some of the common tips:

up your tire pressure
slow down and avoid cruise control
anticipate red lights and coast up to them if possible
avoid heavy acceleration
learn to feather the gas pedal, you can visibly see your results in the gauges
an engine block heater will help, even if you aren't in an overly cold area. it gets the engine up to temp much quicker and therefor it becomes more efficient.
take advantage of coasting on hills, and see if there isn't a way to commute with fewer stops

just some ideas. it's a learning curve, for sure.

 

I just got my 2008 HCH last week (birthday surprise from the wife, man she's awesome). Anyways, I commute about 70 miles a day round trip. I was getting about 41-44 mpg the first few days. A Google search turned up this website (thank God) and after reading Tarabell's article, as well as many many comments made by members here, I got 59 mpg the very next day! I couldn't believe it. This was in 35-40 degree weather, mostly wet or rainy (snowy today), and I haven't upped the inflation in the tires yet. I can't wait to see how this baby performs in good weather and after some additional practice.

 

Welcome to the CLUB!
A lot of our lessons came from the mileage database. Don't worry about recording the dealer tank but you might consider tracking your mileage in the database. It is a great way to perform experiments and test new techniques.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

Wow, Frankie3, that's amazing! A jump like that in a single day is really impressive- you must be a really quick learner, and I'm just so glad that the advice you picked up here was able to help put you on the right path. With a long commute like yours, you can probably expect to see pretty good numbers, even in cold weather, because such a big proportion of your driving will be with a warmed-up engine. Your wife must be fantastic.

Good luck to the both of you, and welcome to the forum- hope to see you around on GH, passing on advice to others and keeping us posted about the things you are learning. And congrats on your new hybrid- Happy Birthday! Man, a story like yours just makes my day. I really do love seeing that the information we have here and the things we discuss are helping people.

 

Consider what locations these people are coming from with HIGH MPG. With all the elevation changes in south San Diego... you can see the MPG that I am getting.

Keep in mind that I have been keeping a light foot on the pedal and trying to coast as much as I can.

The most I have ever seen on the guage was 42MPG. I will update my MPG when I finish this tank I filled up to the rim !! hahaha

 

A lot of it depends on where you drive.

If your usual routine involves mostly short trips in town, then your engine never warms up and you will never get good mileage. If you have a 3-mile commute to/from work, and a grocery store and shopping one mile from the house, with traffic congestion and stop lights, just give up on gas mileage. It's just not going to happen.
A hybrid will burn less fuel than a regular car would under the same conditions, but you will never see big FE numbers.

If your commute to/from work is 40 miles on 45 mph roads, with no stops, few hills, and little traffic, you will get really good mileage almost without trying.