Re: Prius seldom runs on batteries alone?

Gordon McGrew wrote:[color=blue]
> I rode in a friend's Prius and he showed me that the engine started up
> before he hit 5 mph even under mild acceleration. I thought the
> difference between the "full" hybrids like Prius and "mild" hybrids
> like the Civic was the ability of the former to operate as a pure
> electric over a modest range of conditions. It would seem that the
> Prius' all electric performance is very modest indeed. Is this
> correct?[/color]

The Prius can run for a very short time on battery only, but the battery
pack isn't large enough to run the car very long or very fast on battery
power alone.