I had to trumpet this somewhere, and I know that you all would appreciate this more than anyone else, so.....after exactly one year of TCH ownership (picked up on 6/5/06), I finally attained my elusive goal of a 40 MPG tank (13.05 gallons over 526 miles)!
Of course the warmer weather helped (80 degrees here in the Garden State this past weekend), as did some extensive highway driving (I usually commute just 8 - 10 miles a day and the MPG "suffers" from lack of engine warmup), and I keep the tires inflated to 40 psi. But I think the real difference came about because the car has now been fully broken in (14,500 miles) and - most importantly - I kept a lighter than usual foot on the gas pedal, typically cruising at no more than 70 miles per hour on the highway.
After a year of TCH ownership I can claim almost 36 mpg in all kinds of weather and all kinds of road conditions. By my own rough calculations I have saved about $600 on fuel over the past 12 months and did my modest little bit to reduce greenhouse gases on the planet.
I feel pretty **** good about my decision to purchase this car. I wish the same for all of you.
40 MPG at Last!
