[moocatdog]

Battled some nasty weather and surfaces Saturday night and the Prius handled surprisingly well. Heavy winds and snow on roads already coated with ice made the conditions quite slick. I encountered icy but sanded freeways, bridges and overpasses, long gentle hills with a couple of inches of new snow atop the older ice, short steep hills on unsanded country roads and even a 1.5 mile stretch over the river and through the woods on a rutted dirt track with about 6 inches of unplowed snow before reaching my final destination. Then, of course, after 4 hours of moderate snowfall, I had to turn around and go home--exciting! Aside from fears of getting high centered I felt quite confident at every turn. The car tracked solidly and, even on a skating rink formerly known as a grocery store parking lot, the factory tires didn't slip much at all. (I don't have VSC.) I gave up Subaru's AWD for the Prius and after this adventure I don't think I'll miss it. The last car I had that felt this good in snow was my '66 Volvo Amazon. Starting this weekend I'll be volunteering with a ski school and am glad that I had a chance to test the Prius before heading into the mountains. I'm still planning on getting snow tires this week, but it probably wouldn't be necessary as the conditions I faced Saturday were every bit as challenging as anything I've ever faced getting to and from the lifts.
Drive happy,
Moo

 

[moocatdog]

I took my Prius up into the mountains again last weekend. An overnight storm had left the final stretch before the pass incredibly slick and the roadway was littered with cars, which caused traffic to halt. Of course from that point it was extremely difficult to get traction, so I listened to my wiser inner-voice and chained up. I felt vindicated later when a guy in the lift line told me he'd had to chain up in the same spot--even though he had studded snow tires. On a side note, the chains left nasty black marks on the wheels. I'm happy to report that a light buffing with some rubbing compound removed the offending marks completely. I never noticed before but the outer ring of the stock alloy wheels is protected by a plastic cover, which proved quite helpful in this instance.
Drive happy,
Moo