A whole new stress while driving!

[godofthunder]

I've had my Insight II for 5 days now and I'm averaging about 47 MPG.

I used to be a leadfoot and think this car will help me get less speeding tickets. The Cruise Control is a necessity! I use it on every trip, even on roads with a ton of redlights. I get up to around the speed limit and hit the cruise.

I used to stress about being fast and getting around slow traffic before. I was pretty much a jerk on the road. Now I stress about my gas mileage!! I need to get over 50MPG!

Yesterday I hit a traffic jam and it was 90 degrees outside and I was idling for about 10 minutes. It killed my MPG! So, not only was I mad that I couldn't get home quicker, but I was really mad that it killed my MPG average for the week! Damn traffic.

I'm really having fun with this car, it is just a new kind of fun.

[Purplegate]

Godofthunder, I share the exact same feeling !! Not that I was too crazy before, but always bit over the limits. I'm driving the I2 sine about a month now and recently, not only I'm not concern anymore getting back home earlier, but I even plan the 5-10 min more the ride will take if I decrease 5-10Mph...

My first week was about 47Mpg and like you, my next goal in life was to go over 50Mpg. I now average 53-55Mpg all the time (I now would like to go over 60Mpg....!!)

Many say they change their driving habits in an hybrid, enjoying more the scenery and the drive rather than chasing the guy in front. I now tend to agree with that....

[jonniedee]

I too have gone from the Hare to the turtle!

[stevenvillatoro]

Bingo! The 'game' of hypermiling is as addicting and entertaining as any game. When I have driven other fuel-efficient cars after owning my first hybrid, if there were no fuel economy gauges to provide instant scoring feedback, I would quickly lose all interest in fuel management or savings. And yes, it does keep you on the edge of your seat. My mom's '97 Cadillac has a primitive instant fuel economy gauge, and I can manage 27+ MPG on her car, whereas her average had been 9 MPG. The best thing our culture could do would be to mandate prominent fuel efficiency gauges on every car. I admit that i don't necessarily own a hybrid BECAUSE it's a hybrid... but rather because it buys me a set of fuel management gauges and a ticket to the most fun driving game in town!

[adric22]

Yes, I much enjoy watching the guages and seeing what my car is doing while I drive. I usually watch the first screen that shows the arrows with the battery and engine. I try to keep the engine in fuel-cut as often as possible. Not so much that I try to drive in EV mode (which is almost useless on the Insight) rather just to keep from burning fuel if I don't have to.

If I'm by myself, I'll roll the windows down so I can turn off the A/C while going through town so I don't have to idle the engine to keep cool. While I wish the Insight had electric A/C, it is worth pointing out that the Prius can't run the A/C for more than a couple of minutes without starting the engine back up.

But.. The best driving habbits I learned from my underpowered EV conversion. Since I went on the cheap and used inferior motor, controller, and other parts my EV can only realistically reach and sustain 45 mph. That isn't a problem, except that it takes about 30 seconds to accellerate to that speed. (versus more like 5 or 6 seconds in the Insight) So I have learned how to time various stop-lights in town so that I can go through them while they are green, keeping me from having to stop and the try to get up to speed again. Also it is interesting watching all these crazy people try to get around me and take off like a bat out of hell, only for me to pull right up behind them at the next stop light. Funny, they wasted all that fuel and didn't even achieve anything.

[godofthunder]

Ugh...
Why does it seem to go down so much faster than it goes up?

After my first week of driving to work, my average is 46.5. Not bad. The humidity killed me yesterday and this morning, though, because the auto-stop didn't turn on at stoplights.

After work today I'm driving the 100 or so miles to Tampa and back. Should be fun and I'll get a good gauge of highway MPG.