I bought a new '07 FordEscortHy AWD in Dec. in NM where I live in the winter. Good milage for an AWD, 26 city and 31 hwy, while living in the high desert (at 6500 ft.). I drove it back to Alaska with an ave. of 31 for the entire 3500 mile trip. However, since being back in AK I've been only getting between 20 and 22 mpg (all in town driving -- I haven't taken any road trips). Most of my trips are short hops of 3 -5 miles. I live at the top of a hill, so every trip into town is 2.5 miles down (off the gage milage!), but on the uphill I'm lucky to get 10
mph. I've been trying to keep my foot off the pedal so as to keep the engine rpms down, but that doesn't seem to help. It's been a rather cold spring, but temps are similar to the winter weather in NM, so I didn't think the cold was effecting the milage, but could it be? I've been reading a lot about how cold weather effects hybrid milage. Last question, any websits to recommend for hybrid driving tips, especially for city driving? Did I make a mistake bringing this car back to AK, where it will now live year-round, maybe it prefers the warmth of the desert (I know I do!)??