I'm on my 4th plug-in hybrid
I'm on my 4th plug-in hybrid now, and the driving dynamics are definitely different from conventional gas powered cars. As you mentioned, real-world, day-to-day impressions in normal driving are that the car is quick. And in fact the instant torque from a stop feels like a powerful V8. Of course the RAV4 Prime is more powerful and quicker than any of my PHEVs, so I figure than the impression of acceleration is even better. With the GM EREV system it also keeps a traction battery reserve, and so when it goes to "zero" it still has 15% capacity left, which is actively used for hybrid operations. This is how I manage 40MPG+ just in hybrid mode. I live at some elevation so I start in EV mode and gain 4 miles of range with braking regeneration just going mostly down hill for 10 minutes. And if it is cold outside I turn on the seat and steering wheel warmers. But then when I get on the freeway and I either want to heat up the car, or I've got a long way to drive, I switch over to Hold mode which holds the traction battery power and runs the generator motor, which is very efficient at highways speeds. Then when I get off the freeway I switch back to Normal (EV) mode for maximum efficiency. One point of owning a PHEV is that it makes you very aware of how much energy/fuel that you are using at any time. It's sort of a fun game to play to try and be the most efficient that you can be, while still driving normally.