They are an easy car to speed in, due to the quietness and lack of engine noise at cruise.. You really have to keep your eye on the speedometer. My wife names all her cars based on some characteristic the car exhibits.. She named this one "A.J." (aka Foyt) because it is so easy to speed in... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The 2006 model I have has a 67hp 50kW main motor/generator that can produce 295ft/lbs of torque from 0 to 1200rpm that drives a roughly 3:1 axle ratio.. and the reason they all come with traction control to avoid crazy spinning of the tires (and most importantly, exceeding the 6000rpm limit on the smaller 10kW MG which will cause damage.

They reduced the max torque in the next generation on the main MG (the horsepower rating went up, but the maximum torque output was lowered.. and the smaller MG1 can now run up to 10,000rpm. On mine, it's way too easy to activate the traction control (which cuts back on the power) as the front wheels begin to spin. The above change on the next generation Prius solved this..