2006 Honda Civic Hybrid

So give it time to break in and then see if you have something to complain about {;^)

MPG can vary a lot depending on many factors. The EPA says: "the EPA rating is a useful tool for comparing vehicles when car buying, but it may not accurately predict the average MPG YOU will get."

Welcome to the club. I have one that's two years old with 7000 miles on it. I got the same BS from the dealer about break in. When I had

Wait until about 3-5000 miles.

Also, if you are in a winter climate, that will decrease your mileage too, particularly on the highway. As well, check your tire pressures and your driving habits.

Most cars get 20 percent below epa ratings. Don't expect much improvement. That is why the EPA is going to change their tests soon.

My '93 Accord gets 15-20% above EPA ratings on the highway.

It all depends on how far, how fast, and most importantly of all, just plain HOW you're driving.

Smooth fluid driving at or around the optimal speed will result in best MPG. lots of short drives, or ones which big speed variations will result in poor MPG.

Driving agressively wll give poor mpg, and thinking and driving ahead will do better. Its all about you. Geting a hybrid is no magic bullet

They finally getting away from that static bullshit, and going to actually measure the car moving?

Also in the civic and accord hybrid, they only go in auto stop if you stop. If you creep forward continuously you are wasting gas. Move up in steps in creeping traffic.

Driving it 3500 miles per year is not conducive to good milage in my experience. In fact, with such little use I would question the wisdom of buying any new car, much less a hybrid. At the rate you are driving, even if you were getting 40mpg instead of 30 mpg, you would only be saving about 30 gallons per year.

No. That is not a practical solution anyway. If you can only test cars on 70 degree/50%RH calm wind days, you are going to have a severe backlog of testing after the first year.

I think the new test drives the car a little more aggressively. What it should include is a full throttle acceleration from 10 to 75 mph. The current test assumes that you bought a 200hp engine because you want to drive like a little old lady.

Why is why you, strangely enough, test it indoors.

The current testing makes no difference if you've got a car that is shaped like a dart, or one thats shaped like a routemaster double-decker buss.

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You got ripped off!

For the longest time (25,000 miles), we averaged about 43 mpg combined (70% hwy, 30% city) with our "04 Civic hybrid. As of late (and mainly due to a change in driving techniques, I might add), we are averaging around 46 mpg. There is some truth to the "break-in" claim, but the best way to save fuel is through modifying your driving habits.

Check out this site for info on actual mileage results from other owners, as well as driving tips for maximizing fuel economy:

Makes sense. Still not clear that this would produce more realistic results than a dyno test. And you would need a very big indoor track to accommodate my 10 - 75 mph test.

The truth is that no matter how you test it, the results will be wrong for most drivers. Most drivers will be either more or less fuel efficient than any number you put on the sticker. It clearly could be more accurate than it is now.

I assume that the frontal area is factored in. Surprised there would be no consideration of aerodynamic efficiency. I remember when there used to be a lot of bragging rights for lowest Cd. Haven't heard much about that in years.

not that big, and by indoor, i guess you could replace that will walled/sheltered. OR, you cuold just use a circular test-track, and as long as the windspeed is within a range (say 0-10mph) it would be acceptable, since you're going circularly, so what you lose from the headwind you gain from the tailwind.

Right now its very inaccurate. Almost useless i'd say, espcially as modern cars will often have their software 'tuned' for the EPA tests.

Its not just frontal aea though, its shape, flow etc. We did start talking about it a few days ago on #honda on the Efnet network though. most cars were in the 0.3 range.

Well, then you still have the issue of temperature. Humidity is a minor factor also. You can probably minimize the variation by locating in Hawaii.

Probably no way to completely dodge that. The best you can do is require a wide range of operating conditions in the test.

Wonder what the SUVs average.

(top posting is generally frowned upon, but i'll let it pass this time)

wind tunnels are expensive, just in rental fees. second, they're just no that big. third, all wind tunnels are static, the vehicle is held in place with force bars, which record the forces acting ont he vehicle when the tunnel is active (info courtesy a riend of the wifes, who runs the windtunnel at Cranfield university) There is no way to measure the effect the wind would have on the load of the carthe car is not progressing, and as such having to work against the wind force. if its not moving, the winds not affecting the milage, and its basically the same deal as with any other static test.

nice idea though, good thinking.. a half mile wind tunnel might be more the answer.