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Just spent a weekend in Berlin, about 700 km / 430 miles from where I live. Here's an account of what it's like to drive a Prius when there is no speed limit.

Very few Prii in Germany
It was a lonely weekend for my Prius, only saw two other Prii (one new one being transported on a truck), they're not very popular in Germany. On the way there, in a traffic jam, a Polish guy got out of his car to ask me how much I paid for mine. Got many looks from other people, they don't get to see Prii often.

A comfortable 90 mph
On the way back, traffic was much lighter. No speed limit for much of the way, so I tried to find the fastest comfortable speed. For me, it turns out to be 145 kph or 90 mph, using the cruise control. Trying to use the gas pedal to control the speed results in the ICE rpm going up and down somewhat uncontrollably. The cruise control does a much better job. I touched 160 kph / 100 mph a few times, but the sound of the ICE makes it feel uncomfortable. The nav had to continously adjust the ETA down, in the end I arrived home an hour earlier than the initial estimate. And that includes stopping for food.

Surprisingly rapid acceleration
At 145 kph, you end up overtaking many people but you're still overtaken by BMWs and Mercedes cars going 250 kph. And by the occasional VW transporter or Ford Transit... I had to cancel and resume the cruise control whenever someone got in my way and the left lane was not free. The Prius accelerates surprisingly quickly going from 120 kph to 145 kph, when you resume the cruise control. You're pushed back in your seat as the poor ICE gives all it has.

Mileage
Mileage was not bad. On the way there, my average was 5.5 l/100 km (almost 43 mpg US), with lots of heavy traffic. On the way back I averaged 6.2 l/100 km, that's almost 38 mpg US. It includes about 100 miles of 90 mph driving.

Battery SOC: 7 bars
My Prius seems to prefer 7 bars as the normal SOC during high speed driving and 6 in the city. I don't know why, maybe that's how it manages to accelerate so quickly?

Oh, as for the subject title of this thread: it's the text on the famous sign at Checkpoint Charlie, between former East and West Berlin. I thought it was appropriate for this thread too

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rangerdavid @ May 1 2007, 01:03 PM) [snapback]433126[/snapback]</div>

I had good contact, no problems. But keep in mind that we get the Touring suspension and wheels as standard. And the offset of my rims is 5 mm less than stock, that improved handling noticeably. Pics here if you want to see them.