Q about 2023+ Prius Prime plug in EV mode acceleration

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by cycledrum, Aug 16, 2025 at 11:32 PM.

  1. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    How well does the 5th gen Prius Prime / plug-in accelerate in EV mode from a stop (light turns green) with large trucks, SUVs raring to go behind you? Can you reasonably accelerate to not aggravate large SUVs when light turns green on a 60 mph highway with traffic lights?

    I’ve heard the 5th gen plugin does about 10 seconds or so 0 to 60 mph in EV mode. Reason I ask question above is the owner’s manual stresses accelerating and decelerating gently in EV mode to preserve the life of the battery and goes on to suggest this:
    “ strive to accelerate 0 to 12 mph in 5 seconds” (for gentle acceleration). This suggestion in the manual has turned me off to considering a Prius Plugin 5th gen.
     
    #1 cycledrum, Aug 16, 2025 at 11:32 PM
  2. KMO

    KMO Senior Member

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    Where did that "owner's manual" text come from? Saw it quoted here the other day, but I can't find it in any of the manuals I've got.

    Acceleration test here with foot to the floor in various modes:



    That shows 90km/h (56mph) in 9.9s and 100km/h (62mph) in 12.2s.

    Personally I've never been particular concerned about EV acceleration. Never even occurred to me that you could have a problem pulling away from a traffic light!

    Only possible concern might be entry ramps - particularly the short ones you get in the US - but it's not been a problem here. It's about as fast in EV mode as my gen 2 was overall.

    And I've never been bothered about flooring it when necessary. Battery decline is a cumulative life thing - doing it occasionally is no huge deal, but it would add up if you do it a lot.

    (Same as leaving the car with high charge state - it's worth using the charge timer to make it tend to start charging at midnight rather than 5pm for a morning start in general every day, saving 7 hours of full charge per day, but there's no need to sweat leaving it charged for one particular day).
     
    #2 KMO, Aug 17, 2025 at 4:03 AM
  3. LRO

    LRO New Member

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    Here's the text from the owner's manual ... but it's a tip for "extending the EV driving range" and not "preserving the life of the battery" ... 2024 PP OM - P 91.jpg
     
    #3 LRO, Aug 17, 2025 at 4:24 AM
  4. KMO

    KMO Senior Member

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    Ah, I was searching for the quoted word "strive"...

    And so that's not to do with "preserving the life of the battery", it's just trying to improve efficiency.

    And the same general "slow acceleration" guideline to improve efficiency would apply to all cars - nothing really specific to either the Prius or its EV mode there, and it reflects nothing about the actual performance.

    The actual section on battery decline says this.

    Observing the following can help suppress battery capacity decline.
    [...]
    • Avoid accelerating and decelerating frequently and suddenly when EV driving.
    • Avoid frequent driving near the top speed for EV driving. [that's 135 km/h / 84mph]
    ​
    Again, with "frequent" being key. It's cumulative.

    (And the same applies to all EVs, although the Prius should do better than any full EV, as doesn't use the full charge and it can always avoid really overstressing the battery by falling back to the engine).
     
    #4 KMO, Aug 17, 2025 at 5:19 AM
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2025 at 5:27 AM
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