I haven't seen a difference between the computer's calculation of the MPG and a hand-calculated MPG. My best tank so far has been just shy of 43 MPG.

I don't know what most people with a HCH-1 get, but my boss says that he's pretty much always in the mid/upper 40s. Then again, he's known to exaggerate from time to time.

 

I used to get 39mpg during the first two months after I bought my 2007 HCH. Now, I consistantly get between 51 and 53. I drive the same trip everyday, so my FE is rather consistant. First thing I did was realize that there is no shame in driving slower and less aggressive. Next, I learned how to handle the gas pedal while maintaining my FE meter above 50 when acceleration is not needed.

I am not living in a hilly area, but I know it did shave about 5-10 mpg when I visited family in the hill country...

 

I can get 53 mpg on the route my wife takes to work because I drive for economy and by the mpg meter. She drives to get home as fast as she can, and gets 37-39. Each to his own. The car is capable of very high mpg numbers, it is all in the technique to get top performance.

 

Hi,

I have had my 06 HCH II now for a little over a year and the mileage is approx. 11K. My FE ranges around the 38-40 MPG when I drive my HCH II with traffic flow. I can get around the 45-50 MPG on interstate but have to slow my but down. I am not willing to take the extra time and the Hard-Looks from the other drivers to get the extra FE. I also set the HVAC at a comfortable setting for both Winter and Summer months. So I do not choose to Burn-Up in the Summer or Freeze in the Winter to add to my FE. Also I run 35 PSI in my tires for a more comfortable ride and YES I have driven it with 60 PSI for approx. 1,500 miles on a trip but later decided to NOT Jar my Teeth-Out and possibly add a much Faster Wear Factor to all the Suspension parts on the HCH II not to mention adding Faster Rattles.

I in the past have done some of the {Hypermiling-Tricks} to get a lot better FE but have since decided to drive the HCH II in the manner it was designed for from Honda and that is not holding up the other drivers around me on the Hwy. or in the City bumper to Bumper Traffic with me Poking Along.

Trust me when I say this. The HCH II can get really Great FE compared to a lot of other vehicles and it Burns 87 Octane. However it mainly rest on how one decides to drive it from Stops/Interstate-Speeds and Passing Speeds. It does all things pretty darn well but it is slow and if driven in any kind of an "Aggressive-Mode" it does not at that Point get Great FE Period. It will do OK but not Great.

This has been my experience with the car for now more than a year and driving it all different kinds of ways.

There is a Forum that mainly deals with getting the Very-Most-FE out of any Vehicle and especially the HCH II. It is www.CleanMPG.com and you can read what the "Hypermilers do from {Mild-to-Wild} for Greater FE in any Vehicle regardless of what kind of vehicle. Type in my name tigerhonaker that list all my Threads and you can read where I did a test run and got like as I remember 66 MPG on the interstate on a trip to Ky. There is another member that did an Article/Thread on the HCH II for getting Great FE and her name is Tarabell. You can look up her Threads as well.

Good luck and don't be disappointed with your HCH II. There are a lot of worse vehicles out there and I have personally owned a lot of them over the years.

Terry (tiger)

 

I just completed a 650 mile round trip comprised of 70 percent freeway over flat terrain, with the other 15 percent steep enough to warrant separate truck lanes. The rest was over two lane very twisty and scenic mountain roads.

Freeway driving was fast enough to keep up with traffic at about 75-80 mph. Mountain driving was spirited enough that other drivers would pull over into passing lanes.

My average for the whole trip was 44mpg, which included normal use of A/C that kept interior temperature at about 76 degrees.

Gotta love it!!

 

Traditional wisdom has it that the HCH has the advantage over the Prius on the highway but you couldn't prove that by me. My gen one MT HCH can get over 80 mpg if hypermiled to the max in hot weather with no AC, but it can also get as low as the 30ies if drivin fast (70-80 mph) in the rain and cold. I'd say if you are going 70-80mph then 40 mpg is pretty good. 40 mpg would also be a pretty good number in stop and go driving in congested city traffic. If you are going 40-60 mph fairly non-stop then 40 mpg would be pretty low. It all depends on how fast you are driving and/or how often you are required to stop.

 

Folks,

After reading all the responses, I am feeling a bit better. I am in the Bay Area and it's mostly hills and faster highway driving.

I did manage to get 56+ during a trip from San Jose north on 680, but that was the best so far.

Dobe

 

Hey believe me when I say I have had many-many very Fast Vehicles over the Years {I'm 61} and they did not get FE. Then again they were not suppose to and I did not purchase them for FE.

The HCH II does just Great at Low-Speeds and as far as I am concerned it does just fine when driven at 70-80 MPH on the Interstates keeping up with traffic flow.

Enjoy your New Hybrid and keep in mind it is doing Far-Better than the SUV's that are getting between 8-16 MPG at those speeds.

Keep Smiling and take the Fuel Savings and go out for a Very-Fine-Meal.

Terry (tiger)

 

I have around 300 miles on my car (just got it last Saturday). Lifetime is around 42.7mpg, but daily average work-day commute is around 49mpg (60% highway, 40% city, 60 miles). And this is without even trying that hard...

Best MPG so far is my morning commute yesterday at 59mpg - this is by following a rather slow, smallish truck travelling at 50-60mph.


Of course, I've driven a hybrid for 6 years before this (2000 Honda Insight MT) and my Insight had trained me pretty well.

 

You know how to do the FE thing from past experience.