Metro New York Commute
 

Anyone commute into NYC on a regular basis? What is your real world MPG? I am thinking of buying one as a commuter car. Thanks.

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

I've had the unfortunate pleasure of driving into Brooklyn this past fall. Between getting robbed at bridge toll booths and cut off at every light it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. We didn't even hit any real traffic. All I can report is the trip meter went from 49 - 45 mpg once in the urban region. I'd hazard a guess driving there would be under 40 mpg around the city. And imagine the worse case: Cold, rainy, and stop and go traffic. Yuck, I image any hybrid would get terrible mileage in such a situation!

The terrain is pretty flat and traffic can get very stop and go. People are not very nice either if you try and keep a distance between you and the car in front. Very few chances for any gas friendly driving techniques.

On the plus side I would think the hybrid would be a safe city car. What young thug with 22 inch HUMMER rims on his mind is gonna steal a car based off economy instead of performance :D

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

I have driven in NY several times with my other vehicles and I can tell you that a CRV may be the better choice for you. The streets in NY are not in the best shape and the low riding Civic Hybrid will constantly hit the road...

There are parts in NY that have good roads, but when you hit a bad patch you will know.

You may also want to try a FEH or THH as they are both SUV based hybrids :)

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

I currently switch between a S2000 and an Acura TSX when I drive into NY. Having a low riding car is not a problem for me since I can get around fine with the S. I come from NJ and commute is about 40 miles highway and 5 miles stop and go into the tunnels and around midtown.

My lease is up on the S2000 soon and will be drving the TSX exclusively. However I am not to fond of the TSX, it has great handling but porky. It also does not get great FE either, average 23-24mpg from the commute ( I get 30+ on the highway but stop and go kills the MPG quickly), I get the same from the S. Given that I expect to drive into the city more often next year, that is the reason why I want a hybrid (if I have to drive a slow car, why not get the most fuel efficient one).

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

That seems like pretty good logic to me!

Honestly though, I'm not a huge fan of the HCH in stop and go traffic. When you're stopping, the engine will shut off at 7mph allowing you to coast (with the brake applied) until you hit 0. After you stop, if you let off the brake, the engine comes back on. If you hit 10mph again, it will easily go back into autostop next time you stop, but if you don't get going that fast, the car usually doesn't shut off again. I find this frustrating, but rarely drive in stop and go so it might not bother you at all.

Personally, I like the Aisin system (Escape, Prius, etc.) more in stop and go because you actually can stop and go without the ICE. I've been pretty amazed by our Mariner actually--it will go almost a mile in stop and go without the engine, even on hills. Once the battery is flat, it quickly charges again without a noticable regen hit on the mileage. However, if you're currently driving an S2000, the handling of either the Fords or Toyota would kill you.

Overall with the HCH, you would get great mileage on the 40 mile part of your commute and you would still get better mileage on the last 5 than 99% of normal cars because of the small engine. You could also swap shocks and tires for an Si which would make the handling pretty sweet.

I would suggest a test drive on the HCH and see how you like it in stop and go. Get it warmed up with a normal drive so that the auto stop will work and then find a parking lot to play around on. Just don't pay attention to the trip computer's mileage on the test drive because it will not be representative of what you will see once the car is broken in.

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

I agree with Kristian. IMA (Honda's hybrid system) does not work as well in stop and go traffic. I would look into the prius or a camry. A plug-in hybrid would be great for those conditions (if you have an extra $10K+ to pay for a conversion(the HCHII can't be converted)).

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

As much as I love Honda and their hybrids, for stop and go driving Toyota or Ford (or GM 2-Mode) hybrid systems are king.

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

Just a though: since you live in one of the five states where you can buy a Nissan Altima Hybrid, that might be worth considering. It also uses the Aisin eCVT and has licenced most of the hybrid goodies from Toyota. Most of the reviews point to the sportier handling as the key difference between the NAH and the Camry Hybrid.

Oh, wait, you live in NJ, not NY right? I don't think they sell them in NJ but you could always buy across the border...

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

Altima sounds interesting but @ 34mpg, it may not be worth switching. I wonder if I can convince the Honda dealer to give me a 24hr test drive or rent one first, that may be my best option.

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

My 52 mile commute from Long Island to NYC is almost always an off peak trip. I usually get between 45-55 mpg. When I do travel at peak times I use the HOV lane which hurts my mpg due to the fact that if you do not maintain at least 65mph you will usually have someone on your bumper.

I have never bottomed out on the NY Metro roads on my route as someone previously stated. I looked at the Prius but based on my travel times the HCH was the best choice.

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

Hi i have a 2003 HCH I really don't have a problem in NYC i have a 55 mile commute each way. i do not know about the new HCH's but i have a ECON button and when i am in stop and go traffic i shut that off and my motor will not shut off when i stop at a light or in stop and go traffic. it disables the "AUTO STOP" function.

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

I have a short commute 60 miles a day and my MPGs are 34-39. Again your mileage will vary but I drive slow and coast where safe.

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

I've been meaning to post a topic on this, but I figured I'd chime in here.

I have been driving my 2008 HCH into/out of Washington, D.C. lately during rush hour. Of course, this doesn't compare to what I remember from growing up on LI and driving into NYC, but it's still pretty bad traffic. The temperatures have been in the 50F - 60F range. My trips have been around 25 miles highway (with stop and go, average maybe around 25 miles per hour and sometimes up to 40 - 55 miles per hour when the traffic breaks up) and 3 miles or so in the city with the lights, etc. I didn't have the AC compressor on due to the outside temps, just the fan on low with the windows closed. I drove the speed limit for the roads (30 miles per hour - 55 miles per hour) when not stopped in traffic and drove smoothly with no hard acceleration, etc. My round-trip MPG during those trips was between 50 and 54 MPG, which surprised me.

I have noticed that if the engine is stopped, I take my foot off the brake to move forward but only go around 2 - 3 miles per hour and then brake again, the engine does re-engage AS reliably/predictably. This happens a couple of times, but then it stays on until I go over ~7-8 miles per hour and apply the brakes again. Here's an excerpt from the owner's guide that spells out the car's logic:Again, I have found my car to operate that way. I guess we'll see what happens when the temperatures get warmer and I turn on the AC and use a higher fan speed.

In general, I have been enjoying my HCH more everyday as I rack up the miles in various conditions. However, I have been wondering how much better I would be doing in the Prius considering what I'm getting in the HCH. Having the HCH's engine stop and start in traffic isn't horrible, but I wouldn't mind a pure EV mode for those situations. I actually don't mind the exterior styling of the Prius and its HIDs/foglights (on the package I was looking at), keyless entry system, bluetooth and hatchback/fold down seat space would have been nice. Too bad its steering was numb and it handled like a mini-van to me. What really killed it for me was that I couldn't find a comfortable driving position after four test drives due to its lack of a telescoping wheel and non-height adjustable seat. I might look at it again after it is redesigned over the next couple of years, especially if Toyota includes PHEV capabilities.

So, aziego, you should definitely test drive the HCH in real-world conditions if possible, you may be surprised by how well it performs.

[UPDATE: Just to be complete, my tires at at 32 - 34 PSI and the MPG readings I cited were from the car's computer that was reset for each round-trip]

Re: Metro New York Commute
 

You might get better MPG in heavy slow traffic with a Hybrid Escape, and certainly a Prius. I've made 40+ with the Escape in that sort of driving, since it will run only on electric some of the time, and there are tricks.....