I bought a SUV. I really don't want to drive 30 miles per hour or 35 for that matter. 40 miles per hour is a right speed if you don't want to drive aggressively. In my oppinion, the key to drive hybrid is to use the battery efficiently. Toyota should have done a better job allowing you to do so. In my experience, the most efficient way to use the battery is to maintain speed at 40 miles per hour using battery only. It is very sensitive. If you press the pedal a little bit harder, engine will kick in. If you press the pedal a lit bit softer, the car will slow down. Toyota should have designed better. While driving in the city you have enough opportunities to recharge your battery (stops).
Short trips kill mpg. I was doing 1.5 mile trip daily to YMCA and 7 miles trip to my work daily. The mpg (manually calc) was about 26. I started using my wife's car for the YMCA trip (experiment for one tank. I am not crazy enough to switch cars to gain mpg). I am getting 29 mpg this tank. It is not 33 mpg but makes feel somehow better about my purchase