During the past few decades, I've usually driven my vehicles in a fuel-efficient manner. When I drive, our 2001 Buick LeSabre (now the daughter's car) gets 21 around town and an easy 31 on the highway. My GMC Sierra full-size 4WD truck (apologies to the greenest among us) even gets 16/20 normally, and a combined 18 when I tow my boat. I've always been able to beat the EPA numbers by a little bit. I had no doubt I would be able to get great mileage from our new TCH.

My wife has always been a little more spirited driver. I figured it would be an interesting experiment to see what kind of mileage she would get from a hybrid with her driving habits, compared to mine. Even during our multiple test drives of the TCH we now own, she was testing its limits for get-up-and-go, not for getting there without having to fill up.

Well, owning the TCH has completely transformed the way she drives. While she may not be an expert yet at pulse-and-glide, and she doesn't know all the tricks to get it into stealth mode at every opportunity, her first priority is to make the TCH happy. And it's so easy to do, with its instantaneous mileage display (non-NAV in our case), the shining blue instruments that show its glee, and the congratulatory "EXCELLENT!" when you've really made its day. Our first tank mpg was 36.6, and that included the learning process, many trips under 10 miles, and the drag racing test drives.

All this makes me wonder just how much of the mileage increase people see is because of the raw difference in efficiency the technology brings, and how much is from (perhaps subconscious) driving behavior changes. I guess in the big picture, it really doesn't matter. Either way, we're saving gas!

I think it's both. Obviously a hybrid is going to get better mileage overall. Many were up in arms when Consumer Reports stated a measured 34 mpg overall. But I'm sure they drove it as any other car. Still that's 10 mpg better than they got with a 4 cylinder LE. However, there's no doubt that watching that mpg gauge makes a difference. A friend of mine has an older BMW with the same gauge and he's made the comment about how he can let off the gas a little and raise his mileage while maintaining his speed.

"Excellent"!! This is so true, my wife and I have found ourselves driving slower and more "hybid like" with the vehicle.

The problem that I have is the contant observation the I find myself doing of the ECO meter and instant MPG gauge, trying to sip every ounce of gas. I told my wife this weekend that I have got to stop doing that and just enjoy and drive the car. The differance between constant observation and normal or average driving, thinking about work or other things, is probably no more than 1 or 2 MPG per tank. Is this worth the stress I find that I put on myself to get better than the EPA numbers.

Anybody know a good Hybrid Psychologist

YES!!!!

Well, that depends on the price of fuel, eh? At $2.50 a gallon, probably not. But if gas goes up to $5 or $6?

This is exactly why I think that every car should come with an instantaneous fuel efficiency meter. The mental impact of getting immediate feedback on the consequences of your driving habits is tremendous.

btw-- does the TCH instrument panel really read out 'excellent' when you get high mileage? How very peppy if so! Might that not get a bit irritating after a while, though?

The display is a bar graph. Nothing lit means 25 mpg or below. The three ranges are 26 - 30 mpg, 31 - 35 mpg and above 35. If you're in the 36 mpg or above range "EXCELLENT" will show up on the display when you turn off the power. It doesn't get irritating, it's pretty easy to ignore. After a while you become a snob and expect to make it to that range.

I've been reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy lately, so the 'excellent' readout gave me a mental flash of those self-satisfied, smug doors opening and closing and driving everyone batty. Sorry if I was projecting.

The idea of peppy machines giving us mechanical congratulations isn't exactly bad- Freecell does that whenever we win a game, and video games do it all the time in lots of ways. I wouldn't want people to equate driving with playing a video game, (very unsafe= reality has no extra lives) although maybe in a way it's motivational. You seem to have a positive impression, though, so I'll hold my peace.

I don't think it's odd when the car says excellent. That's just my baby telling me I drove her well today, and it makes me happy.

Wes Tested, Earth Approved

The "Excellent" praise doesn't bother me, as it's so unobtrusive that you have to watch carefully for it our you'll miss it. Now, if it talked to me (anyone remember the 1985 Nissan Maxima?), THAT would be irritating.

And if it were really like Hitchhiker's, if you failed to get an "Excellent", Marvin the TCH would tell you "Here I am, the most technologically advanced car on the planet. My HSD controls have more computing power than the space shuttle. All this at the beck and call of a species that can't even use TWO PEDALS on the floor properly! But, don't mind me, I'll just go over here in the corner of the garage and sulk..."