Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Well, I was told by the dealership that once I reached over 1,000 miles I would start to see the gas savings. Not happening. I understand completely the technique for driving the car to get the optimum mileage, but it's an unrealistic style of driving in the city. I'm ready to take this car back. My mileage is actually decreasing as time goes on. It is impossible to slowly accelerate and slow down without disrupting the normal flow of traffic. For my lifestyle, with kids that need to be taken here and there and on time, mind you, I simply can't employ the suggested driving style. I'm completely disappointed with this car especially since I paid so much for it. I didn't even pay a premium! It's just expensive. I've spoken to my Lexus dealership and they've told me that they will register my complaint at their next meeting. I'm hoping I can take it back and possibly get a Prius, although I'm not sure how it will suit my lifestyle.https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...ewthread&f=31#

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

The premium Lexus tacks on to its RX 400h will likely never be recovered by any customer. That's a fact. A grand or two, sure, but not 10. If you're looking to save money, you bought the wrong car (sorry).

On the flipside, if you're achieving just 75% of EPA estimates, it's likely you would achieve 75% of EPA estimates for the 330h (non-hybrid version). So, there's nothing "wrong" with the hybrid in particular. It's just that your conditions don't allow you to maximize mileage.

You'll still be filling up less than with the 330h. You're still helping to save the enivornment and reduce dependence on foreign oil. Just not as much as you would like, and for a higher price.

Sorry to hear you're disappointed.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

True. True. I feel a little better. Thanks.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

These hybrids tend to start to break in around 3000-4000 miles and are completely broken in around 8000 miles. A Prius may well be a much better vehicle for your needs, and will definately save you a lot more money, but I'm sure it's nowhere near as luxurious as the Lexus.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Laruski,

My wife was a Lexus 330 wannabee owner for the longest time, but she is quite satisfied with our Prius now (when I let her drive, that is). If you do decide to sell, consider the private market. You may not lose any money that way, since there is a waiting list. For all I know, you might actually *make* some money, depending on the city you live in.

The best tip I can give you as a driver to improve your MPG is to anticipate stops. Moderate acceleration is quite OK. This tip is true for any car, and particularly true for hybrids because not only are you not wasting energy, the HSD hybrid will glide automagically :-)

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

I don't know which city you are in, but Dallas has similar conditions. I drive agressively much of the time to stay with the flow too. A number of hybrid Civics get better than my 56.6mpg on my Honda Insight. :embarass:

I have learned however, that it's possible to go with a fast flow of urban traffic (i.e. somewhat agressive), not get run over, and get 10-15% better fuel economy than when you got the Lexus:

• Anticipate what's ahead
• Try a fast cruise over a lot of stop-and-go
• Consider alternate routes if they are allow more cruising (less strss too)
• Do freeway ramps and approach stop lighta differently
• Above all, refrain from competitive driving. I get weak occasionally try to stay ahead of a particular car - my fuel economy takes the biggest hit. In other words, I'm guilty of this. :embarass:

If your mpg is 75% of the EPA estimate just remember - if they updated their estimates to reflect today's driving, your driving would be 95% to 100% of their new estimates.

Hope that helps

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

I have experienced a somewhat similiar fall in MPG with my HH.
I even took it back to the dealer who drove it with a computer attached and gave me the printout which indicated 35 mpg hiway and 55 mpg city ???
NOT what I had experienced...however...I took it upon myself to check the tire pressures and found my left front was @ 22 psi when it should have been @ 32psi...
Since I just recently purchased the vehicle, thats the way it came from the dealership @#$%^&*&...
After filling all to 32 psi my mileage improved significantly, as my latest manual calculation showed a 26.29 mpg vs the previous 22.756....
Some on the HH board have suggested a 4-5 psi increase above the recommended 32 psi for better mileage during the Summer months.
Come Winter I would deflate to the recommended psi for better handling.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Remember also: no matter what make or model, every new car will invariably increase FE as it drives the kinks out. Hybrid or not. Just take a look at the hundreds of DB entries here on GH. Not one of them shows an overall downward slope from the purchase point. It'll get better, don't worry.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

I own a 2003 Highlander non-hybrid (which I absolutely love), and I have a couple suggestions. First, inflate your tires to the max cold psi on the sidewall. Sure the ride is a little stiffer, but it's supposed to be an SUV, right? On second thought, I'm going to do this on every car I own (car manufacturers lower the psi to give you a softer ride; Remember the Ford Explorer/Firestone debacle where they were basically arguing about the safety issues caused by underinflated tires?).

