Year: 2008
Miles: 110,000+
MPG: 30 when battery is dead, 35ish when battery is somewhat alive.

(Working on putting a used one after charging it a few times)

 

Year: 2006
Miles: 132,000+
MPG: 53.3 over the last 394.9 miles after recent "triple-cycled" grid-charged pack.

Since the grid charge, I've been trying to squeeze as much mileage out of mine as possible. 13.4 mi commute. 1.5 miles freeway. The remainder surface streets 35-45mph limit. I get one recal at the beginning of each trip that takes 1-2 miles to resolve, but IMA functions very well outside the recal period. Little to no heat/defrost or A/C use here in AZ, and I've been trying to be conservative with my driving mostly by moderate accel and looking ahead to time lights in order to maintain momentum. I still stop 6-7 times per trip.

Previously, I would go 16.9 miles with 8 miles of it freeway that included 4-5 recals per trip and IMA almost never provided any boost. It was three minutes faster than my current route. With the bad pack, 35-37mpg and that included 78mph cruise speeds on the highway and HEAVY A/C use. Dialing it back to 65-72 mph and trying to be a little conservative, I could see 40-41.

You must be flogging the crap out of it.

"conservative" means 1,800-2,000rpm accel in traffic with IMA boost halfway up the gauge. I tend to cruise between -5 and +7 of the speed limit depending on traffic flow and my efforts to time lights. I am also actively trying to avoid being a roadblock for other drivers. In most cases, rates of accel are indistinguishable from other traffic. On-ramp accel at 3000-3500 rpm and only up to the 65mph speed limit (no point with only 1.5 miles to go on freeway).

Steve

 

It use to be 45-50 maybe 2+ years back. It is still in the first battery pack.

So it seem the battery is 15-20 MPG for my vehicle.

 

Perhaps. My difference is about the same, but there are three big non-battery variables in play... I'm not using my A/C anymore, temps are peaking in the high 80's/low 90's instead of the 100's, and my driving style has changed. I see it as a trifecta of goodness that coincided with my grid charge results.

One thing I noted... I was talking to my wife last night most of the drive home, and I wasn't being attentive to my driving style - just going with the flow. I went from 52.7 to 52.8 mpg over the trip.

Lastly, I can tell you with certainty that my results were not this good last fall. I was definitely in the low 40's for mpg.

Steve

 

We just got ours back yesterday with (new battery installed) and my wife said it was reporting around 41mpg. Today will be the first big test of it since she has a two hour round trip commute to school and back. She also tends to have a bit of a lead foot, so I've advised her to try and take it easy to max out the mileage. Heck, I'm getting nearly 42mpg in my Fiat 500 right now

 

simply keeping surface street accel rpm limited to 1800-2000 and freeway accels to 3000 has made substantial difference for me. I know it's hard, but keeping at it 65 or under can push you into the high 40s low 50s when on the highway and flat terrain. Above 65 and there's too much hp required to get into lean burn mode at cruise.

 

Good to know, I'll pass that on to her.

 

The things YOU can do to help are to insure you're installing low-rolling resistance tires and consider pushing the pressure higher. I tend to run between 36 and 38 vs. the specified 32 (or whatever it is).

It firms the ride, but the HCH is pretty spongy IMHO. Road noise will increase too. I'd push it as high as she is comfortable with, and check it frequently. Contrary to what some recommend, I won't exceed the max rated pressure on the sidewall of the tire. You can safely do it as long as you are also under the maximum rated load, BUT you're well into the realm of diminishing returns.

Encourage her to experiment knowing the stakes are a ~20% increase in mpg vs. a few minutes added to her commute.

You might also try to make it a friendly competition... My wife decided she was done with her '09 Fit, and she wanted to go back to the HCH2 (it was her car originally). We picked up a high mileage '06 HCH2 Silver (exactly like the one with already have but with navigation). She's excited by the prospect of friendly competition between us in matching cars. It also came with a spare salvage yard battery, so I'm giddy like a school girl... 2 HCH2 and 4 battery packs... WOOT!

EDIT: Attached pic take upon arrival at work. This is since the first fill-up since the grid charge exercise.

 

Knowing what winter does to the mileage of any vehicle I couldn't have bought my car at a worse time to expect killer mpg out of it, but I did anyway.

The car is a 2003 Civic automatic with 120k on it and a 2 year-old IMA battery in it.

Since I got it off my trailer 3 Fridays ago the car hasn't dropped below 37.5 mpg and is now (on it's 2nd tank of Shell 87 octane with a can of Sea Foam and the Bridgestones at 36 pounds) averaging just over 40!!! Air temp outside is now in the low 20's.

I'm in the process of ripping out the stock air box and plan on custom-installing an Air Raid or K&K using exhaust tubing to join it to the stock intake hose, which will remain warmly tucked under the hood, and routing a new hose to the oil breather. Doing this on my Dodge Diesel 4x4 got me an additional 2+ mpg. Warming the intake air charge in the wintertime is the ONLY way to go.

Anyone who buys one of those hideous Prius' should have his head examined!!!!

 

A block heater is also great to have in the winter. This way the car will auto-stop and use less fuel for warm-up. You can put it on a timer to start 3 hours before commute.

I am at 151k miles and still getting 48MPG easily, and I haven't been a good hyper-miler. (going 65+mph). If I was keeping it closer to 60 I would be in the 50's again