Wow, this one is confusing. I'm guessing someone deleted a post.

I'm behind you 110% on posting if you have a question. Sometimes people have a bit of a hard time searching for a subject or they're just not as "internet savvy" as the next guy (or girl). I know I've walked, OK just rarely returned, to certain hybrid sites because instead of answering the question in the first place I get flamed for asking it because I was acused of not doing a search in the first place when I actually did but came up with nothing. Oh well........

To answer the question:

It may be your area, hillier than others posting their mileage. Or it could be the roads, more resistance than others. Could be colder where you live. Or the traffic in your area just might not allow you to go at a speed/pace you can efficiently travel at. Plenty of different factors come into play. I've taken my HCH all across the US and some towns I can get stellar mileage while others I get no so great mileage - you may be in one of those towns.

'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."

Also, often times a thread starts out on a repeat topic, and ends up somewhere different (and most of the time, useful).

There are so many factors at play I think it's very, very difficult to not only compare but isolate what may be influencing your car. The only truely neutral FE test for your car is on a long, flat, traffic free road, clear skies, no wind, at 70 degrees (assuming, of course, your car is tuned properly) . That's why environment questions are difficult to nail down, and at best we can really only speak in generalities. Consider all of the following may affect FE, then consider any combination of them may produce a variety of influences:

Temperature
Elevation
Road grade
Traffic
Wind
Rain
Snow
Tire Pressure
Oil
Gas (summer or winter)
Alignment
Route (city, highway)
Driving Style

I'm sure there are a few I forgot. The moral of the story is one person's experience always comes with a huge asterisk (that being the explanation of conditions under which they achieved a particular result). After 3 years the only thing I really know is what my FE should generally be in Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall. Even then, things vary within a season. The experience I have with my car is very different from the 03 HCH owners who live in Arizona (warm most of the time). So when you see 06 owners with X mileage, consider where they are, what their route may be, etc. An HCH owner in -20 degree weather may be doing great to get 35 MPG, where someone in a warm climate can routinely get 60.

Enjoy your new car!

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

Hi Tim,

great post. I completely agree with you. It is somewhat similar to asking "So, I want to run a 5k, what time should I expect to finnish in?".

A lot of factors are involved.

Thanks!
Stephane.

Heh!

I think the end result (i.e. missing post and subsequent comments) are exactly correct! While I sometimes dont mind hearing myself talk the true reason for posting is to discuss.

Thanks for the clarification and actions Coyote I do look forward to more conversations with you .



On another note my wife was driving last night as I had a few ice cold wobbly pops and..... well besides driving me nuts with no consideration for acheiving "great" FE she managed to (without trying) average the trip at 5.7 L/100 KM. Sigh....... All my work to try and acheive a 5.0 or less trip she makes 5.7 without trying.

The IMA is truly powerful without even attempting glides and watching the Instantaneous mileage and studying the battery charge.

What a wonderful car and my wife enjoyed watching me cringe as she drove the car like a 16 year old who just got his license (no offence to the younger drivers).

Cheers!

Its been relatively warm in Northern CA these last 2 mornings (60 ~ 65 deg F) and I've noticed that the HCHII is really doing great on the FE front. Just a jump from the 40 deg F to 60 deg F seems to add a couple of MPGs (2~3). To those in cold weather right now hang in there and like the other posters said you should be doing great in the spring.

In general the warmer temperature allows the car to warm up quicker and be ready to autostop at stoplights sooner, enable regen on braking sooner, and the car just seems easier to keep in the various glide modes.

Question for the more experienced hybrid drivers here: at what temperature does FE stop improving? Setting the question of air conditioning aside, I can't imaging that FE continues to rise as the temperature goes above 80 deg F or so - but I could be totally wrong. I would expect dramatic improvements from -20 deg F to + 65 deg F, but is there much improvement from 65 to 80?

Very good point. Another big factor is the average trip length. A person with a 20 mile commute will get much better tank mileage than someone with a 10 mile commute even if all other factors are equal just because the car spends more time in the warmed up state. This is especially true in colder weather.

I believe the issue is optimal operating temperature for the engine, transmission and wheels, and how fast it takes to get there. I expect the heat from the engine and brakes will raise the temp more than the outside air ever will, so the question is how long you have to suffer the warm up period (or, combat the wind-chill). That said, I don't think higher temps do much more than by-pass the FE killing warm-up (that, and the fact the lubricants are thicker at lower temps).

To attempt an answer to your question, my observation is that things run very nicely when it's 70-80 degrees out. The A/C is a factor at some point. My car has done the best when it's in the high 70's/low 80's and I don't have to run the A/C. 80-90 does not seem to yield any difference, but that's disguised by the fact I have to run the A/C.

I posted this chart a while back - may be of some interest if you haven't seen it.

And for tko4you - it's been observed a number of times that our spouses typically ruin our FE when they are behind the wheel. Count yourself lucky that yours improves it!

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