Second, you have to give a hybrid a little time to break in, as several posters have sugested. Maybe there's a little time needed to break in the driver, too.

After we bought a HCH for my wife, I once thought the Honda with its instrumentation might teach me to drive for better gas mileage on the Highlander. But the Highlander mileage has gone from a consistent 21.5 to 18.5. That's because the Highlander miles have gone from 1900/month to 500/month, because we're pushing lots of miles to the HCH because of the gas prices, and obviously a lot of the "best" miles are going there too. So you could say that for 1200 miles per month we're getting 46 miles per gallon vs the Highlander's 21, an extremely good improvement (they should use this statistic in calculating the benefit of a hybrid).

My guess is that they still have to scale up the hybrid powerplants a bit, before the larger vehicles are getting the same percentage improvements in gas mileage as the lighter vehicles. But every part of this experience tells me that we will all be driving cars like this soon.
:shade:

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

We have a HiHy Limited 4WDi. Mileage when I drive it runs around 26-27. When SWMBO drives it, it runs 22-23. I haven't yet checked the tire pressure -- I'll do that right away. Our '02 RAV4 2wd seemed to get only about 20-22 mpg average. So, at least we got a sh*tload more car for (slightly to significantly) better FE.

Here's one way to think about it: 4cyl FE with V8 Power.

Ahhhhh -- I feel better now. Besides, I'm ordering an '06 Honda Civic Hybrid so I can leave my $100/week deisel truck parked.

Don

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

erm... rav 4 is a compact SUV. Highlander doesn't seem to be a compact SUV. I wouldn't make a comparison like that

I'm at 5000 mi and my mileage hasn't really changed since I left the showroom. Maybe my first tank of gas was low - but I still didn't know how to drive for FE. Since about 500 mi. I've watched my speed/acceleration/conditions ahead/route, etc. I use cruise control as often as possible. I'm getting about 27/mpg and am pretty happy with that - but not expecting much more.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Why does Lexus not put in an economy/power switch?

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

I recently ordered my rx400h but after reading this thread, i am beginning to get second thought... i saw on the MPG comparison that the RX400h registered at 25mpg... what is the regular rx330's mpg? currently, my and my wife share a civic hybrid (we both love it) but it doesn't fair too well on our trips up to the cottage.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Well I can tell you that it is not as good as I expected. But that said the smooth power band and almost V8 type power makes it real nice to drive. I went with the Highlander Limited Vs the RX. It was 10K less and I didn't see a big enough difference to make me want to spend the extra 10K. Now if you have to have Bluetooth, backup camera and a little quieter ride it maybe worth the difference to you. Also my closest Lexus dealership is 75 miles away and we have two Toyota dealers right in town, so that also contributed to my decision.

If your looking for big mileage numbers the RX or HH is not the vehicle to get and you should look at another Civic or Prius, but if you are OK with mid to high 20's and a good ride and room they will suit you fine.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

w16,

At fueleconomy.gov, the Highlander V6 2WD has owners who average 18.9mpg, the best one getting 20.3mpg average. We're getting 29.8 with our V6 Hybrid 2WD. That's a 58% increase in mpg over 18.9. It's not apples to apples to compare an SUV to your Civic Hybrid, but comparing vehicles that are alike, a 58% increase is significant.

Of course, your mileage may vary. Just check out the mileage database to see where you might land depending on driving style, load, and environment. We're fortunate to live in Southern California where the weather is a bit more consistent (fortunate for THIS purpose, anyway... lol). but the mpg is down over late summer when we bought the car, even though the temp is only down from 80 to 60. For us, the purchase was worthwhile. Hopefully it can be for you too. :)

