Phil,
By "the press reports" are you referring to claims that Hybrids don't get as good milage as their EPA estimates? That story has been out there for quite a while now and it has been discussed on this site before.
I think we identified a few reasons:
1) Hybrids get fantastic mpg, so if your actual mileage that is lower than the EPA, the difference sounds drastic. For example if you only get 60mpg and not 70mpg, it sounds terrible. Of course, they don't fixate on gas guzzlers that get only 14 mpg, and not the EPA estimated 17mpg, right?
2) As you identified, it all depends on your driving skills and knowledge of the car, which makes the Insight incredibly fun to drive, almost like a real life video game. True, sometimes Insighters just ignore their mileage and drive it around like a normal car. The point is, you can choose to control your milage knowing no matter how poorly you drive, you're still in the most efficient car on the road (and sexy looking too, like the driver inside!).
3) Those press reports may have been aimed at the Prius, which did disappoint many new to hybrids. There are lots of reasons why the Prius doesn't always get the EPA estimate for all drivers. But rather than report on those reasons, the headlines read "Hybrid mileage not as high as EPA". With the latest gas prices those stories are now being replaced by "Everyone wants a hybrid!".
:lol:
By "the press reports" are you referring to claims that Hybrids don't get as good milage as their EPA estimates? That story has been out there for quite a while now and it has been discussed on this site before.
I think we identified a few reasons:
1) Hybrids get fantastic mpg, so if your actual mileage that is lower than the EPA, the difference sounds drastic. For example if you only get 60mpg and not 70mpg, it sounds terrible. Of course, they don't fixate on gas guzzlers that get only 14 mpg, and not the EPA estimated 17mpg, right?
2) As you identified, it all depends on your driving skills and knowledge of the car, which makes the Insight incredibly fun to drive, almost like a real life video game. True, sometimes Insighters just ignore their mileage and drive it around like a normal car. The point is, you can choose to control your milage knowing no matter how poorly you drive, you're still in the most efficient car on the road (and sexy looking too, like the driver inside!).
3) Those press reports may have been aimed at the Prius, which did disappoint many new to hybrids. There are lots of reasons why the Prius doesn't always get the EPA estimate for all drivers. But rather than report on those reasons, the headlines read "Hybrid mileage not as high as EPA". With the latest gas prices those stories are now being replaced by "Everyone wants a hybrid!".
:lol:
