I'm considering purchasing an Accord hybrid but have been a bit put off by Consumer Reports overall mileage estimate of 25 mpg -- only 2 mpg better than the non-hybrid V-6. This is far from the improvement in mileage one would deduece from figures provided by both the manufacturer and the epa -- 40% better on the highway and 20% better in the city. In the real world this would work out to something in the area of 28-29 mpg overall rather than 25 mpg. ( I'm not expecting to get epa mileage. I'm just expecting that real world improvement in mileage would be greater than 2 mpg or 8.5 %.)

Does anyone have an explanation for the minimal improvement suggested by Consumer Reports?