I am planning a 8000 mile road-trip this summer and I am wondering how my 2010 Prius is going to handle some of my proposed routes through some high elevation areas with hard climes. I love my 2010 but am a little worried after reading a few threads from people on their Gen II. I couldn't find anything about Gen III. Anyways, some of the routes I was going to do included I-70 through Colorado. Alternatively, I actually could go US40 to US36 heading west out of Rocky Mountain NP to go to Utah. I don't know which route is tougher yet in my research. The rest of my journey seems pretty tame compared to Colorado so I didn't have much worries if it can handle the Rockies. Is my car going to make it through this?
Not to worry. I've read several posts in the last year here about driving I-70 in CO and having no trouble. I've been up above Estes Park and all over Rock Mountain National Park, Highway 550, Silverton/Ouray, Leadville, etc. with zero problems or concerns. PS, I'm an experienced mountain driver with 25+ years offroading experience in the Ouray area in my 4Runner(s). The Prius handles better than a 4Runner but if shelf roads freak you out, no car will help you.
If you are not familiar with mountain driving, remember that coming down is more dangerous than going up. As an example (not in Colorado): http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/MCT/docs/EmigrantHill.pdf?ga=t
Been there, done that when my Prius was new. Over the top of Rocky Mountain NP. Berthoud Pass. Pikes Peak (snow closure at 12,900 feet that day, so had to hike to the top). Monarch Pass. Ouray-Silverton-Durango. And many others throughout the west. The only problem was descending Pikes Peak, where prevailing traffic speed was so slow I couldn't get much B-mode compression braking, and had to ride the friction brake. The right speed for the manual transmission cars in front was the wrong speed for a Prius. But with several turnouts to cool the brakes, temperature was well below the limit at the mandatory brake checkpoint. On descents, get used to hearing the engine spin up like a turbojet after regeneration tops out the traction battery. I watched RPM on a ScanGuage to keep it significantly below redline.
Drove a Rental 09 Prius from MN to CA and back iin Early 2009 (car had 4,000 miles on it when i rented it, it was great) It was a little slow going on the uphill portion when you use up all the traction battery, but it was great on the downhill!
A depleted traction battery during mountain climbs seems to be a Gen2 thing, and even there is not universal. Gen3, with a 25% more powerful ICE and different battery management, doesn't normally do that. My battery depletes only during extended low speed ICE-off use on flat roads, such as during severely congested commutes.
I took an 800-mile round trip through the mountains in SW Colorado last year, 10,000-foot passes and all. No problems, Amigo. Prius seemed to do better than some others.
Luv the Ouray-Durango drive! That's one beautiful road and country. Be sure to post back with your experiences.
Highway 550 is amazing. You can always tell who the first time tourists are on the shelf road above Silverton. They drive right down the middle of the road away from the no guardrail edge. We've been running ALL the trails in the Ouray, Silverton, Telluride, Lake City area for well over 25 years. We usually base out of Ouray. Here I am waving at you coming down from California Gulch Pass at about ~12,000ft. (this "road" is definitely not Prius certified ) (Point of clarification: Highway 550 is paved and fine, California Gulch Pass is 4x4 only "road" if you can call it a road)
Why wouldn't it make it? Even the GenII does just fine in high elevations. Mine has been all over the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain range (12000ft. ASL). You don't have a ton if ground clearance so be careful on poorly maintained logging roads.
Your mountain trip will be fun and the Prius wil perform perfectly. I agree that altitude will not be a problem. I don't recall anything in the owner's manual regarding altitude issues.
LOL, logging roads are 4 lane highways compared to some of these. They are widened mule pack train mine trails way above tree line. Many are little wider than your vehicle's tire tracks. While we do see the occasional rental car above Animas Forks (North of Silverton, on the back side of Red Mountain) they have usually drug off and left ALL parts underneath the vehicle on the road behind them. We've even seen rental cars on the Engineer Pass "trail" above Ouray off highway 550. Even with 12.5 inches of ground clearance, you will have bottoming issues even with careful tire placement. These are serious 4x4 roads and not for cars. For those that don't know, or didn't open the previous attached pic, these are big time 4x4 only roads. That post was tongue in cheek. Drive all the paved Colorado roads you want, altitude is not an issue with any modern non-carburetor vehicle. If you do want to get off road, I can recommend some very cool drives that you can do safely in any car. If you want to see the largest continuous Aspen grove just about anywhere, drive county road 12 between Somerst and Crested Butte which goes over Kebler Pass (10,007ft) and is all gravel. In late September, the Aspens are just gorgeous. This road is totally safe even for the Prius but you might get it a little muddy. They water the road to keep the dust down. I can post a few gazillion pics if anyone is interested.
Probably not a good idea to take a Prius on those roads. lol The logging roads in my area were not that bad but you were constantly swearing back and forth on the road to avoid potholes over 2ft. deep, long cuts from water runoff, and big F'ing rocks. I drove on one for 50+miles looking for rare plants then we stopped and snapped a photo on a smooth section.
Coming down in the Rockies is one of the places you *do* want to shift into "B". This helps prevent burning up the brakes. Yes, it is made for shifting between "D" <-> "B" on the fly.
Yeah that's a definite logging/ forest access type road. They're fun to drive. The offroading in the high mountains in CO are much more severe. Here's a few pics in places where I was able to get out of the vehicle in my 2003 4Runner. Most places, I could not stop. The pics make it look better than it is. No that's not a river shot, it IS the road.
Here's another road shot not Prius safe near Governor Basin above Ouray, CO. Check out the water crossing. Smooth eh?
If you want to drive County road 12 between Somerst and Crested Butte, this is more like what you'll see.
I WANT to drive CR12! My M-I-L has a place in Flagstaff but has moved in with us due to old age etc.... Has it for sale now so I'll have to make up a reason to head out there. Those 4x4 trail shots are really nice!
