Congratulations. I have the same car, but w/Nav. I've only used the Nav a few times and it worked great. I like the XM/Radio interface you get with the touch screen. It was an expensive option but makes driving the a little more fun. Good luck with your new car.

 

Congrats! I'm waiting on mine still... Metallic Pearl or Galaxy Grey w/ Navi. Everytime the phone rings I get excited.

 

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

digitalfury, I know how you feel.....I went to bed almost every night looking at the advertisement booklet from Honda, reading the options list, looking at the teeny tiny pictures of the hybrid, and imagining myself pushing the radio buttons!

Please let us know when you get yours.

 

Time for an update. I've had the car for ~180 miles and 5 days.

I love it! This morning my average just ticked over 48mpg. Learning how to drive it efficiently hasn't been too bad, but I have to admit it has been a little distracting to watch the gauges so much. However, after a few days the driving style has become more natural. I'm also growing more sensitive to the feel and sound of the car when it changes modes and I can react a bit quicker without having to think too much.

Pedal sensitivity has also increased and is practically built in to my right foot now.

I did notice that some paint appears to be chipping on the trunk, right along the edge of the spoiler, as I've read in another post here.

One minor issue I have is that when I stop to park, the engine auto-stops, and then when I shift into Park, the engine starts again. I guess I'll have to shut the car off during auto-stop, then put it in park.

Anyway, after almost a week and almost 200 miles, I am extremely satisfied with my purchase! Looking forward to breaking the 50mpg threshold as the car breaks in.

Oh yeah, I think I actually broke 48 this morning because a good part of my highway drive was 60 instead of 65. I am being considerate of other drivers, but sometimes there is a great stretch for slightly slower driving. There also seem to be a LOT more people in my area taking it slow (too slow in some cases, IMHO).

 

Yeah, this drives me nuts and I can't figure out why Honda did it this way. Everything else on the car is well thought out and well engineered, but the engine starting is just beyond me. My only guess is that it has something to do with reverse in a CVT???? Does it do this in the manual transmission HCHI? Anyone?

I always autostop in Drive, then switch to Neutral before switching the key off. Then I usually switch the key back on and move the shifter to Park, so the door will unlock and more importantly, so I can check my Trip A MPG!!! ;-D

Sounds like you are doing well. Have you tried driving in sandals/flip-flops, so you can drive barefoot for a segment?

Try this on the freeway: Get up to 64 MPH and then slowly back your foot off of the gas pedal, but not so much that it goes into EV Glide. The iFCD should go from ~50MPG up to around 80-90 MPG. Your speed will slowly drop. I usually let it get down to about 58 and then 'pulse' back up to 64. This 'lean burn mode' is part of how I get 62-65 MPG on the way to work.

 

Good luck nehch2.

I have the same silver 08 no-nav HCH and still have my 92 Miata and also 39. So we have/had some things in common. The Miata does not get much use these days with 2 small kids but I do take the cover off once in a while.

So far I love the car.

 

Thanks pascha! I'll definitely try this. However, I do like music (check out necgist on youtube) and while I know I might be able to eek out a few more mpg, I think I'll probably be relaxing with cruise control on the highway and enjoying some music. One other thing I've noticed about my first few days learning to drive the car is that even though the music is on, I'm not really listening to it due to all the attention I'm giving to my mileage!

Thanks again though for the suggestion. I'll try it today on the ride home. What are your RPMs getting to when you pulse back up?

 

Cool! A fellow Miata(s) driver! I'll be selling mine soon (after I have someone spiff it up a bit). My first Miata was a red '93 that I had for 2 years before I got rear-ended and the car was totaled. Then the next 10 years was in a '95 M-Edition (the poor little car that got kicked out of the garage to make room for my Civic). I sure have slowed down since I got the Civic!

 

I try to hold them under 2,000. I'll have to pay more attention to see exactly what it is this afternoon.

I also listen to music or npr, but I am making it into habit, so I won't have to spend more attention on it than rockin' out!

 

pascha,

Holy cow! Now that I've done it, there's no goin' back. I'm sure I've read about the lean-burn mode elsewhere, but the learning curve is pretty steep to start, and I guess I thought I was doing pretty well. However, blipping off the throttle on the highway got my average just over 50 by the time I got back to work this morning.

Of course, for me to get a bit over 50 average mpg with ~240 miles into my first tank means my actual mileage today is much better than that, and for the average to have consistently increased ever day, means that the techniques I've been learning should result in stellar numbers for my 2nd tank of gas; I expect quite a bit better than 50 mpg.

I thought some of these techniques might also be a nuisance to other drivers, and I
don't want of be one of "those" hybrid drivers, but the methods that have gotten me over the 50 mark have been perfectly fine. It's really just a little more work and attention on my part, and as you indicate, the driving style becomes habitual, akin to learning to drive a manual transmission. Much easier after just a few days.

Thanks for taking the time to push my envelope!