My lifetime average finally broke 48 mpg! So I am now officially helping the overall average for the HCH II to catch up/surpass the Prius.

I had noticed a significant bump around 3500 miles in my fuel economy. I haven't changed my driving style much - my 160 mile roundtrip commute still takes about 1.5 hours each way.

I really got to appreciate the fuel economy of my HCH II when I drove my 88 Iroc Convertible to work for the first time. I had to fill up after the one trip and I used almost 8 gallons of premium - with the Hybrid the 8 gallons would last almost 3 trips!

Now for the next milestone of 49 mpg!!!

 

Congrats! 50 lmpg is not that tough as long as you stay below 65 on the freeway.

 

Actually, if you drive it right, 65 on the freeway might not be the 50mpg killer we all think it is. Leaving my apartment for tae kwon do this eveing, my tmpg was 54.7. The drive to the class is more uphill than down (don't have a topo map), but no serious hills. The drive back, obviously, is more down than up. Across the ~10mi round trip, I pulled back in to the complex at 54.8mpg. Granted, this is just one trip, but at the very least, it proves that freeways aren't by definition an mpg killer.

 

Off topic alert!

My boyfriend does tae kwon do (he's a yellow belt with a green stripe), he went to the sunshine state games this past Saturday and won two gold metals in forms and sparing. I just started doing cuong nhu (karate) with him on Monday, it's really fun.

 

I actually drive, on average, about 15% (75 in the 65) above the speed limit, although on the downhills, I let it max out (up to 85 mph - there are some serious hills I have to travel).

On the highway, I don't let my speed drop to less than 5 mph over the speed limit (70 in a 65). On the rural roads, I am typically closer to the speed limit (50 in the 45) due to all the speed traps. Although a portion of my trip (about 10 miles), the speed limit is 45 and everyone is cruising at 70 so I do keep pace with the flow.

 

I agree that 3500 seems to be the uptick point as far as a breakin time, or at least the first big one.

My mileage has jumped from 48.x type tanks to a current 54 MPG. right at 3500 on this tank. Interesting.

 

Well, maybe my mpg will kick up, too, when I hit 3500 miles (about 800 to go). I also need to regularly check my tire pressure.

Aneil

 

Congrats, gchu! Good for you!

 

Just picked my galaxy HCH2 up from the body shop. Boy did they do a number on my MPG. I'm down to 45. I'll never be able to pick it up from there. The best I can get would be a 48 mpg tank. I'm heading to Vegas in the morning, so I'm going to fill the tank up and cut my losses on the 45 mpg tank.