Does anybody know the max "all electric" speed of the Prius when configured as a PHEV? Can the PHEV Prius cruise at 70 on the electric motor alone? I was led to believe that over say 30 mph and more importantly during acceleration the Prius's electric motor and controller are too small to propel the car by itself and thus requires assistance from the ICE. This parallel configuration qualifies the PHEV Prius as a strong hybrid that recovers breaking energy, does not idle the ICE at stoplights and burns gas whenever you accelerate from stoplight to stoplight or get on the highway. If this is the case, the PHEV Prius has NO “all electric” range in typical commuting.

This is not nearly as good as an EV with a “range extender” like GMs E-flex or Ford's HySeries drive. Both of which would use only electricity for the range of their batteries no matter what the speed or rate of acceleration. PHEV Prius parallel hybrid equals better gas mileage. PHEV E-Flex or HySeries Drive electric car equals infinite “gas” mileage within battery range.

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Did they purposely misspell "Los Angeles" on the sign in the picture? Maybe they were referring to somewhere in Mexico where geometry is HUGE!?!? ;-)

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Tim, the top speed for a Prius in "electric only" mode is about 35 mph. At higher speeds, the IC engine must rotate to prevent one of the motor generators from overspeeding, but sometimes the IC engine can spin without using any gas! Toyota could make some design changes that could raise the electric only speed considerably.

Hybrid Synergy Drive combines the best aspects of serial and parallel hybrids, running the IC engine near its optimum speed and transmitting most of the IC engine power output to the wheels via a highly efficient mechanical link. It can be more efficient than a serial hybrid.

A Prius only burns gas when it needs to - when extra power is needed for rapid acceleration, at high speeds, to warm up the car (and catalytic converter), or when the battery gets low. I've driven away from many stops without the engine coming on, and have had the engine shut off while cruising local streets.

A "pluggable" Prius makes electric driving events much more common, and can even reduce gas consumption while the IC engine is running.

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Chris M- Great info, Thanks!

I'm still concerned that the parallel hybrid suffers from the additional complexity and weight of the drive train. The Prius has only been in service for a few years. I guess time will tell how well they hold up long term.

I believe that the GM E-Flex and Ford's HySeries Drive to be superior, even though series is not always the most efficient in EVERY way. It should be cheaper to build and buy, more flexible in design and share more parts across models which should make parts and service easier and less expensive. These factors are enough to make the series the dominant design of the future.

Parallel does have one heck of a head start. I blame GM killing the EV-1, Chevron buying and then killing NiMH http://ev1.org/chevron.htm I also blame the fact that the stockholder funds that own 59% of GM also own at least 10 times that much in oil company stocks. http://www.ev1.org/gmoil.htm.

As a “big picture” guy, I’ve learned to always follow the money. Therefore, I can’t help but see the correlation. I guess that makes me a conspiracy nut.

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Then again, there is also the fact that every time we get serious about alternative fuels, the price of oil magically drops. Oh, never mind. I'm sure it's just a coincidence and not a conspiracy.

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