I'm sure this must have been covered before, but I'm not finding the right thread, so I apologize in advance if this is duplication.

I've had my '07 MMH for just over a month and I'm loving it, but I have noticed that, no matter how careful I am, I can't get close the 39MPH max speed out of EV mode I keep reading about. On my 40 mile commute to work each day I have two 35MPH zones (one is 1.1 miles, the other is 3.7) and one 25MPH zone (2.3 miles). When I hit the 25MPH zone I can drop into EV mode as soon as my speed drops below 30 and drive the entire distance in EV without any problem, but in each of the 35MPH zones I can only enter EV mode if I hit the red light at the beginning of each zone and no matter how careful I am, I can't get my speed above 31MPH before the ICE kicks in. Is there some special trick I have yet to figure out to get the higher speed out of my EV mode? I know I can't go the same distance at 35MPH as I can at 25MPH, but it would be a nice bump to my already good mileage to add at least a good chunk of the 35MPH zones to my EV driving.

 

31MPH max is about correct on flat land. I believe the higher EV mode speeds you're looking for were for the 2009-12 model years, which have a different powertrain.
You can always try a few tricks to increase MPG-use pumped up LRR tires, lighter weight wheels, reduce vehicle weight, strip roof racks, etc. Who knows, maybe some of those tricks could increse EV MPH too.

 

Unlikely - the computer knows how fast you are going, and it is automatically switching on the gas engine at 30mph. This is a programming issue. If the computer was programmed to allow it, the electric motor could easily accelerate the car to 60mph and beyond. The downside of this is that the amperage draw would reduce the range to almost nothing, considering that the pack is already so small.