Your concerns bring up exactly the reasons why we didn't stop at just
developing the high speed EV mode. Most of the attention has been on
the high speed EV functionality because it sounds the most impressive
and it is easy to describe. It is cool and very useful to drive short
distances at speeds > 35mph without starting the ICE, but in reality,
you often need more than 25kW of acceleration to merge or keep up with
traffic. The enhanced PHEV mode does exactly what you wish it would do
- use the ICE when you are accelerating faster than 25kW (while still
using the full 25kW of electric during acceleration), and switch back to
electric mode automatically when coasting, even for costing on the
highway. The switches are completely seamless and fully automatic and
it feels like you are driving the stock car with the exception that it
drives smoother. There are no three beeps when you accelerate too fast
or switches to flip to get into and out of EV mode. You don't have to
change your driving habits to drive with it and still get good mileage.
Obviously, if you accelerate mildly you will get the best mileage, but
even with rapid acceleration, you can still get very good mileage over
100mpg.

It is difficult to explain how much better the enhanced PHEV system
works than SOC spoofing without actually experiencing it. That is why
we took the YouTube video to try to give a feel for how it works, but
really you need to test drive a system to get a feel for it. Just for
reference - the other day we drove the car down the highway with the
enhanced PHEV system without doing anything special and got > 250mpg
over nearly 10 miles traveling at 65mph. It really works for every day
driving, which is something that other systems haven't always done very
well.

>
> 1. Given the above, do you think my wife could drive a Ewert conversion?

It will feel just like driving the stock Prius. Pressing the brake to
start the car is still part of the stock car operation, of course. We
specifically designed the system be as easy to use as possible and
require no extra interaction from the driver while driving. Other than
remembering to plug the car in and unplug it before driving, there is no
extra user interaction required. The car will not allow you to drive
(will not start) unless the car is unplugged, so you don't have to worry
about that. The display pops up with a message reminding you that the
car is plugged in and will also remind you that if you remember to plug
the car it, you will get better mileage.

> 2. Why did Kim, merge onto the freeway so slowly during his video?
> I would have liked to see the (prewarmed) ICE come on for the
> acceleration up to freeway speeds and then see the car revert back to
> all electric. Is this possible?

I wasn't there, but I believe he was driving in all electric mode where
the acceleration is limited to 25kW. The enhanced PHEV mode does
exactly what you want.

> 3. What range does the Plug-In Conversion NI-MH pack have? How does
> this compare to the Plug-In Supply Li-Ion packs range?

I believe the low speed EV range of the Plug-In Conversions pack is 25
miles. At highway speeds, that will be more like 17-20 miles (see
previous post.) I am not aware of what Plug-In Supply is offering - you
will need to contact them. The Plug-In Conversions system is an OEM
battery replacement conversion, which can be up to about 20% more
efficient for delivering that energy to the drivetrain. A 2 pack system
will have losses when the energy is transfered from one pack to the
other - particularly at higher powers, so keep that in mind if you are
comparing the packs strictly on kWh. I would highly recommend asking
other people who have purchased the specific systems which you are
looking at for their experiences.

> 4. What if the car already has the basic Interim Control Board based
> conversion, would a Ewert conversion still cost $13K? i.e. are
> retrofits available.

Unfortunately, the enhanced mode is incompatible with the CalCars style
conversions for several reasons including the battery capabilities. I
will tell you that if you are comparing this to a system based on the
Interim board, you will notice a very substantial increase in usability
and in mileages, specifically at speeds over 34mph where the interim
based system pretty much doesn't do anything.

> 5. I haven't looked at the weights, but could one feasibly, sacrifice
> rear seating and/or additional cargo space with more/bigger batteries
> to get additional range?

Yes, that is of course possible, but if you do it right, you should be
able to pack up to about 60-70 miles range in the trunk with li-ion
batteries according to some numbers we ran in the past.

Chris



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