As we know, the test Plug-In was only capable of regenerating a portion of the batteries. It had been rumored in some circles that the production Prius would be able to regenerate more energy, taking all the available batteries. The specs from Toyota does not clarify this issue. I searched this forum and can not find an answer. Anyone have any information about it? Thanks and best regards.
It is theoretically able to recharge the entire pack--direct from Toyota to me. Good luck finding that hill though!
What would that be -- 3000 to 5000 vertical feet? How about Pikes Peak. Dante's View in Death Valley National Park. Sunrise in Mt. Rainier National Park. I'm sure we can find many more in this range.
I'll be curious to see if even those are enough to fully charge a drained pack. While Pikes Peak is very steep all the way down I know, I'm not sure it it's long enough to fully charge the pack. But who knows--I'm sure we'll see some fun tests once the car is out.
I don't think you will be able to fully charge the pack, but being able to charge the higher capacity battery pack will mean that in situations where the battery on the Prius gets full and the system switches to using the brakes, the PIP will be able to keep regen working and recover more of the energy. I've seen this happen a few times even just coming down the hill from the top of the Hilly area of Beverly Hills down to the flats, and certainly doing something like coming down the Cajone pass Noel
The test will also give us a more concrete estimate of regen system efficiency. Though I can image the outcome might be a figure that none of us wants to hear.
