I am currently on a waiting list to buy a Prius but have become a little apprehensive with how the Prius will function on dirt roads. After hearing stories about traction control cutting out power on some people, I became a bit worried about it's performance on graded dirt roads with some incline. To be specific I am talking about Death Valley desert graded dirts which are not very thick or deep but have inclines and gravel spots. If anyone has any experience with a Prius on groomed backcountry roads please let me know. Also did they just increase the MSRP??
Dirt roads around here aren't 'groomed'. One Road, named Hobart which is an old mixer brand name, lived up to that rep when I thought the car would shake apart. Seems they grade it off only after a few months of rough use. So far, I haven't gone up a dirt road hill in bad, wet conditions, but I don't see the loose gravel situation where the car can't hack it coming up much around here...
Ok, so have you driven a Prius on a dirt road? how did the car handle? did it get loose traction often or did the traction control light come on?
The Prius is no 4x4 and was never intended to be one. On "normal" gravel roads it's like any other car out there. If you have to drive up extreme angles on a gravel road, a little wheelspin is beneficial to keep moving. I said a *little* wheelspin, too much and you dig in. The Prius standard Traction Control doesn't appear to allow *any* wheelspin, so in a situation of extreme grades on gravel roads, you may come to a stop.
I would be wary. The TC cuts engine power at the slightest slip. I find a "hiccup" when accelerating from a stop just from the water in the drainage grooves at suburban intersections. Wheelspin is strictly prevented, and wheelspin is part of normal driving technique in dirt or gravel roads.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(surfoutsider\";p=\"83599)</div> Handled fine, but I hate taking a good car on bad roads. The NAV routed me home over a few dirt roads once, with washed-out patches leaving only one lane. I don't really like joyriding around here anymore, due to how I might be told to go home...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nmrickie\";p=\"83607)</div> Same here. Though I don't have the vehicle stability control feature I've been on dirt roads in Wyoming and in Death Valley with no problem. However, none of the roads had steep inclines to speak of.
