8th Generation Honda Civic Forum - View Single Post

cherokee180c · 07-21-2006, 06:44 PM

Well, I looked hard at the Prius, HCHII, and Camry Hybrids. My objective was to right size our family (3 people) from a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was getting only 14 mpg. My wife could not fit in the Prius as she is 6' tall, but all legs and the seat did not go back far enough. The HCHII was much bigger inside,although I wish it was a hatchback like the prius. I also read a lot about the Prius not getting anywhere near the advertised mpg when driven hard. In fact a friend of my wife at work was only getting 34mpg, which seems ridiculous. In general nobody was getting the 60 mpg except the hobbyists. To the contrary most people were reporting the HCHII was getting very close to 50mpg with it only dropping to 42 if you drive it hard. I did a detailed spreadsheet looking at all costs including gas, payment, and insurance and the Camry was not an option as the payment difference would have eaten all the gas savings. I did not even include the tax credit in the calculations. In all I saved almost $200/month vs. the Jeep. I just got the car yesterday and can tell you I am thrilled with it. It only has 100miles on it now, and I averaged 48 mpg in the first 40 mile trip home with A/C on full, in stop and go traffic on 95 for 20% of the ride, and the trip was mostly uphill to my house. I read some hypermiling hints and went back out last night and got 65 mpg on an outbound trip of 12 miles (more downhill) and then about 48 mpg on the way back for an average of 56mpg 25 mile trip. My wife got 48 mpg roundtrip to work today, but she is a lead foot and had not read the hypermiling forum. Anyway I am really happy with my decision and love the car. Also almost all posts claim that the computer mpg is 1-3 mpg lower than actual, so my mileage might be even higher, but I still have not filled back up to calibrate yet. Lastly, almost every site claims that it takes 5000 miles to break the car in and the gas mileage improves a lot. If this is true, I will be the happiest Honda owner in the U.S. as I can't believe the mpg is this good already. I prepared myself for high 30's to start off but am astounded at the fuel efficiency so far.

07-21-2006, 06:44 PM	#19 (permalink)
cherokee180c Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2 iTrader: 0 / 0%	re Well, I looked hard at the Prius, HCHII, and Camry Hybrids. My objective was to right size our family (3 people) from a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was getting only 14 mpg. My wife could not fit in the Prius as she is 6' tall, but all legs and the seat did not go back far enough. The HCHII was much bigger inside,although I wish it was a hatchback like the prius. I also read a lot about the Prius not getting anywhere near the advertised mpg when driven hard. In fact a friend of my wife at work was only getting 34mpg, which seems ridiculous. In general nobody was getting the 60 mpg except the hobbyists. To the contrary most people were reporting the HCHII was getting very close to 50mpg with it only dropping to 42 if you drive it hard. I did a detailed spreadsheet looking at all costs including gas, payment, and insurance and the Camry was not an option as the payment difference would have eaten all the gas savings. I did not even include the tax credit in the calculations. In all I saved almost $200/month vs. the Jeep. I just got the car yesterday and can tell you I am thrilled with it. It only has 100miles on it now, and I averaged 48 mpg in the first 40 mile trip home with A/C on full, in stop and go traffic on 95 for 20% of the ride, and the trip was mostly uphill to my house. I read some hypermiling hints and went back out last night and got 65 mpg on an outbound trip of 12 miles (more downhill) and then about 48 mpg on the way back for an average of 56mpg 25 mile trip. My wife got 48 mpg roundtrip to work today, but she is a lead foot and had not read the hypermiling forum. Anyway I am really happy with my decision and love the car. Also almost all posts claim that the computer mpg is 1-3 mpg lower than actual, so my mileage might be even higher, but I still have not filled back up to calibrate yet. Lastly, almost every site claims that it takes 5000 miles to break the car in and the gas mileage improves a lot. If this is true, I will be the happiest Honda owner in the U.S. as I can't believe the mpg is this good already. I prepared myself for high 30's to start off but am astounded at the fuel efficiency so far. Last edited by cherokee180c; 07-21-2006 at 06:52 PM.