Is it fair to report my milesge on the compare milesge data base when: I live in minesota and i leave the hihy warm up each day and take short trips.I am loosing 3 mpg in cold weather driving. should i not post mileage,or adjust for the warmups or post the poor numbers i get....JOE

 

Report exactly what you get. The Real Hybrid Mileage Database isn't supposed to be "adjusted" for ideal conditions. It exists to show what real owners (like you) get in real conditions.

 

I live in chicago and I use a remote start in my civic on realy cold days. It kills my mileage, but I still report exactly what I get.

 

I drive a 'chipped' VW TDI a bit harder than I should ... you know 'zoom - zoom' and know that a much lighter foot would improve my mileage. But as Jason suggests ... we're posting "real" mileage.

That said, I admire what a disciplined hybrid (or efficient non-hybrid) can achieve when they focus on it.

 

I agree.... that's why my overall average is so low. I have all short trips (all under 8 miiles usually) and that combined with cold weather (below 30 degrees F and some weeks below 20 Degrees F) is the reason for my low overall average. That said, on warmer days and longer trips I see around 28 MPG, closer to what is called for, but I don't load those, only my actual miles and gallons used.

 

I think we've all had instances where we'd rather not report a tank because of how poor it is. Living in Michigan, after a bad storm, I had my worst tank ever, but I still reported it, driving or not driving using any technique shouldn't be an exception.

Besides, that way, other people who live in cold areas and love remote starts can get an idea of what kind of MPGs they can expect.

 

Its too bad the readers cannot see that your poor mpg is a direct result of cold weather. I start the hihy and leave it sit and run for 5-10 minutes.to me thats not driving.there should be a average mpg column for summer and one for winter!! that way people looking to buy a hybrid can clearly see what kind of milage to expect in the best and worst of conditions

 

Hey, here's some real world MPGs, I don't post numbers here at Green Hybrid, but...

-18 F morning (yes minus 18 F) + 5 minute 'idle' to clear frost (parked outside) + 12 minute/8 mile commute (5 miles of 30-40 MPH/3 miles of 60 MPH = 32 MPG. And I'm posting this to show the effects of the real world! I don't live in a lab, drive on a roller with no wind and 70+ temps and an already warm car.

Okay, now that that's out of the way...

Same commute in 60 F + temps nets me a 51 MPG segment. This car rocks, even at 32 MPG in the dead of winter.

Ya know what my previous vehicle got? Couldn't tell ya, didn't have that MPG staring at me everyday. And neither do many people, they just tell me that they get 40 MPG regardless of terrain and temp, because that's what the sticker says.

Even engineers I work with claim this without even keeping track of fill-ups (or just quoting a random sample from a long trip when they had an easy calculation to do).

Your reality (and mileage) may vary.

PS And I ALWAYS mention the emissions I'm NOT spewing when MPG are discussed. It's not all about the MPG or saving $, although I admit most people understand this better. Sometimes, (IMHO), it should be about the conservation of resources and the clean air.

 

Although there's no guarantee that anyone will see it, I always use the notes option to talk about what's going on, like it's cold and windy, or whatever that affected that tank.

 

While it hurts, it is only fair to report all tanks, good or bad, due to weather, or the fact you were moving your brother's apartment and were fully loaded.

ANY car, hybrid or not will have lower MPG in winter and when fully loaded.

For the record, it was -15'F ( 15 below Zero in N.Colorado... not far from S.D. ! ) this time last week, and for 3 days I was in 28 MPG territory.

Colorado is fickle. Today was 73'F and I'm getting 42 MPG.
Since I'm on the same tank, my numbers should be very "average".
-John