It is the Prius C or the Regular Prius 3 or 4.

Only people who can't drive get stuck in the snow unless the total depth is more than the ground clearance.

My Prius liftback makes it up and down the Rocky Mountain passes with no issues.

 

First winter I drove on the stock balding tires. They performed poorly, but I was able to get around. Lots of focus was needed, no problems. Since I have put on Michelin X-ICE2 which are some of the best winter tires, but not cheap. I drive on these 9+ months out of the year. This past summer I did not change them because they are on their last leg and at the end of winter this year (mid-Arpil here generally and then we go straight to Summer) they will be replaced with another pair of X-ICE2's.

I have snow-plowed through 18" of powder no problem with the Prius. However 8-10 inches of heavy wet stuff and you are not going anywhere fast. You will bottom out the hood, raise the front tires, and get stuck! But that is any vehicle with that level of ground clearance.

 

My C 4 with xice 3 has done fine here in Canada this winter. Those with problems most probably were running on 4 season tires.....fine in Florida maybe but not in Fargo⛄

 

I bought my Prius used, and the tires already had 3 years and 60K miles of service on them and were cheap to begin with.

Might be, but I have used these Michelins on many vehicles with absolutely no issues. I won't be changing anytime soon.

I lost 4mpg with the X-ICE2. However, that is also during the winter where you will lose mpg's anyways. I have an unlimited season ski pass, so I am constantly going up wintery passes and generally during or right after good snow storms. That's when you get the powder!

A good all season is crap compared to even a crappy winter tire. However I drove on balding, high mileage, all-season tires the first winter and did fine. It wasn't a pleasant driving experience, but if your driving skills are up to par you can do it.

I bought a pair of rims for my winter tires so I just drive them down to the tire shop, and $8 and 30 minutes later they are on and ready to go. It would be free since I bought my tires there, but they move the TPMS sensors back and forth.

I filled mine up with 78% nitrogen. It's called "air".

 

Lots of places do pure Nitrogen, but it is pointless as I was trying to cheekily point out. That extra 22% of nitrogen is so that as the temperature changes the pressure in the tire does not as much. But there is no noticeable difference for the majority of people. But if you get temperature swings there is absolutely no reason to use nitrogen. Especially since the first time you fill up, you ruin the pure content. It is a waste of money and pure snake oil.

Not sure where you heard this but the tires on the Prius are not balding, they are LRR (Low Rolling Resistance). These are specially designed so that there is less resistance between the rubber and road. Naturally, your grip is less too. It works fine and dandy in good to mild weather. But with heavy snow you need to drive very well because you will be control sliding essentially.

That is true no matter how fast the snow fell. As long as there is enough of it to ground the car, you don't want to stop!

There are HUGE differences in tires. All season regulars and all season LRR tires, there are huge differences inbetween. Wear, grip, noise, and tread design are just a few of the big ones.

They are not necessarily cheap, but the Goodyears are crap.

 

One of the hundreds of threads on dry N in your tires: Nitrogen in Prius Tires? | PriusChat

 

If you're wondering anything beyond the snow issue (which I can't speak on), off the top of my head there are four primary practical differences between the Prius c and the Liftback. They are, in no particular order:

1) Cabin space: Advantage Liftback. Consider this if you have a family that you might take on a trip with a lot of luggage. You won't have much space in the Prius c to do that- awfully tight, at best.

2) MSRP: Advantage Prius c. Depending on where you're looking and what you're looking at, the Prius c can be anywhere between $3K and $5K less expensive than the Liftback. This is significant in the lifetime cost of the car.

3) Freeway driving mpg: Advantage Liftback. If you're planning to drive 70mph+ consistently (and you won't get the EPA estimated mpg doing this- you'll be below, or well below, 50 mpg- which I don't do anyway as a hypermiler) the Liftback has the better drag coefficient and it shows up at that speed with significantly better mpg for the Liftback. At speeds roughly between 55 and 65 mph, the Liftback and Prius c get pretty similar mpg.

4) In-town driving mpg: Advantage Prius c. The Prius c is simply smaller and lighter than the Liftback, with a smaller engine, and gets significantly better mpg at slower speeds and in stop-and-go traffic.

So, that's my summary of the difference between the two. Sorry I don't have anything to say about snow travel, but for the warmer months consider what fits your personal circumstances best.

On edit: A fifth difference- I can't give any details on it (or say for sure there is any real difference, depending on what trim you get), but some will probably also point out that the gadgetry and interior in the Liftback are better than in the Prius c at the bottom trim level.

 

Sounds like you don't want a Prius, you want the mother of all Prii!!!

 

The Prius is a great camper car since you can leave it READY without idling constantly. The advantages are that you burn much less fuel overnight then if you slept in an idling normal car. The down side is that the noise is no longer white background noise. When I sleep in my liftback, I just fold the rear seats down slide the front passenger seat up, and there is enough room to curl up comfortably. However when the engine kicks on, the car sometimes rocks and there is a jolt of noise in an otherwise quiet surrounding sometimes waking you up. To get over it, I put the fan on a higher setting constantly which makes the engine less audible but there isn't much that can be done about the rocking.

 

I live in WNY (rotate between Buffalo and Rochester), and I have no trouble driving in the snow with my Prius. In fact I drove through Nemo last week on Friday from Buffalo to Rochester and back on I-90. (I did not realize I was driving through a nor'easter, just assumed it was really bad lake effect snow LOL)

Yes, I would purchase it again, unless you know another manufacturer that makes a cheap 50+ MPG car.

 

This is as funny as asking my 18 year old son,,,,"shall I customize my Prius C and put Race Rims on it, for a better look?"

His answer was " for god's sake = NO!"

LOL!!! Indeed, I won't .................................. for now?!

 

I was being facetious... which is why I added a picture of the mother of all Prii...