How well (or not) does a Prius handle the snow? (Minneapolis: buying, live)

[Call me Gina]

I am relocating from Texas to Minneapolis in the summer and my current car is a Prius. I'm wondering if there are any Prius drivers that can tell me how their car handles the winter elements. Can I just put some snow tires on it and I'm good? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm just having a difficult time imagining driving my little car in the snow.

[DannyBanany]

Yep. Put on the snow tires and you'll handle like a champ. Especially in the city.

[Call me Gina]

Thanks DannyBanany. Do you have any recs. for tires?

[Mclaurin]

Hi,

People in the NW had trouble diving the Prius in the new snow with uncleared roads. The car is too low to the ground.

[Aylalou]

Check into this before buying snow tires. I don't know of many Minnesotans who need or buy snow tires.

[moving123456]

There are many on the road here all winter long, most with just all season tires. There is probably 10+ in my office parking lot alone.

[Sir Punk]

it is true that many don't use snow tires here, but just all season. That's why when it snows consistently I see some many people in the ditch, especially on the highway. I never had a problem because I have a Subaru + snow tires. An extra set won't cost you much. If you really wanna get only one set get some ultra performance all season tires like some of this list. People with a/s tires drive like snails when there is minimal precipitation, I laugh in their face and sprint away .
safety is important.


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[jillmn]

I have a Prius and have always had small cars. I add some weight for the winter (70lbs sand) and have never had any problems. Plus I find the brake assist function really helpful for ice.

[Thegonagle]

With snow tires, virtually any front wheel drive car is good to go in 6 inches or less. With all-seasons, it really depends on the tire. They're definitely not all created equal. The motto "you get what you pay for" really has a lot of meaning when it comes to tires in MN.

The best all-season tires I've had so far are the Goodyear "Assurance Triple Tread." It's grip is as good as I can expect in dry, wet, or snowy conditions, and the ride is soft and quiet. But they're still not as good in the snow as dedicated snow tires, of which I've used Bridgestone Blizzak, Hankook Winter I-Pike, and Dunlop Graspic.

The trade-offs with dedicated snow tires are somewhat poorer rain and dry grip, and a fast-wearing tread due to the softer rubber used. But with that said, snow tires are sold with the intent of being swapped on at the onset of winter, and swapped back off in spring. Therefore, snow tires are often sold with a spare set of wheels to facilitate swapping them yourself in your own garage. A few people just leave the snow tires on all year and live with the other trade-offs to avoid the pain of of swapping tires.

There's also an increasingly popular type of tire that's sort of a hybrid--it's an "all-season snow" tire, that's a little bit milder in the winter grip category (still better than all-seasons though), but it's designed to perform relatively decently in the dry, rain, and treadwear categories, so you can leave them on all year. Nokian, Hankook, and probably a few others are making these now. When my Goodyear Triple Treads wear out, I'll probably try a set of these "all-season snow" tires. (I just hope they'll be as good in the rain as the Goodyears, which give me a lot of peace of mind for stopping suddenly on wet pavement, or not losing grip on a wet interchange ramp.)

P.S. Wait until you get up to MN to buy any new tires. You want to buy tires from people who know from experience which tires are good ones for MN. They won't know squat about winter driving down in TX. Down south, they'll just look at the sidewall and say "these say 'all-season,' so they'll be fine in snow." Wrong! There are some all-season tires out there that tire shops in snow country don't carry because they're such poor winter performers. Also, I've driven on more than one "Consumer Reports Best Buy" tire that is absolutely abysmal in snow--the Dunlop D60-A2 "performance all-season" (no longer made) and the Dayton Timberline A/T light truck (still available) tires come to mind.

[golfgal]

Keep in mind that you won't be driving in snow all that often. There have been about 4 times this year where the snow came at a time where you were caught in it during rush hour and by the next time you have to go out the roads will be cleared. We had snow last Thursday afternoon/evening and by Friday morning the roads were fine.