Got back yesterday from our first long trip with our new HCH2. Here are some of my observations-

Trip- from Rochester, NY to Lake Placid NY approx 300 miles

Car had 250 miles on it when we left.

Car rides and feels much bigger than it is. I have had many Civics, this one is just amazing from a quality standpoint.

First tank- 47.9 mpg, 480 miles, AC on the entire time. This included 70% of driving around the streets of Lake Placid, and the back roads to get to various hiking trails.

Second Tank- 51.7 mpg. This tank includes 200 miles of more back roads, stop and go, and one trip to the top of Whiteface Mountain (it was painful to watch the mpg drop, I finally switched over to the temp gauge because it was killing me). The balance of the tank was the drive home.

While on the highway, I found the cruise control to be annoying, as it did not manage FE as well as I can, so after about 15 minutes, I turned it off. In order to not annoy my fellow drivers, I set a rule to not go below 65 mph, nor above 70 (except on long downhills). AC was off on the way home, only because it was not needed.

Total trip- ~1,000 miles, avg FE- ~50 mpg. What more could I ask for?

All in all, we love the car. I just wish they would make an Element Hybrid.

 

Wait till you hit the 3500-5000 range. There seems to be a break point there where you can jump as much as 5mpg