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Hybrids and high MPG

Hybrid owners have been making a fuss about real-world fuel economy ever since the 2000 Honda Insight debuted and promised 72 mpg on the highway. Evidently, nobody told hybrid drivers that they had to follow the same common-sense laws that govern fuel mileage with regular gasoline vehicles. Hybrid owners need to understand that they can’t drive their vehicles as if they don’t have a gasoline engine.

Of course, full hybrids, those that can run solely on battery power, like the Ford Escape Hybrid, benefit from slightly different types of driving than regular gasoline vehicles. For example, an Escape Hybrid is more effective in the city than on the highway, in direct contrast to straight gas burners. That’s because the engine stops running when stopped or when traveling at low speeds, using the juice in the battery pack to operate the lights, wipers, stereo, and air conditioning. Also, we’ve been successful at cruising Los Angeles traffic between 25 and 30 mph in the Escape Hybrid, without the motor running. At least until the slightest hill needed to be climbed, or impatient motorists began honking horns to get us moving away from a traffic light.

Finally, remember that no matter how hard you drive a hybrid, it will get better fuel economy than the equivalently-powered gasoline version. In a Toyota Prius, you could staple the accelerator to the floor away from every light and stop sign, drive 80 mph on the expressway, and jump from lane to lane during the commute and still get better gas mileage than a gingerly-driven Toyota Matrix of similar size and power. So even if you’re not getting what the EPA promised, take heart. You’re probably doing better than the guy in the next lane, especially if your tire pressure is correct, your powertrain has been properly maintained, and you’re storing the golf clubs, baseball cleats, and soccer balls in the garage rather than your trunk.

by Staff
Photo credit: iStockphoto.com

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