She follows the speed limit, flows with traffic and stops at stop lights (basically normal driving) . I follow the instant milage indicator, which means that on flats and uphills, I might be driving 5-10mph under the speed limit trying to minimize engine load. On downhills I may exceed the limit by as much as 20mph so I can coast up the next hill a little further. I also TRY to judge stop lights so that I don't have to come to a full stop, although this is frequently not possible.

These are a few elements of hypermiling. You can find some posts around here and on cleanmpg.com that go into it a lot more. We've only had the HCH since October, so I'm still learning how to maximize.

 

Kristan, thank you. That helps me understand the concept.

My husband thinks he will get the Nissan hybrid. I'm currently driving a Honda Pilot. I love Honda, but I want to trade in for a hybrid too. It sounds like the Civic hybrid would be great for my needs. (I don't drive a lot. Our house is walking distance to my shop, but when I do make trips it would be more likely that the majority of my mileage would be freeway... so the Civic hybrid sounds perfect.)

 

Sounds like good decisions. Be sure to post your Altima experiences, we'd love to hear them.

P.S. Have you found an Altima to test drive? Looks like the Altima forum hasn't even been activated here yet.

 

Yes. My nephew phoned around for us and found three dealerships in our area that have them. (We live in Orange County, Ca.) He went down and test drove it Tuesday night and said he loved the car. We are going to take a test drive on Saturday. (I've also already driven the Civic hybrid, and I really liked it.)

 

Nice!

 

Apr07, Car And Driver did a short take on the Altima Hybrid. They did not give it a favorable review. It's $$ and performed short on MPG.

 

EVERY Car and Driver article regarding a hybrid says that they performed short on MPG. If you were to believe their numbers, you should never get a hybrid. Oh, wait, maybe that's their idea in the first place...

I've been reading C&D since I was in Jr. High and was always a fan, but I find their anti-hybrid bias offensive and annoying. From May 06 to November 06, I think every issue had at least one negative comment about hybrids in the editorials. If you're looking to buy a sports sedan, they are a great resource--if you're looking to buy a hybrid, look elsewhere...

Then again, I'm not saying that the NAH is good or bad--I'm just pointing out C&D's bias.

 

Are you and your husband familiar with the facts about Nissan Altima Hybrid?

- The technology is bought from Toyota.
- Nissan's future Hybrid strategy is unknown.
- Altima Hybrid is sold and supported only in eight states, mostly on east coast.

In February, Altima Hybrid sales was 206 units which was 0.9% of all Altima product line, while Camry Hybrid sales was 3,332 which was 10.4% of all Camry, Civic Hybrid sales was 1,924 which was 9.6% of all Civic and Prius sales was 12,227.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007...es_of_hyb.html

Ken@Japan

 

While I like the idea of the Nissan, I think buyers will be dissappointed with mileage. Why get 27 when you could get 42?

 

We're still in the process of educating ourselves. We went down to look at the Altima Hybrid last night, but the salesman was so sleazy it was almost a wasted trip. (Sleaze to the degree that I didn't want to test drive the car.) He kept trying to play with our heads and allude that the Civic hybrid and the Camry hybrid had all these hidden design flaws... and that the Altima was the perfect car... but then when I asked him point blank questions about the different cars... he didn't have a clue. He didn't know ANYTHING about the Altima at all... and equal zero about the Camry hyrbid and Civic hybrid.

We're going back on Saturday to test drive the car. The one thing I can say that is a big plus is the Altima hybrid is a very good looking car. It actually looks a bit sporty.