Anyone not go on a winter hike because of their car?

[Remix]

AAA and Blizzak tires make it easier to go travelling in the winter.

Over my life the longest I have to wait for AAA is 2 hours, versus "we're not coming-find somebody and send us your receipt" from Dodge Roadside Service.

If you call up GM and tell them to cancel your On-Star, they will connect you to customer retention and you should get the $13 a month rate. I had to use them once for roadside assistance on 91 somewhere north of White River Junction.

 

[michaelb]

This thread has drifted into a discussion of snow tires (good idea). But I think the simple answer to the original question is yes, there are times when I would not go out "because of my car" and there are plenty of trailheads and roads and lots in which you are not going to want to go, some of the time, in your prius, snow tires or not. After not having AWD for several years, that was the reason I bought my current car, a rav4, so that I could always go out in the snow and hopefully always get up to the trailhead.

This does lead to behavior that is not necessarily rational. I beached my car on LT trailhead last weekend that was unplowed and I wasn't sure I would get back out. I went skiing during the valentine's day blizzard in 2007; the skiing was great but the drive home that evening was very dicey. There are innumerable other examples of the decisions we make like this.

It sort of depends on where you go and what you do. If you stick to trailheads that are not that steep and not that far and usually plowed, most people do fine in front wheel drive and snow tires (that low slung prius though is marginal). The only other problem with that strategy is that many popular trailheads (in VT at least) fill up on weekends, and so I do appreciate being able to squeeze in my tiny Rav4 in those sketchy places along the edges that aren't really spots.

 

[Lawn Sale]

I have a Corolla, which should be somewhat similar to your Prius in driving ability.

I have to respectfully disagree here, a Corolla is not at all similar to a Prius for winter driving, they are very different. The difference is the Corolla has the engine in the front, over the drive wheels, and the Prius has most of the weight in the back due to the batteries, reducing the traction to the drive wheels.

I definitely agree on the snow tires though. I have run many sets, and thought I ran some good ones until I tried the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60's, they are amazing. They perform amazingly on glare ice and snow, and even deep snow is not a problem as seen in the pictures. I have had the front bumper, on many occasions, pushing snow in front of the car and you can see where the lower engine pan was scraping the snow in the last pic.

Back to the Prius. The state of Maine has some of them for use (9 years with no problems!) and despite having the same tires (WS-60), they do not do nearly as well due to the aforementioned weight distribution. The other issue with them is the starting torque to get the vehicle moving, which is higher than most vehicles due to the hybrid system. The two combined make for rather interesting winter driving when compared to most front wheel drive vehicles. I am not trying to bash the Prius, just stating fact. The driver also plays into the equation, but I assume you're a great driver and know how to drive in wintry conditions.

In addition to the great snow tires, I also carry some traction mats I can put under the tires, a metal military e-tool (shovel), some sand, tow strap, and tools.

I love my VW, no doubt about it, but it does not compare to my Isuzu Trooper, which is 4WD. However, if it's so bad I have to take the Trooper, I have to question whether I should be driving 150 miles to go hiking anyway.

 

[TrishandAlex]

Can only comment on my own experiences so far this winter, with a Honda Civic and snow tires -- we've had no problems, even going on a yet-unplowed back road with 3 inches of snow on it. I don't see it preventing me/us from going on any winter hikes.

 

[The Hikers]

I have heard that Hybrids aren't so great in the snow. Something to do with the fact that the initial power on starting out is from the electric motor.
Anyone else know about this?
I rented a hybrid Escape this summer while my car was in the shop, but didn't get to try it in bad weather. AND it was 4 wheel drive.



oops...didn't read Lawn Sale's post before I wrote this.That is what I'm talking about

 

[RoySwkr]

I was surprised to see that the Ford Focus owner's manual rather than simply saying not to use chains actually provided useful information, such as suggesting using a smaller tire size which isn't recommended elsewhere. Don't know about other cars.

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

I was surprised to see that the Ford Focus owner's manual rather than simply saying not to use chains actually provided useful information, such as suggesting using a smaller tire size which isn't recommended elsewhere. Don't know about other cars.

That's very interesting. That would automatically eliminate that car from using certain roads in California during the winter:

STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Chain Requirements
Requirement Three (R3): Chains are required on all vehicles, no exceptions. The link may be found here
Many other western states have the same or more stringent rules.