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Originally Posted by CaptainObvious
So is the situation that in bad stop and go traffic, the Civic won't be able to use enough assist to burn off the energy as fast as it can take it on from the regenerative braking?
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This is a confusing question and doesn't address all of the factors involved. But as a general rule, the effectiveness of regenerative braking will be proportional to the generator power divided by the vehicle mass. In the case of the Civic, use the power rating of the electrical motor and in the case of the Prius, use the MG2 power rating. Lookup the values and do the math for the best case regenerative braking performance. But there is a short cut, the EPA city ratings:
48 mpg - Civic I CVT
49 mpg - Civic II CVT
52 mpg - Prius I CVT
60 mpg - Prius II CVT
On the other side of the coin, highway performance, you need the drag at highway speed and the engine specific output (hp/gal/hour). In this, the Civic has 'lean burn' technology and the Prius uses the Atkinson cycle. The aerodynamic drag is a product of the coefficient of drag, area and velocity squared. The rolling drag is fairly constant at all speeds. Again, the EPA highway ratings provides a quick answer:
47 mpg - Civic I CVT
51 mpg - Civic II CVT
45 mpg - Prius I CVT
51 mpg - Prius II CVT
Bob Wilson