This makes a huge difference. Also, if most of your driving is city-- as in pretty slow driving, on nice roads, as opposed to quicker driving on bumpy mountain roads, the "rougher ride" won't be a problem at all. I live in southern california, where the weather is good and the roads are in excellent condition. Keeping my tires pumped up makes a big difference, I actually prefer to feel the road a bit compared to to driving on 'mush' (stock tire pressure)

When I first started driving the car "normally" -- a bit too heavy on the throttle, and with under-inflated tires, I was averaging 39mpg, now that I boosted the pressure a bit, and started changing some of my driving habits, I've been getting around 53mpg.

The methods I use:

• Driving with Load -- over rolling hills, pick up speed going down, coast a bit over the crest of the hill, keep close to a steady throttle. The same is also true for steady climbs -- pick up speed when the gradient is flatter and use it to "coast" up the steeper portions.
• Feathering the throttle when cruising -- Ever since I've paid attention to the fuel consumption display, I've begun very slightly easing and pushing down more on the gas. Now I've gotten to the point where I can do this without hardly looking at the FCD, just from practice.
• Drive a bit slower -- instead of driving a steady 70, I average 65, but fluctate more based on driving with load.
• If you need AC, run it as hard as possible when going downhill -- you're trying to control speed anyway, so you can use gravity to run the compressor. When you get back to the flats, either: A) just run the fan and take advantage of the cooled-off coils untill the next downgrade or B) set the thermostat to a higher temperature, then back as low as it goes on the next downgrade.

I also have some hybrid-specific "mileage tricks":

• When anticipating a stop, gently tap on the brakes just enough so that the IMA shows full "charge" bars, but not so much that you engage the regular friction brakes beyond that. Save the harder braking for when you actually get close to the light/stopsign/whatever. This way you will maximize electric charge, and minimize wear and tear on the brakes. For going down long steady grades, I downshift (CVT, shifted to "S" rather than "D") to engine brake so my brakes don't over heat, but also tap the brakes just enough that I show all the "charge" bars. There's some pressure on the brakes, but nothing compared to riding them to try and control my speed.

• When going uphill, feather the gas so that you get the highest MPG you can on the display, while still engaging the electric assist. This can be very sensitive, so the fuel display helps a lot.