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You have to remember that all the power for the Prius ultimately comes from gasoline. The battery power is generated either directly by the engine or by regen using the car's momentum that was also made by the engine. All those energy conversions have losses that add up. So in a perfect world, P&G without using battery (which would have to be recharged by regen or the engine) would get you max MPGs, but in the real world with other cars, stop signs, and other road features make P&G difficult. I personally do use battery to extend glides, but mainly when there are cars behind me and only enough to reduce my deceleration, not eliminate it.
I can't think of any time that I've been using battery to extend a coast and wished for more available power. More power would just drain the battery faster.
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