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Old 11-16-2007, 07:58 PM
 
554 posts, read 2,306,283 times
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My husband and I are planning to Denver in the next couple years after I finish graduate school. Within the next year I'm going to be buying a new car and I'm really like the Prius. We live in San Antonio right now, so driving in winter weather is not really an issue.

Anyone have experience driving a Prius in the snow? Would I be committing vehicular suicide if I took it to Colorado?
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Old 11-16-2007, 08:25 PM
 
Location: Up in a cedar tree.
1,618 posts, read 6,614,939 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TXRose View Post
My husband and I are planning to Denver in the next couple years after I finish graduate school. Within the next year I'm going to be buying a new car and I'm really like the Prius. We live in San Antonio right now, so driving in winter weather is not really an issue.

Anyone have experience driving a Prius in the snow? Would I be committing vehicular suicide if I took it to Colorado?
FWD - Pirus w/ good winter thread tires, you will do fine.
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Old 11-17-2007, 09:56 AM
 
5,747 posts, read 12,048,379 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TXRose View Post
Would I be committing vehicular suicide if I took it to Colorado?
I don't think so. I see a lot of small cars, including Prius', around Douglas County, where I live. As for me, I have a front-wheel drive sedan, and I've never had any trouble getting around. When things are REALLY bad, like they were for a couple of weeks last winter, I just stay home. My husband, who is a consultant, drives an AWD Subaru, which he thinks is great. Unfortunately, the AWD component reduces mileage a bit, and with gas prices over $3/gallon, that's getting to be a problem.

Please don't let the snow scare you. It's over-stated. Most of the time, the sun melts it off quickly (usually within a day or so), and removal is generally very good around Denver. Unless you live out in the boonies, I think you'll be fine with a Prius.
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Old 11-17-2007, 11:49 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,297 posts, read 120,694,120 times
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My friend drove a Prius for years around here. After her DH totaled it, they replaced it with a conventional car.
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Old 11-18-2007, 11:57 AM
 
92 posts, read 365,773 times
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I've been driving a Prius around the Denver area for the past two years, which would include the really bad winter we had last year. I have had no problems getting around. (Well, during the worst snowstorms, I didn't even consider driving. But, judging from the main streets near me, no one else did, either.) I never even bought snow tires. I just use the set the Prius came with.

As an aside, I also have not had the oft-reported problem of losing power on steep mountain roads. The Prius seems to keep up with most of the cars on the road, no problem.
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Old 11-19-2007, 09:12 AM
 
Location: Denver, Colorado U.S.A.
14,164 posts, read 27,215,585 times
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There are many Prius' in my neighborhood. Actually, they sit up a bit higher than other small cars, so they may be better than average. Front wheel drive is great for the snow. My little Nissan made it through the snow quite well, even two days after the blizzard last year when the snow was still up to the bumpers. I wouldn't recommend rear wheel drive though.
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Old 05-29-2012, 09:37 AM
 
Location: Elkhorn NE
1 posts, read 6,540 times
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Default Prius Snow and Performance in the mountains

I'm with you. Worried about how the car gets around, not only in the snow, but overall performance in the mountains. Does the transmission automatically down shift when needed or does it wind up continuously?
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Old 05-29-2012, 09:41 AM
 
Location: Pueblo - Colorado's Second City
12,262 posts, read 24,452,401 times
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I would recommend a SUV with all wheel drive for anyone planning to do a lot of mountain driving even along I-25 on the front range over Monument Hill. I have had one for years and never had a issue even during the blizzards.
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Old 05-29-2012, 03:51 PM
 
Location: Denver, Colorado U.S.A.
14,164 posts, read 27,215,585 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cjoluke View Post
I'm with you. Worried about how the car gets around, not only in the snow, but overall performance in the mountains. Does the transmission automatically down shift when needed or does it wind up continuously?
Wow, this is an old thread! I actually now have a Prius (didn't when I posted above) and it's the best car I've ever driven in the snow. It has traction control, which is great. I don't use snow tires, and have never had any issues driving in snow. Or the mountains. I've driven it up and over the Continental Divide without any problems. When going up/down steep inclines, you shift the Prius to "B" (not sure what that means) and it's like down shifting. But the Prius only has one speed. It had more power in the mountains than my previous 4 cyl. car.
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Old 05-29-2012, 03:55 PM
 
Location: Littleton, CO
2,394 posts, read 4,998,731 times
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I'll pass, I don't want my transmission to rely on a rubber band to keep functioning. Electric cars are terrible though since they provide 100% torque off idle, but hybrids should be like a normal passenger car.

The Prius has 5.3 inches of ground clearance which is similar to a normal car.
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