Hello. I am looking for a new daily driver, something reliable, fuel efficient and it must have awd. I’m a pretty loyal Toyota buyer as I tend to rack up many miles on my vehicles. Most all driving is highway except our house, which brings me to why I’m posting here. We live on a hill. We don’t get much snow, some ice, but the hill is gravel. The first 250’ is problematic for non awd/4wheel drive vehicles. Front wheel drive can make it, but it can be tricky. I’ve been looking at the newer prius with the e-awd reviews. The reviews, at least on YouTube, are either not applicable to me (heavy snow) or they’re not encouraging that the e-awd is much more than a gimmick. I don’t need a hardcore off road vehicle, and I am working to improve the roads condition overall, but aside from blasting, the first 250’ of the road is where my challenge is. Those of you that own and have used an awd Prius in the real world, what are your thoughts on its performance and would it work for me situation? Thank you.
Welcome! I can't give you an experienced opinion, but all the reviews and reading material I've seen makes it look ideal for your situation. Just some extra traction in low-traction conditions as opposed to full on 4wd hill climbing and stream fording.
My 2020 AWD-e is new so I will have to wait for this winter to test the effectiveness of the small motor on the rear axle. I have a steep driveway and my old Prius could usually manage the climb with good tires (Nokian WRG3), but my new Prius has the OE Toyo Nanoenergy A41s which do not have very good snow/ice traction (The OE tires Toyo tires, an older model, on my old Prius had difficulty getting up my driveway in the winter) so this winter should be a good test of the AWD-e capability. I expect that if you just try to get up the hill at low speed (where the weaker rear motor can help), it should do fine in spite of not claiming good snow/ice traction (only "light" snow) . There is the option of switching out the tires to Nokian WRG4s and then there should be no problem.
Thanks for everyone’s replies. I will take a test drive and see if I can find a comparable road as a test.
