From what I've read and seen, short hops with hybrids are not the forte of most hybrids unless you're driving under 35 mph (in full electric mode). Your car takes a while to warm up and the short distance is not allowing the car to reach its full potential even though your driving has not changed. Basically when a car starts up it is in open loop mode and it burns a richer (more wasteful) mix of gasoline until it is warm. Hope this helps.