The speed is down to about 50. Those are extreem condition only in the area west of Denver. On the normal highways, the battery never runs below 1/2, actually never below 3/4. The charging is dynamic. If the car thinks battery is low, it will give more chance to charge.
On average highway, it gives 43MPG on 75-80MPH driving and about 50MPG if you drive 65-70MPH. Normally I do not drive that slow. So I don't get that close-to 50 high MPG. The sweet spot is on stop-and-go trip over 20 minutes driving. If you only drives 5 minutes each trip, you can only gets 42-43. It taks time to worm up. Can Corolla gets mid 40s on highway? I think the new model Prius get more MPG than previous version and much bigger interior than Corrola... similar to Camry.
Worth the money? It's really a personal thing... I think it is cool car...quiet, easy to drive in the city, smart keys, etc. I'm not looking for sporty when I drive the Prius. If you want fast and aggressive handling, Prius is not for you. Quiet easy driving and high MPG is it all about.
BTW, I do not like Camry or Corolla kind of cars... they are vanillas.
