Not Just a Sexy Sports Car

Hello Everyone,

I got a lot of comments when I bought my current car. Stuff like "Is that a road version of their F1 race car?" and "I hear they have a displacement of over 1 litre" and "Where did my electric toothbrush motor go?" But of all the attributes of this high performance piece of technology, something I did not expect was sure footedness in the snow. With a relatively low ground clearance and tires that are on the smaller end of normal, one wouldn't necessarily pick the Prius for backup snow plow duties. However, with all the snow we've seen in the last few days, and over the winter in general, I'm happy to report that my go cart has yet to need to be pushed out of a spot even once. That's not to say that I don't sometime think I should get out and push it to go faster, but that's a different matter. On city streets narrowed to a single lane by huge snow banks it handles very well. And with parking in the city something of an adventure in launching your car into the smallest pile of snow you can find, it has reliably found it's way out. You're probably thinking that this is likely just a result of my F1-level driving skills, but I believe this is in large part a result of the weight of the big battery that is under the rear bench, meaning that battery provides a double benefit. I pay a lot less in gas and I can zip around in a snowstorm. I do wince when I hear hardened snow crunch up again my expensively repaired bumpers though. I will admit to that down side. I've partially ripped it off once already in deep, half-frozen snow. Not something I would recommend. A lot of vehicles are famous for their capabilities in rough terrain. The Jeep, the Hummer, the Land Rover. I believe it's time to add another name to that Pantheon of ruggedness: the 2012 Prius C. Look for it on mountain passes and jungle roads everywhere.