Matt,

What really gets me is how poorly Consumer's Report rates our cars. They claim the HCH II gets 37 mpg. I live in Western NYS near Buffalo. At the end of Feb I got my worst tank (40.0 mpg). The car was not broke in yet and the weather was down in the single digits and teens. Why can't they test the hybrids like most people drive them? The average in our database is now about 47 mpg. I've been above EPA (50.0 combined ) for my last 15 tanks. I just bought a block heater to help in the cold months. Keep up the good work!

Don
Best tank 67.5 mpg (555.5 mi.)
Best trip 91.5 mpg (42.2 mi.)

today:
26mi@47mpg
12@43
12@52
13@48
5@45
2@47
=47.1mpg

Note to Self: Stay out of assist!

Re: Consumer's Report... They claim the HCH II gets 37 mpg.

I was surprised at that number too, until I put my wife behind the wheel of our Prius!
She usuall gets well under 35mpg, and even sometimes 30mpg with our Prius II. She always runs the air (100% of the time) and drives like the average person.

Although both the Prius and HCHII are capable of superb FE, you have to work at it, at least a little anyway. I show her the techniques, she ignores me and does it her way (she always knows best...)

I have always obtained very high FE with my HCHII. I find it easier to get high FE with the Honda than it is with the Prius. The person who tested the vehicle at the magazine must have ran the a/c and floored the car at every opportunity to insure a poor FE number...

today:
7miles@44mpg
5@50
3@38 (uphill)
10@49
3@56
=47.0mpg
it seems easier for me to get high numbers in city than on fwy.

Note to Self: Stay out of assist!

today:
12miles@50mpg
3@46
8@49
4@43
1@50
3@45
=47.8mpg
second tank avg is 46.2 so far.

Note to Self: Stay out of assist!

today:
17mi@45mpg
3@41
11@49
3@53
3@50
1@42
7@43
=46.0mpg

Note to Self: Stay out of assist!

thanks, don. the cr tester obviously doesn't know how to drive this car. let us know how the block heater works.

Note to Self: Stay out of assist!

today:
8mi@41mpg
5@47
3@44
4@42
15@47
6@49
=45.2mpg
second refill tomorrow.

Note to Self: Stay out of assist!

Matt,
I've found that generaly it takes 3-4 miles to get the car warmed up. If I plug the block heater in after I drive it, the engine will stay at about 6 blocks (full warm up is 9). After I drive .1 mi. - it starts going up. Within about .6 mi. it is fully warmed up. I can make it to work (7 mi.) and increase my mpg by .1 or .2 - instead of losing 1-2 mpg on my work commute. We'll see how it does when the really cold weather comes in. So far, I'm a happy camper.
Regards,

Don
Best tank 67.5 mpg (555.5 mi.)
Best trip 91.5 mpg (42.2 mi.)

from your avatar, i can see that a heater is a no-brainer where you live. do they make one specifically for the hch2 now?

Note to Self: Stay out of assist!