Hi,

A word of caution is in order:

Although I agree with the sentiment, there are significant differences between how a Honda Civic Hybrid works and the Toyota Prius. Like the old story about the Fox and the Stork who served each other supper with different place settings, the Fox's shallow pans and the Stork's long necked vases, trying to achieve hyper mileage status using the other's techniques are likely to be less than successful. So let's review some of the differences of the current models:

Honda - 49/51 (city/highway) MPG, EPA
Toyota - 60/51 (city/highway) MPG, EPA

The Prius is optimized for low speed, stop-and-go performance. In that environment, the Honda would suffer a significant performance loss. In contrast, the way to better Honda performance is to maximize highway driving. So it is no wonder the referenced article recommends Honda highway techniques instead of Prius urban techniques.

Some principles of high mileage driving are common to all vehicles: hard tires, maintenance, predictive braking. Also, both vehicles have an auto-stop and regenerative braking capability. But the Honda auto-stop works differently than the Prius and regenerative braking is also different. So take advice on common features with a 'grain of salt' and learn how each works best.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
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