I just checked the owner's manual:

Maximum load (cargo and passengers) : 905 lbs

 

Well, I was hoping you'd just look at the placard attached to your XLE hybrid and tell me what is says!

 

Silverado weighs 6100 lbs GVWR and my Burban weight more than 7100 lbs GVWR so right there we have a difference and that doesn't account that it is a 4x4 so its not apples to apples comparison. And yeah, you can't compare the burb with the tch but hey, its today's economy that we have to adapt to and if that means giving up gas guzzler to be more efficient, then yup, I don't miss my burb at all. And besides, I enjoy the ride I bought. Smooth ride and shifts. I love my TCH but just not impressed that much with the mpg yet. But it is a learning process as one user points out.

 

bmgoodman: after reading your request I checked the placard on my 2012 Camry Hybrid XLE. It says 410kg or 905 lbs.

 

I have had my 2012 XLE for about 1 1/2 months and put about 3500 miles on it. I do not consider myself an expert or a hypermiler, but do make an attempt to get good gas mileage to the extent that it can be done without impeding traffic. The 3500 miles has been a combination of expressway at 70 mph, 2 lane at 55 mph, and city driving at 25-35 mph. I use miles driven by the actual amount of gas pumped to determine my mileage. Most of the time there is one passenger and no luggage. The lowest mileage I have gotten for a fill-up is 38 mpg. The highest was 44. The average seems to be around 41-42. I absolutely know that I can get better mileage than that, but weather, road conditions, and other traffic are often limiting factors. If I can drive at a constant 25-35 mph with few stops I can easily and repeatedly get in the middle to high 50 mpg. If I can drive at a constant 45-55 mph with few stops I can consistently and repeatedly get in the 45-50 mpg range. This does not involve any pulsing, drafting, or impeding other traffic. I make a concerted effort to NOT annoy or upset other drivers--even if it results in getting lower mileage. Despite that, I am pretty happy with the mileage I am getting. Best of luck.

 

Be sure to keep your EV button off and the ECO button on. I find the car seems to stay in the EV mode lots more if you use your cruise control a lot. Not sure if the EV works above 50 mph. I'm still driving slow to break mine in. I only got 300 miles on my XLE hybrid so far. I have seen 51 to 63 mpg between stops. (each time you shut off the engine, look at the readout)
I'm driving around 40 to 45 mph near and on the main drags in town.

Today I had the dealer up my nitrogen tire pressure to 42 psi daytime temp in their shop. I may let them down to 40 each tonight once they have cooled off. I feel the nitrogen rides smoother than when they had air in them. The car came with bridgestone's, but I paid discount tires to swap out to the michelin primacy mxv4's with the PS3 designation which is the tires made by mich. for toyota as oem's. I wish toyota would offer the primacy tires on a factory order for like $100 or $150 more. Cost me $540 dealing with discount tires and a 150 mile round trip to get them. The primacy's are definitely LRR, quieter, long lasting tires.

 

Thanks for checking. I'm a bit surprised as I believe mine is 950 lbs, and my battery is heavier.

 

A few days after the El Paso trip, I found it's best to keep the ECO button on all the time. I noticed the car accelerating nicely in the EV mode chosen by the ECU. I can accelerate moderately to around 38/40 mph then the engine kicks in. With the ECO on, the EV auto kicks in lots more often than with the '07 I had.

Uses for the EV button (driving at 25) for me is when climbing a short grade. Found out I can drive the 1.6 miles to the house from the highway at 25 mph using the cruise simply by leaving it in the ECO mode.

UPDATE: Tonight I drove one highway for 10 miles. then a bypass for more 4 miles, another highway for 15 miles. That's 58 miles round trip in which I tried driving at 50 mph using the cruise. This time instead of the usual 38 to 40 mpg at 45, the instant mpg read 55 mpg and with the engine running. It was night and no wind, the humidity was low around 8%. The mpg total for the tank is at 52 right now. I'm only at 135 miles on this tank and I was experimenting with various speeds. If I had known this earlier I might be closer to 55 mpg.

Something I had not seen yet, is the car auto switched to EV at 50 mph for about a minute or so. That's new for me at that speed. The '07 would only assist the engine at that speed. I like the way this '12 stays in the ECO mode just by pressing the button once. The ECU remembers your selection ever time you start the car.

 

 

Update since I bought about a month ago. Every now and then, I can get 38-40 mpg in one driving session but in general, I am still getting 35-37 mpg combined. And that is after inflating my tires to about 48-50 psi of air (not nitrogen since I would have to pay to get nitrogen pumped up in my tires). I have also tried the pulsing gas pedal and just try to drive a little slower in the city. But to no avail. Any other tips??