend after we took Pirus v for a test and were very pleasantly pressurized, so we own one .
Lot of room and very quiet, seats are much more comfortable than previous models and not to mention fuel economy is a big PLUS.

 

Not much snow this year, but any Prius will handle NY winters just fine with a set of snow tires!

 

Prius do fine in snow. On the other hand, there is no comparison between a Subaru and a Prius when it comes to winter traction and ground clearance, so don't be fooled into thinking that they are equivalent.

I've owned several front-wheel-drive Honda cars, an all-wheel-drive Ford Aerostar van, a four-wheel-drive Subaru, and two Jeeps; real Jeeps - short wheelbase, cloth top, removable doors and such. The Hondas did fine in the winter, although I occasionally had to extract one with my Jeep. Our Gen II Prius is similar and has served us well through Michigan winters. The Aerostar and Subaru were far superior in snow and slippery conditions, but none of them compare to the Jeep.

My solution is to own a Prius and a Jeep. They compliment each other. I call the Jeep the "anti-Prius". But for normal winter driving, the Prius is great. If you live in the boonies, or up a big hill, you might want to think twice. Otherwise the Prius is great.

Tom

 

Tom forgive the silly question but what is the issue with the boonies? I agree with the big hill. Perhaps we define boonies differently but as I write we live in what I call the boonies with 2 v(s) in the garage. They serve quite well for my definition of boonies.
=) I loved my Jeep (TJ) but sold it some years back. A completely different animal indeed.
W

 

It's an issue of snow removal and road maintenance. Some equate "the boonies" with living in the country. I think of the boonies as "the sticks"; out where there are few services and mostly poor roads. In an area like that the roads often accumulate deep snow and muddy ruts; better suited for a truck than a Prius.

Tom

 

Ok that makes more sense. With your definitions I agree with you. My boonies are just distance to anything vs 10 miles down a dirt rd being "middle of nowhere" being your "sticks" where I also resided at one point.

For my boonies where it's a trek to the grocery store on 35-45mph paved roads it has been great.

Thanks for the clarification. =)
W

 

I did my first 2 years of college at Syracuse and the second year I had my car on campus - an old 78 Volvo 245. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of wintering in Syracuse it is in an area that gets lake effect snow constantly (or at least that is how it felt). I had a job delivering chicken wings so staying in was not an option. Driving was not a big deal - there were a few hills that I went out of my way to avoid but other than that it was manageable.

So as others have stated you will be just fine in a v as long as you keep a couple of things in mind. First is good tires - they are a must - you would probably want a set of snow tires - keep in mind that while this is an up-front cost your summer tires will not get miles put on them in the winter so the cost will be essentially a wash. You also probably want to be sure that you will be in an area where you can at least avoid big hills. Lastly, there might be times where you just need to stay in and not drive but this is likely for the best. If the snow is so bad that you should not drive the Prius an all wheel drive car very well might just get you in trouble.