Featured what other PHEV have "CRG" or charge mode?

My doctor says his new BMW PHEV doesn't seem to have "CRG" mode and only charges with cord.
Can this be true?
What is story on other PHEV?
"CRG" is said to a "hidden feature" (but its my fave) and none of the idiots at several Toyota dealerships knew it existed even when asked directly.
I can't believe Toyota could have some Patent because many of the very first cars were fully EV only, so I'm sure every variation of EV and PHEV, etc was Patented by 1900. IIRC there were golf carts that were basically PHEV with both ICE and forklift battery with the idea you could operate unlimited or keep it quiet if golf decorum required it....but don't see any such rig for current sale. Many gas powered carts seem to have electric starter motor simply connected to ICE and you go from stop to forward and it starts as EV then ICE kicks in. Maybe its a centrifugal clutch like moped, but connected going the other way.

 

short for "Charge" vs "EV" for "electric vehicle"

Prime as a button to switch from EV to "normal" mode, and "normal" is what happens when battery is at IIRC 10% or less and engine starts and will cycle on and off. In "EV" an EV light shows, in "normal" light goes off.

However....if you HOLD that button a "CRG" light will appear, and the engine will stay on in most normal driving (will shut off in Neutral or decel or down hills) and will re-charge the battery (takes about 30miles of freeway to fully charge). This allows you to plan ahead and use EV mode without bothering with charging cord. For instance, I got a fast morning commute but nasty evening commute in bumper to bumper. I'll make sure I've got good charge so when crawling along I'm in nice quiet EV mode and not engine always on and off every 2 minutes. "CRG" while in PARK will keep engine on and charge battery.

In "normal" the engine will tend to keep the battery charge level same and cycle on and off automatically. EV is default mode when car is turned "on" to start driving unless batt is low then will be "normal" and drive around and battery will remain very low.

Prius Prime Amazing Hidden Feature
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Jan 16, 2019



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No idea why this is "hidden". IMO its the best feature and I wasn't going to buy a Prime until I got confirmation it existed.

 

interesting, it does charge up battery much faster than even 220v in about 1/2 hour on freeway which is little longer than it takes to fully drain a full batt.

I was thinking its "hidden" for political reasons, like they don't want people asking questions like "if it uses the ICE to charge the battery, why is the Govt giving away all that money?"