Does the Prius have an engine brake?

I never liked the B mode compared to alternatives. But yes, please use if when coming down off of mountain passes.

I just got home from a snowy mountain pass. I love the Camry/Avalon shifter with 6 pseudo speeds called S mode with + and - symbols. This gives me a lot more control over how much "engine" braking I have in my 2013 Avalon hybrid, like today when I was trying to maintain a rather constant 25 mph without riding my brakes. This was the main reason we got the Avalon instead of a Prius v that had basically the same mileage for the same price, because the V had only a B mode.

I also would use the B mode or S modes from the top of a mountain pass because the battery will fill up by the time one reaches the bottom anyway, at least in the non-plug-in hybrids.

 

First part, yes......
2nd part, it DOES charge the battery.

For just driving around town and of course highway driving, it not practical, and a little dangerous.
When you let off the throttle pedal, then will slow down much quicker. Because it's for Braking.

EVERYTIME I use it to slow down, yes, in the city, the charging amperage goes up.

 

Right, because the B setting has two effects:

1. it is programmed to apply a higher amount of overall car slowing than in D when the go pedal is released. To slow the car at the same rate in D, you'd have to use the brake pedal a bit (or have cruise set for below the current speed).
2. in the HEV, it is programmed to achieve that car slowing by a more engine-heavy/battery-light balance of slowing techniques. That can still be more charging amperage than you would see with the same control inputs (go pedal released, less actual slowing) in D. It'll be less charging amperage than you'd see with the same rate of slowing (using a bit of brake pedal, or cruise) in D.

Because the PHEV has a much larger battery, rule 2 is relaxed for the PHEV, where the owners' manual actually touts the regeneration boost in B mode.

In the HEV, don't forget that the balance of engine braking and regen gets tapered towards lower charging current and more engine braking the closer the battery is to full charge. In the NiMH HEVs, by 80% SoC you won't be seeing charging amps at all, whether in D or B. The taper is just earlier and steeper in B.

 

Same setup on my Venza. S-Mode for the win!

 

OP's AI summary seems pretty spot-on, likely from various sources, including Priuschat. Toyota really needs to flesh out the paltry explanation in the Owner's Manual.

 

Yes, like I said, use B mode.

What bothers me is I've been in 2 and 3 speed cars before. My first car was a 3-speed 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook. But those cars are ancient compared to modern cars, yet that Plymouth had more gear options than a Prius.

But now that we live in a day and age where cars have not only 10 or so gears, or CVTs with virtually any gear, we don't have any more control than a single B mode.

I guess this just bothers me from driving 18 speed trucks. Going from 18 choices down to two (D and B) seems like a major downgrade, no pun intended.