Hot G,

Thanks for the info, I've got some techniques to learn.

 

I have only had my '06 HCH for a few weeks, and drive 80 miles RT from NW Indiana to downtown Chicago everyday. 10 miles of 35-40 mph, with a few stops along the way, then 10 miles of highway driving between 60-70 mph, and finally 20 miles up Lake Shore Drive into the Loop (35-60 mph, several lights and stop & go traffic in the evenings.

I found that I got 47 MPG on the first full tank (the trip meter showed 46.?). It is true that jack rabbit starts and stops, along with higher highway speeds cut down the FE, but where I can conserve (those 35-40MPH stretches and 35-60 MPH stretches) really boost FE.

Then I don't feel quite as bad about blowing my tank average a little racing to get home on Friday nights!

My mileage has creeped up a little each week...mostly I think because I am learning how to drive it more conservatively.

My mileage indicator is a little messed up (I deleted a tank and I am not sure how to fix it??) but my lifetime FE on the trip meter is showing 45, which I am very happy with, and it gets better each mile I drive.

 

hi

i have a 268 hp highlander , and i know you are looking into a much more economical smaller hybrid.

I just wanted to let you know that you can modify your driving a little bit to reap a lot of reward. I found that going 65mph nets much better mileage than 70 or 80. You will get used to it. I used to drive at that speed too, as many of us did.

taking your foot off the gas sooner when you know you can glide to a stop sign or impending red light also will boost mileage. A smooth easy accelleration from a dead stop also will help.

I myself do not start going thru further gyrations just to find out what type of mpg i can milk out of my vehicle. You can choose to, or you can just use common sense and a couple of pointer to get you close to the EPA . I dont think its worth it to become obsessed with every single way to milk the mpg , as some suggestions may become somewhat comprimising to your ability to drive and could be hazardous to others. I choose to drive normally.

 

Hi Tom:
Hypermileing is definetly a skill and surely not for everyone.
It would be very likely that the untrained person attempting to get 70MPG tanks would indeed be a road hazard.
Its something one learns gradually, much through trial and error, but always with both safety and courtesy #1. (At least in my own case)

I used to drive like the person you'd hate to have tailgating behind you, but now as benign as can be in the far Right lane. I find each and every drive entertaining and as a side bonus- very profitable as well.

 

I drive about 65-80 mph, and 95% on the freeway for the 104-mile commute per day. I work night shifts so when I leave there usually is no traffic. The gauge showed 46 mpg. But manually, I got 48 mpg.

 

Where do you live and what kind of weather do you encounter? When I'm on interstate highways here in Indiana I tend to cruise at 75 mph. When it is warm and not windy, I can average 45mpg, when it was cold and windy in the winter it was closer to 38mpg.

Keep in mind that even at 40mpg at 80 mph, this is still far better than a 'normal' small car. The standard civic is rated at 40 mpg highway, but its mileage too will suffer greatly at these higher speeds because of greater wind resistance/friction..... given that the EPA higway test is cruising at around 50 mph and friction and wind resistance is much higher at 80.

Try not to compare 'real world' mileage for a hybrid with EPA mileage for a regular car. This is often done by the media and isn't fair. I rent a lot of cars for work, and most normal cars don't approach their EPA highway rating at 75mph.

 

Truer words have never been spoken!

 

On my first tank I hit those type of conditions and one terrible day where it was 7-8MPH Top Speed. I got about 38 MPG.

I am on my second tank now and it is more akin to your driving and am around 44-45MPG according to the dash (which was dead-on accurate for my first tank).

I drive in the left lane, and accelerate hard. The only thing I am careful about is not using the brakes as much as I used to so my following space is a little longer and I'll "downshift" from D to S to rev up the engine and regenerate the battery if needed and to slow to speed without braking.

It was fun to pass that big V8 Cadillac STS today to be sure.

The warm-up information you read is accurate, however I get to auto-stop immediately (the car is in a New York (Long Island) garage, not outside). I find that my MPG, according to the dash drops about 0.5 MPG and I can recover that about halfway through my trip, then get even higher by the end...

Michael

 

I drive about 160 miles/day round trip - it takes me about 1.5 hours to go to work, 1.75 hours to get home. My commute to work is about 55 miles highway (speed limit 65 mph for the first 30 miles, 55 mph for the middle 25 miles) and the last 25 miles stop and go local road (speed limit varying between 25 and 50). I generally drive about 70-75 mph on the high and about 15 mph over the limit on the local road (no more than 55 though). I take a different way home (to avoid some gridlock) but the speeds are similar. There are a lot of very steep hills, I lose about 1 mpg going to work on my avg and only gain .75 on the way back - I know that doesn't make sense unless you have owned a hybrid, but you will know what I mean once you get it.

You can see my lifetime mpg on my sig. The last 2 tanks, I actually broke 50 mpg so it could be finally getting broken in. I have been very happy with the mpg and cruising power as I can still pass on the highway (getting up to 90+ mph) when I need to. It is nothing like my truck off the line - I had a 05 Nissan Titan King Cab 4x4 but I was only averaging about 12 mpg in the city and 15 mpg on the highway with that.

So if you are looking to do stoplight-stoplight drag racing, you will be disappointed.

Overall, if I hadn't negotiated my deal (I got the civic + $1500, after factoring in the tax credits) for my Titan, I would have just bought a Civic LX or a Fit as I would have to drive over 120K miles to make up for the price difference (even at $4.00 per gallon gas). I must admit it is enjoyable driving the technology though.....

 

I just read where you said you (Sold) your HCH II. Right?

Anyway I live in San Diego and you can see my lifetime mileage over 12400 miles in the 2006 Civic Hybrid I just sold.

So a few questions for you. Why did you sell it already and what did you purchase then?

Terry