On my first tank that I purchased since I bought my HAH last week, I was able to see 30 mph within the first 10 miles (freeway mostly).

Just needed to share. All the driving advice on here is great. Looking forward to 40 mpg on a 250 mile (each way) trip this weekend.

And none too soon did I buy this car - last night at 9PM, gas at the nearest station was $2.59 - this morning at 10AM it was $2.69.

Wes

 

Good start, the fuel prices in the days ahead should give you plenty of inventive to keep it up and improve. Isn't it nice to have the instrumentation to help your keep your mpg up in these extraordinary times?

 

cool. 40 is easy with the eco light and mpg gage to guide you. 45 is the trick- I think that's about as high as it will get unless you go the FAS route of Xcel and others, or find a lucky draft. good luck! I can't wait to be able to take mine on a long (>100mi) trip...

 

I agree with gonavy. On a 40 mile interstate trip from on ramp to off ramp recently I got 44.5 mpg per the FE display. That was at steady 60 mph on relatively level terrain with the eco light on pretty much full time. Engine was barely broken in at 1,200 miles. The FE display was still climbing (but very slowly) when I got to the off ramp, so I don't know if it would have leveled out at 45mpg. Good luck and happy motoring on your trip Wes.

Ps. Filled up w/regular here 11:00 pm Monday night at $2.49, 7 am the next morning, same station had jumped to $2.59. Wednesday morning 8:00 am same station it was $2.89. Wife reported that the same station changed to $2.99 at noon Wednesday. That's a 50 cent gain in 36 hours. Ouch.

 

While I agree that 40+ is quite possible, and I have seen 47 mpg on about a 40 mile stretch, I'd say that "easy" is relative, dependent on the many variables of driving habits, terrain, wind, temp, speed, traffic patterns, etc. A 5 mph tailwind on my 40 mile morning commute will give me a--sort of--"easy" 42mpg (assuming i drive under the 65 mph limit, keep a very soft foot, ECO on, hit all the lights, avoid quick passes, drive to load, etc...). The same route with a 5 mph headwind, driving the same way, is more likely to be 37 mpg. Up the head wind to 15 mph, and 35 is the best I can do. I'll stick my neck out and say few drivers who have little past interest/experience in driving for FE are going to get an "easy" 40 mpg for many miles in the HAH by just getting in and driving the speed limit. Once "just driving" habits have been replaced by FE habits, it does become "easier" to get better MPG, but it is a learning curve, steeper for some of us than for others. You have to want to get the EPA combined average of 33 (or better) tank after tank in the HAH, and develop the skills to get that mpg; the HAH won't just hand it to you as the Greenhybrid database for the HAH attests.
All that aside, 30 mpg on the first tank in this fun to punch it car is a very promising start, and anyone who does that no doubt has much better mpg performance coming...if you can just keep those neck-snapping passes down to a minimum....
Lewis

 

But man, passing is totally fun!!!! She's a speed demon when you want her to be .

Thanks for the encouragement,
Wes

 

My wife, who just shook her head sometimes when I pushed my 1998 Audi A4 (20-24 mpg, premium fuel), on mountain roads has the same grin I had then on her face now when she does a snappy pass in the HAH. I just grin right back. We are both trying to work on FE, but it ain't always easy!!
Lewis

 

Weyus, learning the HAH is an adventure! I'd never owned a hybrid until I got mine in May. Now with 5,000 miles, I've seen 47mpg as about the best so far. I've also made 35mpg in town. I find that I can't really trust the mpg indicator, but use it mostly as a rough indicator as to how I'm doing. I've seen the indicator be off by as much as 6-7 mpg too low. As you get a few more miles, your mpg will continue to rise. I find the secret to getting good mileage is to keep your speed near 65. It starts to drop quickly if you go over 70. When I'm tired and in a hurry to get home and drive 80, mileage drops to 30mpg, so there's a big penalty. You'll enjoy learning how to drive it, and you'll enjoy putting in fewer gallons at the end of your trip!

 

Test post to see if my sig works

 

Yikes...this is old news quickly...8:00 pm Wednesday same station selling regular at $3.19 with a line of 20 cars at each pump after a rumor here that the entire city would be out of fuel before the weekend (and no, I didn't get in line...fuel gauge on my HAH still pegged near "full" after two days commute). I love my HAH!!!