I know that the EPA has lowered fuel standards, but is the 07 and 08 the same vehicle (basically)?
The 07 had a 40 mpg rating and the 08 has a 34 mpg rating (I think I have that right).

yes. The vehicles are the same. The EPA got tired of hearing people say they couldn't get the mileage so they did that to all vehicles. IMHO the number they assigned to highway mileage is too low. I have never had a tank below 40 mpg. One reason is that I live in a relatively warm climate. Another factor is that my commute is long enough to get decent mileage. My typical mileage on the highway is 48 mpg, so I think they should have left the highway mileage where it was last year. City mileage is a function of how many stop signs and how long a drive. If the drive is very short you may not get 25 mpg. If I drive in the city for 20+ minutes, I normally exceed 40 mpg.

I think 34 mpg is way too low, my worst tank ever (I own TCH for 1.5 years and drove 41k so far ) was 30 mpg and that particular tank included driving in a snow storm traffic at 5 miles per hour for few hours, following driving on ice and very cold weather. I usually average 36-38mpg in winter and 39-41 mpg summer, much closer to the old EPA rating and I do not use any hypermiling tricks, if anything just the opposite. I think the new EPA rating had some political pressures behind as well and I totally disregard it as not representing my own real life experience, of course YDMV. BTW I totally envy Florida drivers, on my most recent trip to Fla I was averaging 50 mpg driving in the Keys, totally blew me away, I didn't even think the car was capable of such high mileage in normal driving, the best I could get around NY area was 45 mpg and usually that never lasted too long. But in the Keys with steady traffic, keeping you honest close to 45-50 miles per hour speed limit and perfect weather the car was very efficient. Now I can see how some drivers can get really high MPG numbers.

Averages are useless, it reminds me of an old story...

Guy standing in a bucket of ice with his head in the oven was asked how he felt, he replied, "...on average, I feel okay!"

Considering the variables, it is impossible to come up with one average MPG figure that satisfies all driving conditions. I live in NJ and there's no way my winter time results would compare with driver's in southern regions.

Enjoy the car. It gets better mileage than a non-hybrid. You will pollute less, but you will pay more for the car.

Yeah but presumably the mileage estimates are based on a given formula of estimated driving behavior. Most hybrid owners are trying to do better than that, trying to take advantage of the benefits of the car and reduce fuel consumption, which means we're not the typical drivers the EPA estimates are trying to mimic. I'm sure my driving with my old car would be a lot closer.

I hit the estimates right one. I live in NY and have a colder climate and more hills. So far this winter I have been pulling 25 - 28 tanks sometimes a 30. During the summer I am 35 - 38 and when I went to NC for a vacation the trip down was 47 and while down there it was 49. Trip back was 42.

Hm. I live around Boston, plenty of cold and plenty of hills, but I've never had a tank reported below 30 mpg, and that was last Feb during a major cold snap. Hopefully I've improved with tips from here (and "hybrid mode") and this winter won't drop as much, but warm weather I'm well over 40 mpg and cold weather I'm.. low 30s probably still, just not quite as low as last winter? Where do you do most of your miles? My daily commute is something like 15-20 miles, these days mostly suburb roads where my speed limit is 25-40 so I can use EV mode a lot (my mpg, at least in summer, majorly jumped when I switched to this route from my previous mostly-highway route). I've got average of ~37 mpg over 19 months....

Yeah, I should have added in there that my commute (whether to the gym or to work) is about 6 miles or so and about 15-20 minutes. The route has way too many stop signs and you can never keep a constant speed because you have to stop every ten freaking feet.

I have tried to adjust my route but that hasn't helped much and I am not will to add time to the commute (I am spoiled).

That said, I am sure I suck at everything hybrid that keeps this car at the high mpgs. It probably all user error. But, eh, either way it is double my last vehicle.

You've just nailed the way I feel about it. I don't come close to the kind of mileage some people are reporting here, living in Ottawa (where you get real cold - not that lukewarm stuff you're all complaining about ) and having a short commute with lots of lights. Do I care - no way! My mileage is still vastly better than with an equivalent non-hybrid.

--My hybrid came home!--
Ottawa owners check in here

Randy

EXACTLY! I love this car.

The quality of the paint is my main annoyance...not MPG hitting or missing the estimate