Rick

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

wanting good MPG and decent size I would look into a NAH

looks nice , fast , 35 mpg and seats 5 and costs the same as a prius

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Consumer Reports got 16mpg in their City Loop with the HH,and 28 hHghway loop.Their city loop must be pretty rugged with lots of traffic lights, lots of stop and go, lots of little trips with a cold engine.Most "normal/average" drivers will get about 10-25% better than CR in the city,and about dead on for the Highway Loop when they are on the interstate at 65mph or so.
Folks on this forum aren't "normal" drivers by any stretch of the imagination.They drive to get good to great mpg using many of the "tricks"-especially P&G(which can be done real world without pissing off your fellow drivers),and driving very,very SLOWLY-which can be a problem.
A normal driver will get about 14-15 mpg in heavy city driving with a V-6 Highlander or a 330 lex.They will get about 25 mpg in pure trip driving.Are you beating those numbers by about 3-4 mpg? If so you are getting about what the average driver will get.If you live in a suburb or city,and mainly drive there you should get about 20 mpg or so with your Lex hybrid.Lotta Hy driving-say a trip-expect about 26-28mpg on the interstate.
My guess is you are getting very low 20's and are pissed because you expected closer to the 30mpg of the old EPA sticker(I think the EPA #s have been changed).
The Prius set an awfully high mark-.26 drag coe and not an awful lot of frontal area to begin with,tiny motor,2900 lbs.You get about 1/2 the numbers that a Prius gets-but most SUVs get about 1/3-1/4 the MPG of a Prius.
Luck,
Charlie
PS-Our 1998 Suburban gets 13 mpg-the Prius get 42-43 in the same heavy city driving.-Roughly 3.5X despite being about 60% of the weight(5400 vs 2950).Hy is about 49 vs 18.Our Pilot-about the weight of your Lexus-got about 14mpg city,and 21-24mpg hy.These are about what the standard 330 would get(the 330 would get maybe 2mpg more hy).

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

The 400h will generally get 5-7mpg better than the gas-powered RX 350.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

I am one of the ones that got suckered into buying a 2006 Highlander Hybrid. I say "suckered" because of the blantant mis-representation of 31MPG City advertised for these vehicles yet the BEST they seem to AVERAGE is around 25MPG (Note: AROUND 25 means 24.5 to 26.5...shesh I really didn't think this type of clarification was necessary) no matter HOW you drive them (All nay-sayers please look at the FE charts on THIS VERY SITE rather than reply that one day in october of 2007 you got 300+ MPG. We're not buying it any more). In any case, I too was (still am) disappointed in the VERY POOR (comparative to advertisement) Fuel Economy. I have been able to get AS HIGH as 27.2 MPG by (1) not running the A/C AT ALL. My driving techniques ALREADY mirro the BEST on this site. To top things off, the resale value of these is a JOKE!!! This car was retailing for $42,600. I was able to get about $3,500 off that figure but that still left a pretty big note. Now, in the aftermarket this EXACT POS is only bringing around $30K wholesale and (supposedly) $34,400 retail. That's a pretty significant hit considering the truck has less than 15K on it in a year. I continue to be disappointed. I wish I had the time to sue the sons-of-*****es!

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Disgusted is right-real life average drivers get about 20 mpg city, but they can get close to the 28mpg hy in pure trip driving(gas station to gas station on the interstates) on the interstate at 65mph or so.
Huskerforthespurs-CR got 16-28 for the hybrid,and 13-25 non hybrid-about 3 mpg.They do drive a hard city loop, but for a "normal driver" 3-4 mpg better in the city is about right.You really have to keep your speed down to about 65mph to get the 28mpg highway, but it can be done easily at 60-65.
Folks here don't like CR because they don't "like" the objectively arrived at numbers , since they don't agree with their preconceived ideas.The forum numbers are EXTREMELY BIASED.,and not controlled in any way.CR numbers are reproducible-just follow their protocol,and you will get their numbers.Where is the protocol on the forum?
There are no "average" drivers on this site.No way can an average driver get 5-7 mpg more with the HH or 400.The24- 25mpg average on this forum is not from "normal" drivers,and it has lots of interstate and city interstate mixed in.
Charlie

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Toyota/Lexus is not screwing anyone ... the old method for deriving fuel economies was totally the govt's doing, not Toyota's (or any car makers fault).

For 2008 new testing standards having taken effect and the 400h will be 27 mpg city, 25 mpg highway VS the RX 350's 17 city, 22 highway.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

I'm sorry you are not happy.

Before I bought my Camry Hybrid I was thinking of buying a Prius. As with any big purchase I did a little research. It was hardly a secret that most people weren't getting the EPA numbers.

