One data point does not an analysis make.

What is his commute? His weather conditions? His terrain conditions?

For example, if one were to live in Kansas and had 90% freeway commute in a relatively unpopulated area, you could get 30 mpg out of an H3.

However, take the same person but this time have them make a 5 mile commute in the hilly part of northern Montana on dirt roads in the middle of winter, and you could give them a Prius and see 25 mpg (if it didn't end up buried in a snow drift).

Basically, consider your commute and driving conditions BEFORE purchasing your vehicle.

When I was in NH (with the warm winter) I was averaging over 29 mpg doing 50% HW and 50% city/rural. Here in MD on the Beltway during the cold snap, I was seeing around 26 (60% HW, 40% city/suburban). Now that the temperatures have warmed back up, I'm back over 29 mpg.

You should also check fuel mixtures, as some states mandate higher ethanol content in winter which reduces performance somewhat.

OurGL, the car is a 27/32 car. That is what EPA mileage test said. The little sticker says mileage may vary. It may suck for some. It may be great for others. In case you haven't noticed ALL vehicle mileage records vary substantially from the EPA's on this site. Some get abysmal mileage while others are getting exceptional mileage.

As a comparison, take the Toyota Highlander hybrid. It's rated as 33/28. The average is 26.1, which is a good 5 mpg less than what one would expect for an average commute. Looking at the data though, you will see that some have gotten 33+ and some have gotten 23 mpg (I'll ignore the lower ones that only have one tank). That's a 10 mpg spread. At the same time, the VUE has a range of 30.6 mpg down to 23.1 mpg. About a 7 mpg spread. I'm not sure about the distribution being Gaussian, but worst case it would be Poisson with a slight skew.

So does this mean that the Highlander should really have a 26 mpg EPA rating? No. What about the VUE? No. The EPA test is the EPA test. It is, at best, a guideline. It may be inaccurate. It may suck. But every single vehicle is subjected to the same exact test. It is the only apples to apples mileage comparison we have.

You may "believe" whatever you want about the mileage, but it does not change the fact the VUE scored 27/32 on the EPA test.

Due diligence and all that.

~X~