Not really. In my case, the EPA combined mileage for my Jetta was 24 mpg and I usually got 23 mpg mixed. And that was driving around 75 mph on highways, which comprised the bulk of my driving, and flooring it to accelerate in most instances. However the hybrid is far more sensitive and even driving gently I do not expect to get 50 mpg by any means unless I make major sacrifices / changes the way many of the people on this site are.

Oh, and it was 84 degrees today so I had to use A/C. I guess that's what you get when you move from the frigid northeast to Southern California.

 

Glad you like your new car. Just like a gas-only car, hybrids are affected by how you drive (it's only more obvious to see how well - or not, you drive with the real-time display). Do you think you drive this car the same as your Audi? Do you coast as much as possible and are you light on the gas pedal? You might want to practice on a longer drive trying to adjust your driving style while watching the real-time mpg display. Factors like where you live (hills vs. flat) and weather and speed limit all affect the mileage. Many real life conditions are not considered in EPA's tests for mileage. Staying at or below the limit usually gives the best results but many people find that very hard to do.

Deb

 

Sheesh! Fairly quickly?! You gotta stop wearing those lead boots.
I never push my car's engine above 3000 rpm.

 

3000 rpm isn't quick enough to accelerate onto the highway from a stop or a slow-moving road, and it's often not quick enough to merge into traffic on any road. But it is perfectly good in most situations.

 

I find in my 03' HCH around 2100 to 2400rpm is optimal acceleration for FE. I just slowly press the gas until I reach that rpm and then I start to slowly pull my foot back to lower the rpms as i am usualy going fast enough to keep acclerating at lower rpms.

If anyone ever wants to bring there HCH II to Arlington Heights, IL during lunch I'd be happy to give you pointers

 

I merge into 70 MPH freeway traffic every day. Whatever...

 

With what? The RAV4? I don't think you can make fair comparisons between an electric and an ICE.

 

Also keep in mind that the difference between going 60mph and 70mph is a big factor along with head winds etc. If you're going 70 and have a 20mph headwind, your car is acting like 90mph. Air friction increases with speed so you can expect about 20% less mpg at 70 than at 60.... When safety permits and traffic is light, I usually stay in the far right lanes of the freeway and keep speed around 60. Of course in heavier high speed traffic and when having to take a left lane exit you need to increase speed to match the flow so you don't p'off the urban assault vehicle drivers

 

It doesn't work that way since your speed is also increasing by the same amount. The resistance actually increases nonlinearly so after about 55 mph it increases at a greater rate than speed, lowering efficiency, but 20% is a huge overestimate. I've forgotten my basic physics but I'm sure NASA can clarify this.

 

There are so many variables at play that I think empirical data is the best indicator. I plan to measure my freeway commute at various cruise control settings next week (60, 65, 70, 75, 80). I'll measure the entire commute (~35mi.) at each given speed and always in the same direction to make sure any localized effects are averaged out.

BTW, I'm just a software engineer at NASA, I'm not a rocket scientist or anything