At the time the Prius was rated at 60/51. Many people were getting 45-47. When I bought my Camry it was rated at 40/38. Using the Prius numbers as a guide I figured I'd get 34 or so.

As mentioned, the government forces Toyota to put THE EPA numbers on the vehicle. Toyota cannot legally supply any other fuel economy numbers.

As we all know the EPA changed their test to better simulate driving in the 21st century. With that:

Prius - 46 MPG combined. (exactly what most people get)
Camry - 34 MPG combined (right on my guess, and what most TCH owners are getting)
High 4WD - 26 combined. (your 25 is within a few %)


As far as resale value. Your numbers sound typical. In fact they are probably good. The next generation vehicle is just hitting the docks. Similar price, new vechicle, more features. All vehicles depreciate very quickly.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Toyota can't legally supply any other FE numbers?Is that true? I have been given magazine writeups-that contain 0-60 #'s and FE numbers -as part of the sales pitch in various dealerships.The writeups are professionally copied-not something done on the office copy machine,so I suspect the manufacturer must be ok with it.
Charlie
With the Prius We get about 41 mpg in pure city driving(lots of short trips with a cold motor) with the Prius-about 49mpg pure highway at 65 mph or so.The new EPA numbers aren't bad-real life the highway beats the city -the tiny 4 cyl,and the low drag account for that.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

I'll admit that there is a difference between the computerized average that I've gotten (30.7 so far) versus my real numbers (29.1), but I also know that my odometer is tracking about 10% less than actual which affects both calculations. Have I reached 31+ (actual) on a single tank? Yes, many times. The worst actual number I've gotten so far on a tank? 26.5. For me, my experience is well in line with the MPG estimates I was given.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

What part of this portion of my post did you not understand?

"(All nay-sayers please look at the FE charts on THIS VERY SITE rather than reply that one day in october of 2007 you got 300+ MPG. We're not buying it any more)."

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Why EXACTLY did you think the government was making them do NEW testing? Yes, EXACTLY, it WAS/IS the public uproar of the prior "suspect" numbers. IMHO, it IS Toyota's issue as they facilitated the falicy

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Unfortunately, I do dis-agree with this statement. In city driving for us IS in line with the numbers listed on this side (25 to 26 MPG). That IS what we (and most others got). Most people DO drive a mix of city and highway. Not certain where (or who) you state is gettign 20MPG but if they are, then they DO have other issues (like oil levels or the ECU programming outlined in other threads).

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

I'm not sure I follow what you're saying with "what part of this...". My comment was that the gov't revised estimates are in line with what I expected to see, with what my research showed was possible/likely to occur, and are what my actual driving numbers reflect.

You said that in your 2006 HiHy, "the BEST they seem to AVERAGE is around 25MPG no matter HOW you drive them". While my averages are nowhere close to Mr Kite's numbers, all I can offer is that my driving - no matter whether I drive city or hwy, with the A/C on or off - results in averages that are higher than the 25MPG you're claiming.

What I don't understand is your comment "it IS Toyota's issue as they facilitated the falicy", when the MPG sticker is a gov't regulation outside of all automakers' control. For more information on what the government says needs to be on the sticker itself, you might want to check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroney_sticker. For info on how the gov't does its estimates, check out either fueleconomy.gov or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_ec...nt_regulations

Hope that helps! :)

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

This is "Mr. Kites" tank average. From https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...hlander-14849/

This hardly a one day "downhill the whole way" trip.

FE depends on the driver and the route. First. Mr. Kite seems to be a good driver. And he drives on a back road route to stay in the magic zone of the vehicle. And his trips look to be at least 30 min.

Yes, most people aren't willing to learn to drive the vehicle. And most aren't willing to change their route to drive slower and smoother. And most don't get 40 MPG either...

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/...MAGE_00024.jpg

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

My point was that I asked for people to NOT state that they were able to get XYZ mileage (by doing X and Y and Z) yet the first part of your post was an attempt to do exactly that.

I KNOW that Mr. Kite has an "interesting: route that permits him the ability to basically "coast" about 90% of the way down hills in his route to work (look at his screen shots to see that it goes ~24MPG for the first 5 miles and then is 60+ for the next 10 minutes, then ~40 for five minutes and then 60+ for another 10 minutes). I think EVERYONE realizes that VERY few of us can "coast or ride on battery" for 10 minutes at a time. That was my exact point, such driving conditions aren't "typical".

