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The computer may not let you do that with the car moving and the engine at high rpm. After all, the engine and/or transmission might be damaged (another design defect).

This is just completely wrong. I drive a 2007 Toyota Prius and I tested it the other day by flooring it and then shifting into neutral. Worked like a champ. The Prius transmission doesn't have discrete gears. Shifting into neutral will not harm the transmission. Also keep in mind that the engine routinely shuts off and on and that cutting electric power to the drive is also quite simple. I did have to hold the shifter in the neutral position for about a second to get it to do the shift--I assume because they want to make sure the joystick-like shifter wasn't accidentally bumped into the wrong position.

I've owned a 2002 Prius, and currently own a 2006 Prius. Neither car has a starter motor, that the 12 volt battery can spin, to start the ICE.

This link describes the starting and other operation of the hybrid system. The very first line under "Stationary Engine Start" reads: "To start the engine, MG1 is driven forward using electrical power from the high voltage battery ..."

2004 Prius II - Emergency Response Guide. (http://techinfo.toyota.com/public/main/2ndprius.pdf)

Roadside Assistance

The Prius uses an electronic Gear Shift selector and an electronic P switch for Park. If the 12-Volt auxiliary battery is discharged or disconnected, the vehicle cannot be started or nor can it be shifted out of park. Most other roadside assistance operations may be handled like conventional Toyota vehicles.

You should read more about it. There's a lot more to the vehicle's electric motor than being an over-sized starter.

http://prius.ecrostech.com/original/Understanding/WhatsGoingOnAsIDrive.htm

I agree with Aliencow though, the suspensions they put in them are pretty awful.

That's one of the things I like about the Prius. The Prius transmission is rather simpler than the typical tranny, and, because of the two motors and one engine involved, doesn't need a clutch (the gear connected to the wheels can be held still even when the engine is spinning, by counter-spinning the motors).

CVT has a long history in racing with the last notable attempt by Williams in F1 in 1993. Many automation aids were banned in 1994. Just Google for: Williams F1 CVT.

The durability issues have been mostly related to frictional belt CVTs. Audi's multi-chain design is able to handle more power, and Toyota's reapplication of the standard differential/planetary-gear system as a CVT answers your meshed physical gearing need. Here's a description of the latest gen PSD.

As we've all experienced, constant acceleration cannot be really felt whether it be in the elevator, standing on the surface of a rotating Earth, or in a CVT driven car. So ya, pretty weird. :)

For example, I drive a 1995 Corolla station wagon, which is also not a great driver's car, but it's light-years ahead of the Prius. In my car, if I'm going 10mph in first gear and I touch my foot to the gas pedal, the car jumps forward instantly. If you floor the throttle in a Prius going 10mph, it takes a full second or two for the gas engine to turn on and rev up and for the CV transmission to adjust before anything actually happens. That's a really long time when you're trying to accelerate out of a corner, or if you're trying to avoid an imminent T-boning.

For example, I drive a 1995 Corolla station wagon, which is also not a great driver's car, but it's light-years ahead of the Prius. In my car, if I'm going 10mph in first gear and I touch my foot to the gas pedal, the car jumps forward instantly. If you floor the throttle in a Prius going 10mph, it takes a full second or two for the gas engine to turn on and rev up and for the CV transmission to adjust before anything actually happens. That's a really long time when you're trying to accelerate out of a corner, or if you're trying to avoid an imminent T-boning.

A cutaway of the Prius system is shown at this website and a discussion of how it all works is on this one. These pages also have great techie discussions.

I must say that I am always amazed by how smoothly the incredible technology in the Prius cars operates, and even though I am an embedded engineer and work with computer h/w and s/w all day long, I am fascinated by how invisibly the Prius systems perform their jobs. I have a 2004 Prius, and a 2006 Prius is on order, and I am not even a weenie environmentalist!

Okay, considering I helped create this page, you misunderstood.

Grandparent was asserting ALL hybrids only charge from regenerative braking, and I'm asserting the Prius's HSD has more than one mode, namely direct charging from the engine also.

If you count the teeth on the planet-carrier of the PSD to the ring carrier you'll find that 28% of the engine's torque is always sent to the MG1 which then shunts it back out to MG2 to drive the wheels, or back to charge the battery. The heavy math is here. This means the HSD can consume, and/or store, the excess energy created by the ICE, which is important for maximizing engine efficiency, and for low-end torque which the Atkinson/Miller cycle ICE cannot manage. This ability is what makes it a FULL hybrid.

So yes, the HSD does suffer for highway mileage and high-end HP compared to Honda's system, but Honda's system isn't as flexible, nor as efficient yet.

Also yes, the HSD's "spinning inertia" regenerative-mode (no foot on brakes/accelerator) is somewhat like compression braking, but it isn't as strong. B-mode puts it into max-regen as well as sending the energy into the engine with the cylinders not firing so it performs air-compression braking and throwing that energy away doing that.

Did you know below ~25mph, B-Mode can also charge into the batts besides just free-spin compressing air?