It seems that there is often a media bias toward "the glass is half empty" when it comes to hybrids. It reminds me of what happened earlier this year (or was it last year, I can't remember) when a representative from CBS news was contacting various Prius owners about thier fuel economy. Specifically, they were looking to interview those whe were disappointed. Unfortunately they couldn't find any. When asked if they were interested in interviewing owners that were happy with the fuel economy, they declined, saying something to the effect of "that's not the story that the editors want".

I think the 36MPG figure comes from Consumer reports. The Prius was given a 44MPG by the same publication. If I remember correctly that issue of CR came out in the winter so my guess is that they tested a brand new (not broken in) HCH and Prius in the dead of winter. That would perhaps explain those results.

It's a Wonderful Day for Science!