Is your HiHy a 4x4? I didn't see you actually answer that question.

I am fully aware of the EPA testing processes. My point is that while the EPA runs the testing that they TOO realized that the prior tests were not "realistic" and they changed the testing process itself. THAT CHANGE is the reason that the newer HyHi's have the "more accurate" rating of 25/27 (which just so happens to coincide with what most of us are getting). IMHO, Toyota has some culpability here just as Honda had with the odo error. The original test wasn't "realistic" and toyota and the gov't KNEW that yet allowed the population to be mislead.

The tax "rebates" were also mis-leading. Our particular sales rep said 'Yes, you WILL get $2,600 back on your taxes in the form of a rebate". Turns out that even though it was late in 2006 and he SHOULD have known better, he did not and Toyota wasn't giving their sales reps the proper guidance regarding tax benefits. In the end, I should have verified the tax benefits (or lack thereof)

So, no harm, no foul but your response was EXACTLY what I asked people to NOT reply with. BTW - Our FE AVERAGES between 25 and 27 pretty much ALL the time so... I guess we will live with it as it doesn't look like we can trade this thing in for a reasonable price anyway

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Please go kiss Mr. Kite's *** somewhere else. I asked you not do this yet....

FACTS: Mr. Kite lives in Denver CO and has the benefit of "favorable" terrain which is what ALLOWS him to get these results. On top of that, he probably has a 4x2. On top of that, he DOES employ Hypermiling over this terrain. That's all FINE but don't go around PRETENDING that MOST people get this type of mileage out of these vehicles. As I stated originally, MOST PEOPLE (for those of you with an IQ lower than thier shoe size, does NOT mean Mr. Kite exclusively but rather DOES mean EVERYONE ELSE's averages, averaged together. For every one Mr. Kite with his terrain, there are 100 of us average guys who have no hill and therefore the DATABASE represents EVERYONE, not just ONE ISOLATED guy up in the mountains! And THAT is what I mean by referring to the AVERAGES on the Mileage database. ALL ENTRIES, NOT JUST ONE, Shesh!

That is my LAST post on this stupid diatribe

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

We can only hope.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

All right, all right, let's all take a deep breath and relax, no need to insult anyone here, we're all adults.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

nadabunka,
I'm surprised that you expected to get the city EPA numbers.Very, very few cars get the old city EPA numbers in an actual city with an "average" driver.
Your 25 mpg is about average for the not average drivers on this forum.Did you buy before there was much data here on the HH? I'm not trying to kick you when you are down;I'm just curious why you would expect to get EPA city numbers with the HH when it was well know that very few cars do,and on this forum the Prius was only getting about 47mpg in mixed driving.Once again,this forum has very few average drivers.Most"average" folks don't get 47mpg mixed with the Prius.
I agree that Toyota and all the other car companies "game" the EPA test to get the best EPA numbers possible.In that sense they are deceptive, but once again it is well know that the car companies "game" the tests.
You're obviously a bright guy. How did you miss the obvious? The Prius numbers should have been enough to convince you that the HH wasn't going to get city EPA numbers(it gets maybe 70% with an average driver).It also doesn't get better city mpg than hy-about 5mpg differences for us(43 vs 49(68mph).I took one look at the HH's numbers here on the forum,and then bought the Prius.The HH just wasn't enough better than our AWD Pilot, or than a V-6 Highlander,Lexus whatever.I guessed it would be no better than 5 mpg "better" than the non hybrid versions,and that was generous.
I'm guessing you were an early buyer,and you hadn't spent a lot of time here eyeballing the Prius numbers.You must not have seen the numerous complaints/rips that were written in several Newspapers/online sites etc.
The HH and Lex are great very quick SUVs and they will pay off on their $4000 preminum the way oil prices are increasing, but it will take >100,000 miles to save the 1000 gallons of gas($4/gal). You should save about 100 gallons per 10,000 miles-at 20 vs 25mpg-.You'll break even around 100,000-120,000 and you'll have had a better(faster/greener) car the whole time.Could be worse.
Luck,
Charlie
Suburb of New Orleans-strictly short trips-stoplight to stoplight with maybe 6 complete stops 90 degree turns per mile.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

According to my spreadsheet, comparing my old SUV at 17MPG to what I'm getting on the HiHy, I'm averaging a savings of approx 8 gallons per equivalent mileage tank (or a total so far of just over 200 gallons for the same total mileage so far, or about $540 based on each tank's fillup price).

