Woke up to a beautiful snowy morning
We woke up to a beautiful morning with some low fog over the lake and the sun shining through it as it rose over the mountains. Don’t forget that you can click on the photo above to see a larger size or other photos in the gallery. Late in the afternoon we decided to try to get out of the neighborhood. The Prius wouldn’t even begin to start up the hill outside our house–the traction control kicked in instantly. So I turned around and went the other way, figuring that I would have enough momentum to get up the hill on the other side of the neighborhood.
We got part way up and then that was it. I was able to control the slide and rotate the car 180 degrees to head back the way we came.
Then we couldn’t even get back up our driveway. Sheesh. Luckily for us, I had shoveled a walking path on the driveway earlier in the day so I got one of the wheels lined up on that and made it into the garage.
I have never driven a car that is so terrible in the snow. It’s clear that the tires that are designed for good gas mileage are terrible in the winter. I guess we need to have chains.
And after the amount of snow and ice we have had the past couple of years, I can justify some studded tires for my bike, too.
That pic is gorgeous. I had my factory prius tires replaced with Goodyear Triple Treads a couple of years ago. My experience is:
Still no good in snow
Better in rain
Lost about 5mpg, but at least I can get up my steep wet driveway now
My traction control comes on far too often for my taste (still)
Thanks, Linda. Times like these make me miss the A4 Quattro. I guess we’ll buy some chains whenever we can find them in stock somewhere and have them for the next time this happens.
That shot is STUNNING! Wow. No views like that here in Maple Valley. Jealous! :)
I have a Mazda Tribute that’s pretty good in snow (4 wheel drive), but I’ve let my husband use it this week and stayed home as it doesn’t matter if I’m driving a tank – I don’t do snow here. The hills and the amount of drivers freak me right out. I’m a wuss.
Thanks, Jules. The hills do give a special challenge to snow here. In the 7 years we have been here, there has never been such a prolonged period of cold and snow so this caught us unprepared. I did locate some studded tires for my bike at a store in Colorado so I’ll be ready next time.