Im suprised no one has commented on this, so I will. Ya the prius is ok, it looks like a blunt end turd but oh well. I’m a big vw guy so I’m use to getting made fun of liking ‘ugly’ vehicles. Extending the range is cool, but it would be cooler if one could reprogram it to operate it off of batteries alone at speeds upto 65mph. That would be more useful in my book, esp b/c I drive 30 mi one way at highway speeds.

Posted at 7:17 pm on May 8th, 2008 by thegimpster

Prius maximum speed running off of the electric motor is 43mph. To enable the electric only mode, you simply mod in a button (non north american models already have them).

You would also need to add plug-in capability to charge from mains.

Posted at 7:39 pm on May 8th, 2008 by jproach

@thegimpster

you can’t reprogram it, max mechanical speed on batteries only is 42 because of upper rpm limits of the 2 motors. Well, one is a motor, the other is used as a generator or a motor depending on if its being driven or if its driving. They do have a plug in dongle that makes it so you can drive only on batteries with the flip of a switch, but still, mechanical limits stop it at 42… which is ok… but I agree it would be nice…

and 30 mi on batteries, not likely on batteries alone on a prius, not at 65

Posted at 11:31 am on May 9th, 2008 by frodus

Actually the max speed is 52 mph, I have done it with a hack. this is the upper rpm limit aparently of the electric motor.
The Hack is similar to out of gas mode only better because the car does not have trouble codes and does not try to start the I.C.E.

Posted at 4:14 pm on Jun 12th, 2008 by steve woodruff