I really hope my math is right, because if it's not I'd feel really stupid right now.:P

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

WebG,
The math seems about right to me.If you are getting 25mpg vs 17mpg,you are only using about 70% as much gas to go the same distance;with a 20 gallon tank(I don't know actual size), everytime you use 14 gallons the old vehicle would have used used 20 gallons.
I use this formula to find the breakeven(strictly in respect to gasoline, not interest, $$ made on the extra $4000)
X= breakeven miles
cost of gas $4/gal-guessing over the 7-8 years period that gas will go to $5,so it will average maybe $4.
X/25 + 1000GALLONS= X/17
I use 1000 gallons-roughly how much gas you can buy with $4000(roughly the price premium of an HH)
I get about 54,000 miles at $4/gal-
At $3 gallon it is about 70,000 miles.
At 20 vs 25 mpg- $3 gas it is about 133,000 miles-a reasonable distance,and you will have had a much better car the entire 7-10 years.
I went for the Prius because we were going to have to dump the Pilot,and replace it with a very cheap-used-Suburban.We run the wheels off the Prius,and use the Suburban as needed.
Luck,
Charlie
PS It was easier to set the breakeven up in terms of gasoline used,and convert the Preminum($4000) into gallons of gas.
On one side I have how many gallons the old vehicle will have to use(xmiles/17mpg) to equal the number of gallons the new vehicle will use-same distance)+ the number of gallons you paid extra for the new vehicle .
The 17mpg vehicle used about 3200 gallons-cost about $12800
The 25mpg vehicle used 2200 gallons-$8800 but you paid about $4000 more initially(at 4gal).

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

I have the 4x4 and not the 4x2. Most of my commutes are less than 10 miles and 20 minutes. I do not live in the mountains. I live in suburbs north of Denver. I cannot coast or drive on battery for 10 minutes in my everyday driving. I can go maybe 1 or 2 minutes.

For me, 40 mpg is easily attainable when the drive is long enough to offset the warm-up, the speeds don't go above 40 mpg much, and the weather is favorable. Of course, cooler weather is now taking its toll on my fuel economy.

It is also easy for me to get less than the EPA ratings. In the city, it just requires driving aggressively or foolishly. On interstates, it just takes driving 70 miles per hour.

It is absurd for someone to say that Toyota misrepresented the fuel economy of this vehicle just because a person's driving habits are not conducive to good fuel economy.

Re: Disgusted RX400h owner
 

Mr Kite,
I've noticed that I get my best fuel economy when we are at altitude-I-40 from Amarillo to Flagstaff(especially the Flagstaff to Albur leg).The thinner air really gives a boost the FE-maybe 5-7% over seal level FE(New Orleans)(1-2 mpg in a midsized SUV-Honda Pilot).The altitude from ALBUR(about 4500 feet I think) to Flagstaff(6900 feet) probably averages about 5000 feet.The climb is about 2400 feet over 325 miles, but most of that is in the last 20 miles outside Flagstaff.It is generally flat.
You probably do a fair amount of city interstate driving-which usually helps FE-but I remember that rush hour in Denver was bumper to bumper-slow with lots of near stops/accelerating etc.This profile that would be murder with an ICE only-especially without engine shutoff.Do you commute off peak hours? The altitude is worth something in your FE-maybe 1 mpg,since you aren't driving very fast.We drive about 73mpg on interstates out west,so the altitude(decreased drag) is more important.
Charlie
PS Engine shutdown-with electric AC comp,and electric power steering are probably 1/2 the hybrid fuel savings in city driving(the 1/2 is a rank guess, but I think only a small percent of the kinetic energy-5% or so-is recaptured).I think 200 watt hours per 5 minutes is about max for the Prius- but it is usually more like 50-100 per 5 minutes or about 1200 watt hrs per hour-roughly enough to drive maybe 2-3 miles at 40 mph steady speed,or maybe enough to accelerate from 0-25 mpg 6-7 times.I will have to look more carefully at the screen.Your HH probably doubles all these figures.Shutting the engine off probably saves about .4 gallons per hour in your HH just while stopped;the shutoff when you lift your right foot is probably more.