Greenhorn here... Just got my first hybrid ever, I'm loving it since the first time i drove it.

What sould I expect regarding the MPG while the car will be used? Is the car still in "getting in shape" mood or thats what's gonna be?

I know that while time passes by, my mpg will increase along with my experience. But, besides that, what's the car evolution in this regard? getting used is dropping mpg or au contrary?

9 days, 868 miles, I'm at the second tank, still have half of it...

thank you

You should see an mpg increase around 1500-3000 miles. The break in period varies from car to car.

What does the trip computer say your average mpg is so far?

Don't forget to add your car to the GreenHybrid database.

Masgian,
Welcome to the group. Yo've asked some good questions. I'm a newbie to Hybrids also. I've had my Silver Blue '06 HCH about 2 1/2 weeks. I'm getting 42.1 mpg. Most of my driving is short trips. I live in Western NY State. It was about 12 deg. F last night with about a foot of snow. If you check out the "Compare" tab and then click on "Honda Civic II" you will see the database of all '06 HCH's that have been entered. The range this morning was from 31.8 to 54.9 mpg with an average of 46.2. As I said, I'm new to this but I've been visiting the GH website for about 3 months. I have learned an amazing bunch of acronyms, data, facts, and opinions from all the members of GH. Some of the main factors on your mileage are temperature, length of trip (warm up time), tire pressure, topography of your area, # of passengers, and your driving style. I've found I get better mileage in warmer weather, when I drive alone, on longer trips, and I have to focus on those driving tips found in various posts. I love my HCH and I hope you enjoy yours also. I just heard that NYS has a tax credit similar to the federal one, and a 10% discount on the Easy Pass (Interstate Tolls). It's great to be GREEN.

Best regards,

Don
Best tank 67.5 mpg (555.5 mi.)
Best trip 91.5 mpg (42.2 mi.)

Weather is definately one of the main reasons for lower FE, I am having great results
because of the Mild weather we have in S. Florida. I am now in my third tank and all
my trips with this tank have been above the 60 mpg range (best 68 mpg), all trips
42 miles long. Now there are many more experianced than myself so the mild temps
is all I can figure is the big factor involved. My highway speeds run between 55 & 60
between 1800 & 2000 rpm with the lower number producing best results.

I know I can speak for a whole LOT of 03-05 HCH owners, we saw a sharp increase right around 8000-9000 miles (when I say a LOT, that doesn't mean everyone). Coincidentaly that was right at my first oil change when I swapped over to full synthetic as well.

'00 Insight "Wazabi" -75,000+ miles
'03 Toyota Matrix - 81,000+ miles
'03 HCH-CVT-OSBM-41,000+ miles (retired 04-10-06)
"I'm very secure with my little Insight, no Prius envy here."

Well, Rigger can speak for at least one other HCH I owner.

I noticed a bump right in the 2K-3K range. Since I've replaced my Dunlops back in Nov, I've now experienced an official "tire break in period". It took a good 1500 miles to get the stickiness out of the new tires - now it rolls nicely. I'd say early on a lot of it is that. I also noticed another bump in the same range as Rigger - 8-9K. Although, I can't explain why. I changed the oil every 3k.

I've noticed that weather and driving style make the two big impacts. So if you have cold, wet, snow, etc. don't draw many conclusion from that. You'll see the car shine in some dry, warm weather.

*** Retired after 65,000 outstanding miles ***

Paul, what did you replace your Dunlops with?

Rigger, hearing that I'll switch to full synthetic at my next oil change.

I replaced with Continental ContiTouringContact CV95. The CH95 appears in GreanSeal's 2003 Low Rolling Resistance Tires report - CV is just the V rated version. I have to say I've enjoyed the change. Handling is much better. Ride is good and now that they've broken in, noise is down a bit. My mileage is comparable to previous years during this time, so they seem to be at least equivalent on the mileage. They weren't exactly cheap, but reasonable enough. I think they're worth what I paid.

BTW, I used dino oil for almost 2.5 years and switched to synthetic last summer (at 40K miles) - still noticed a small improvement.

*** Retired after 65,000 outstanding miles ***

Hi Sledge, you never know. Some people will debate the dino vs. synthetic so it may just be psychological, I know some who would debate it right to the end. What I do know, IF I go past my planned 7,500 (my favorite oil change mileage for my HCH) I feel quite fine. I've seen people run Mobil 1 15k+ on a late model V8 engine and then had the oil tested with little break down, the HCH runs MUCH cleaner so I have that piece of mind. As far as the dino vs. syn, that's a whole other thread. If someone wants to start one up again to see everyones input - have at it. I know MANY have much to say about either.

I'm still running my original Dunlops. I'd love to swap them but they have a long life ahead of them still, not much wear after 39,000+ miles.

Tim, I do remember the "first" mileage jump at around 2k as well. The big one was the latter one 8k-9k miles.

'00 Insight "Wazabi" -75,000+ miles
'03 Toyota Matrix - 81,000+ miles
'03 HCH-CVT-OSBM-41,000+ miles (retired 04-10-06)
"I'm very secure with my little Insight, no Prius envy here."

I'm getting now around 49 and I'm close to 1k miles. Should I expect any changes in a couple of thousends while the car breaks in? And if yes, what would be a realistic level? Will go to 55 or so?