I try and drive for mileage. My trip to work is 120 miles round trip. I leave a bit early and take the backroads so I can slow down abit. When I work day watches I leave at 3:50 am and get to drive 50 -55 mph. I have filled up only 3 times since getting this car and every tank gets beter mileage, except this last one and it's because I think of going into Houston on sat night and getting into a downpour along with stop and go traffic from a traffic accident. Best tank was 54.7 at the pump but then didn't need to us the A/C yet. I love this car....so far. Happy motoring, Kevin

04 silverblue man.

 

texashchman,
I'm in the same favorable conditions as you.
I drive 45 miles into the city of Atlanta, my shift starts at 6PM so I leave the house at about 4PM. I could just hop right onto the freeway but instead like you, take a parallel highway for 20 miles, then the rest is freeway.
The main traffic flow at 6PM is outbound, but I'm going inbound.

I've found that a head/cross wind is worst for MPG.

I get off work at 2AM and the roads are almost deserted.
I take the same last 20 miles of side roads and get zero traffic and take good advatage of this. My commute is about 1hr 15 min.
If I get a particularly good run sometimes I wish I could drive longer.
It's really a game I play with the FCD and have alot of fun at it.

As far as A/C goes:
Some days here in Georgia have already been mid 80's.
Still pretty mild but my car is parked in the driveway sun and gets pretty warm before I leave.
(Will have to change that when it REALLY gets hot!)
So far when I require A/C I'm able to turn it on while going downhill as needed.
That way it doesn't fight the A/C and a hill at the same time.
It keeps blowing cold for quite some time.

Well, I didn't mean to write a novel or anything so take care

 

Hey Hot_Georgia,

Nice meeting you. We have similar interests in vehicles and audio.

Please don't be offended by my statements here, because I want everyone to know that we are all in the same boat (or hybrid) so to speak.

I find all of this very interesting.

I totally love my HCH... It is a very cool car with a very cool cause...

BUT, I'm am not at all satisfied with the fact that the EPA has lied to me and to every single person who is buying in to the Honda Civic Hybrid vehicles.

When I bought my Hybrid, I bought it for two reasons only:

• GAS MILEAGE
• OUR ENVIRONMENT

Although I appreciate and do try to drive the vehicle for maximum MPG performance, I also expect to get what I paid for.

I do not feel that I have received what I paid for: I paid for a vehicle that is supposed to get 48 MPG in town and 47 MPG on the highway. It appears that the numbers are not only WRONG, but there are people who are attempting to drive their vehicles to maximize MPG performance and in this forum, with all those who are, there still is an average gas mileage below the lowest rated estimate.

My first (and mind you, my only) gas tank provided me with a whopping 35.9 MPG which is stillawesome, but nowhere near 47 MPG.

I am hoping that my MPG will increase substantially over the coarse of the next few gas tanks. If it doesn't, I intend on persuing this inappropriation completely.

 

Hi Tmrpro:

___You are at least doing your part for the environment … As for EPA estimates, Hybrid’s almost always receive inflated numbers. In the city in particular. When driven with the outmost care, they can really scream past EPA estimates but just like a std. ICE driven purposely, so can one of them. It is when a Hybrid is driven normally that their mileage doesn’t work out for the best for most … The other side of that equation is that most didn’t know their mileage techniques were so bad in their other automobile(s)! I am not saying the same of you but someone that receives 28 mpg in a Corolla rated for 32/40 is going to see 35 - 40 mpg in a HCH or Prius more then likely as well. There are even 5-speed Insight’s some of us have seen on Ebay, Autotrader, and Cars.com with lmpg’s in the high 30’s! How anyone could abuse their Insight that bad is beyond imagination but it happens and it is probably more frequent then you or I would ever imagine. Having a game gauge staring back at you every day can’t help but improve your mileage skills or at least tell you how bad they were to begin with

___With that, you can still achieve some very nice mileage if you make sure that first, your tires are up to pressure and your oil is between the hi/lo marks. A little break in, a swap to lower kinematic viscosity synthetic, higher tire pressures, a change in technique and/or slowing down a tad and you will begin to enjoy beating EPA estimates tank after tank rather then looking at them from underneath as you probably are doing now.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

Todd,

The mileage database has the HCH at 45 mpg with 11 vehicles. That's not enough to be real accurate, but it give you the idea that EPA wasn't too far off.

 

buy a highlander hybrid!! lol

 

Hi Stevo12886:

___Ahhh, but the Highlander is only going to be an SULEV. The new Ford Escape Hybrid is a PZEV! I can’t help it that I am a PZEV snob

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

In my experience the Hybrid is really alot more sensitive to driving habbits.

My HCH replaced a 94 Dodge spirit that, driven 85MPH, floored got about 18MPG.
Driven the same route at speed limits with cruise control on got about 23.
That's about 5MPG difference.
I wish I had a quest & the tools to learn better driving skills then, to see what was possible.

If I drive the same route on my HCH going 85MPH on cruise control....
Well I admit I've never tried it but let's say 35MPG as a good high guess.
I can drive speed limits on cruise control and get about 45-47MPG.

The same route, same conditions I can get 58-63MPG by driving carefully, a skill that I am still learning.

My old Dodge's MPG difference in driving floored or with CC was about 5MPG.
My new HCH MPG difference with CC driving is about 25MPG.

That's quite a difference!
tmrpro,
I am less inclined to think that you're having a problem with the car, because someone who has cultivated and developed this skill can drive virtually any seemingly poor performing car and get better MPG results.

I don't have a FCD in my Grand Caravan and don't put alot of effort in maximizing MPG. However yesterday we left for the store and found the gas gauge below E.
Getting desperate and knowing the nearest station was at least 7 miles away I used the same skills learned with the HCH and later pumped in 18 gallons.
Another driver might have had to carry a gas can back to the ditch.

Also as a note, you can not achieve great results on the Honda suggested tire pressure of 30 F/R. I gain about 20MPG on the higher pressure.

If this is currently only your 2nd tank, the car isn't broke in yet. My first tank avg was high 30's MPG. Give yourself a couple of months to learn the car.

Weather has alot to do with it too.
Today is drizzly miserable head-windy 40 degreese here in Atlanta and my daily commute only yielded a pittly 52MPG. That'll dent my tank AVG.
No offence taken and none meant.
You have a whole community here who are eager to help you improve your results.

 

What is the higher pressure?.... my tires say 51 PSI maximum....

That is somewhat comforting.... but.... doesn't anyone here think the EPA needs to take a stand concerning this obvious problem?

It is my understanding that they're testing the vehicles as they test all vehicles. If they're driving the Hybrids as they drive a non-hybrid vehicle, then according to the theories that I'm seeing here, they would be getting far lower results than that which they are releasing and publishing....

 

Yes, Todd. There's been talk that the EPA tests may be revised again to be a bit more accurate to driving in this age.