He only has one post. Perhaps he just wanted to see how people would react to this question.

Personally, I'm not looking to 'hypermile.' I'm a conservative driver, and did not really have to change my style very much with the hybrid. I started off a light a little slower, and actually braked a little harder (the right amount of pressure puts the most in the battery) than before.If I need to get somewhere in a hurry, then I don't pay any attention to the rpm or battery meter. With this, I've been more than pleased with the gas mileage that I've already gotten.
One thing to keep in mind - no matter your style of driving, you will not be burning gas at every stop light. Also, no one can drag race in the multitude of parking lots that we encounter. These are areas that a hybrid excels in.
I didn't get a hybrid to break mpg records. I got it because it can save gas with similar cargo room. A drag racer will notice less savings than a conservative driver. But, in any case, wasted energy is decreased.

30+mpg vs. 20+ mpg with a minimal decrease in cargo-room -- why should someone consider a nonhybrid?

I think it's important to note that there are different levels of hypermiling. You could be going at or just above the speed limit and still use some hypermiling techniques. Some people cruise at 50mph, others at 80mph, but most are somewhere in between.

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

Another thing to consider is the fact that hard driving will impact the FE of a standard vehicle as well. If you drove a FEH hard you might only get 22/27 city/hwy. If you drove a traditional escape as hard you might only get 14/19. Both vehicles are going to take the hit....and probably equally so. (not including wear and tear of course)

-Tim

2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid AWD
Black with Pebble interior
Premium Package with Nav & Moonroof



Current ODO: 22,909
Typical Drive: 20 min crosstown in heavy traffic (3.5mi there and back twice a day)


457 Gallons of gas saved
That's 9,150 lbs less CO2

Both will take a hit, but it will not be equal. The fuel consumption of the hybrid will gradually approach the fuel consumption of the standard vehicle the "harder" it is driven. This is because one of the main advantages of the hybrids, at least on the highway, is the fact that the smaller displacement engine will operate at a more efficient loading than an oversized one that is designed to handle peak power demand by itself. The larger engine will waste fuel due to operating at partial throttle. However, if the power demand is high for a sustained period of time, neither engine will be operating at partial throttle.

However, there's still the issue of getting to the highway in the first place, even if both the standard and hybrid cars perform nearly the same for MPG at 85mph, the hybrid will still win out when stuck in traffic, or driving around in the city.

Agreed. For one, it's possible to do a lot to increase gas mileage that does not increase total travel time at all. One of them is to pay attention to the timing of traffic signals, so as to avoid unnecessary stopping. This is actually a technique that will make more of a difference in a non-hybrid than a hybrid, since at least the hybrid can recover some energy from regen braking, unnecessary braking in a nonhybrid is completely wasted.

Actually I have some semi real world numbers to throw in here. I realize that this conversation is more or less dead but in case anyone is looking for numbers I have a few.

I traded a 2005 3.5 Altima to get my Camry hybrid. Now I'm not going to say I drove stupid with the car, but one thing that car offered was acelleration with extreme prejudice. I liked to call the car a 4 door 350Z. The car was a 256hp V6 (or 250 I cant remember offhand, fastest car I owned though) around Chicago, driving normally I got 17mpg. And by normally I mean you cant drive fast in traffic, I did gun it quite a few times when you had yahoos trying to pass you on the right at a light (happens all the time). Fast driving means lots of hard breaking. My 17mpg commute was up and down Harlem ave for 13 miles each way from Oak Park to Niles.

When I test drove the Camry (and prius) my one concern was accelleration. I can honestly say that the camry can get out of its own way if need be.

If I drove the car like a sane person in traffic in the city, or no traffic in the city, and fast on the highway I got 22mpg. And by fast I mean 80-90. This also was around my mpg driving my other commute from Oak Park to Glen Ellyn 14 miles each way.

Car normally on the highway with the cruise set to 70, the best I ever saw was 25.5 mpg

With the camry I drive like an old man, mainly because I paid for an electric engine. I want to use the electric engine as much as humanly possible. Why pay for it and not use it. So in a way, the Camry hybrid has made me a more responsible driver.

I try to drive no more than 10 miles over the limit, While I am getting slightly under mpg estimates for the car, I have only had the car for a short period, and its been extremely cold during my short ownership.

Its March 6 today. My car is finally on e. I have driven it since the 14th of Feburary without any fillups. I can probably drive a bit more but I don't want to risk running out of gas. Car is at 460 miles for this tank. I drive more or less 30ish miles each way.

Since mid january I think I have put 5 tanks in the car. Fillups are more or less over 2 weeks per tank. I think I am on tank 5. One tank however was for a trip I took to Michigan.

The other big huge plus for the Camry over the Altima, the Altima required I use 93 octane. The Camry ony needs 87.

Actually, at least in the FEH/MMH, I'm pretty sure they use the same 4cyl engine in the Hybrid as they do in the regular so the performance of both should be equal in that sense. Secondly, the FEH/MMH uses a CVT which is much more efficient than the standard transmission of the "regular" Escape/Mariner. And of course there is the battery and motors of the hybrid.....Therefore, driven in the same manner, the Hybrid will ALWAYS outperform the regular. That's why the Hybrid gets a better HWY rating than the "regular" despite its added weight and using the same engine. (I don't think the added weight of the battery/motors would have an impact on highway performance since FE is most restricted by aerodynamics and drag at high speeds)

-Tim

2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid AWD
Black with Pebble interior
Premium Package with Nav & Moonroof



Current ODO: 22,909
Typical Drive: 20 min crosstown in heavy traffic (3.5mi there and back twice a day)


457 Gallons of gas saved
That's 9,150 lbs less CO2

When I originally got my HCH I liked the idea that I could drive it "normally" and save some fuel money and if there's a fuel crisis I can stretch the efficiency out to reduculous measures.
Personally,
I had intended to cool off my agressive driving habit to a reasonable level but as some others have experienced- I swung radically the other direction.

Even if someone is a leadfoot now, while gas is "only" $2.50/ g :
When gas exceeds $3.50 or $4 / gallon it might be good to have a vehicle which can deliver exceedingly fantastic MPG, rather than one that can not.

I bought my car when gas cost $1.20 / g in case it ever exceeded $2.00.
I'm so glad I didn't get the next runner up which was a shiny red Neon.

Efficient drivers do it better.
1003 miles a tank personal record. 74MPG calculated. HCH1 CVT