6.5miles with lots of stops is going to be a mileage killer for sure. Most of the folks are seeing 28-30mpg range consistantly with 'better' routes.

There's, obviously, still a lot of confusion about what the EPA numbers mean. I have an article posted here on Greenhybrid.com somewhere that discusses why you may or may not get EPA mileage. Let me just say that "city" is a very vague term. If your 'city' is exactly like the test run the EPA does you'll get 'city' mileage similar to the EPAs. One of the big complaints about the EPA mileage estimates is that their 'city' is not realistic in today's world of hard acceleration b/w frequent (every 2-3 blocks) lights and very short runs of 5-10 minutes.

Your first 5 minutes of each trip will be your worst mileage--the warm-up phase. Anything after that and you're going to be able to improve your overall mileage. In your case you're likely only driving for about 10-15 minutes before you arrive at your destination and that's just not enough to overcome that low mileage warm-up phase.

Also, let me add, that 'very slow acceleration' is NOT--i repeat-- NOT the best way to achieve good numbers. Moderate to brisk acceleration that gets you up to speed in an efficient manner then backing off as you approach your desired cruise speed is, ultimately, better. You'll eventually learn to anticipate lights and maximize coasting and gliding and that too will help.

The ICE will run, even going down hill, in the first 5 minutes...after that it usually will not unless your battery SOC has gotten very low...which is rare.

Evan E. Fusco, MD
'04 Prius/BC moded to the T
'06 Highlander Hybrid Limited AWD w/NAV