1. Home
  2. General Toyota Forum
  3. Toyota Prius on snow

Toyota Prius on snow

To owners of 2004/2005 Toyota Prius,

I'm shopping for a new car, and 2005 Toyota Prius is one of the candidates. So far, there are many good reviews about this car. I'd like to get some of your opinions here.

  1. Do you have any problem driving your 2004/2005 Prius on snow.

In particular, the following complaint kinda scares me. I'm just wondering if this is a general problem.

formatting link
"it hesitates so bad, that it becomes even dangerous. when you accelerate (in snow), it looks like the electric motor for some reason does not allow the gas engine to kick in and hesitates really bad, I can't emphasized enough how bad it is. To the point that it takes such a long time to pick up speed, that is literally dangerous to pull over a highway"

  1. How about the cross-wind on the highway? Is it a major problem to you?

  1. Do you have any other problems with your Toyota Prius?

Thanks for your time and comments! Dom

Reply to
domtam
Loading thread data ...

I don't drive in snow / ice but there was (is) some talk on edmunds.com townhall

formatting link
the OEM tires, traction control and the Prius in snow ...

Reply to
someone

Whoever wrote this does not understand how the Prius works. It uses the electric motor to get moving from a dead stop - not the gas engine. I have heard the Honda Civic hybrid uses both gas and electric to get moving from a dead stop. Many of the reviews mentioned using the traction control system during the tests. This is legitimate and I have tested TCS on various cars and tried to get it to kick in. When it does, the power is cut and in some cases the brakes are applied. This appears to be a description of a working TCS.

I prefer to drive a manual transmission car where "Winter Mode" is starting off in 2nd and "Traction Control System" in invoked by lifting up on gas pedal and slipping the clutch a little if necessary.

Don't know how much I would trust some of the post in townhall-talk.edmunds.com.

" The tires on a Prius are too skinny to give you much traction. You are at a disadvantage even though the Prius is a front-wheel drive and most of the weight is over the front tires."

Go to tirerack.com and you will find this in completely wrong. In the snow you want tall, skinny tires. This is why they often recommend going done one size when you get snowtires.

Reply to
ma_twain

Yesterday, my uncle dropped by to show me his recently purchased Prius. I noticed that the tires are the same Goodyear Integritys that are also on the Corolla and other cars. Those particular tires are definitely crappy in winter.

Reply to
Imminent Vengeance

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.