HowardN

I haven't had a chance to take another highway drive yet, but as I've been watching the MPGs during city driving I've noticed that my assumption about the role of the electric engine may be wrong. I assumed that the electric engine was a "co-contributor" to speed and acceleration, but it appears to only help maintain speed when "coasting" or having an even speed. My drive from work to home is level to somehat uphill and I cannot achieve more than 16-20 MPG ever on that route. I can get 37-40 MPG to work (because it's mostly downhill). I think my expectation was based on what the electric car motors do (as in "Who Killed the Electric Car")- but I'm surprised that my Fusion Hybrid electric motor does not accelerate the car from a stop nor seem to help the gas engine when going up hills. I thought it would have been more "synergistic".

I agree with you. But I don't remember a lot of instant gauge fluctuation on this trip (though I wasn't watching it too closely). I'll do some self-testing in the next few weeks. Though your suggestion for drafting is tempting, with my luck, the New York State Police will pull BOTH of us over!

We had driven the car about 1000 miles before this trip - mostly local driving. I tend to not accelerate rapidly (the old "fuel-efficient" way) and I use cruise control on the interstate, although I am frequently switching out of it because traffic around Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse doesn't allow anyone to keep the same speed for a long time. I usually go around 72 MPH on the highway - it's less visible to the state police! It may take some time and observation to figure this out. I'll see what the next few weeks brings and ask again if it's not beeter.

I was certain the car wasn't in low gear, but the MPG behavior makes me wonder. This trip on I-90 from Erie to Saratoga should have been flatter than your I-77 experience (I've been through there - the hills and curves at night are impressive) - I'll need to do some more testing on the highway.

Because we had to refill the tank on the trip out - which I didn't expect, having driven this route many dozens of times before - I watched the readings on the way back (other than the leaves, which told me nothing - and I've replaced them with the bars). I was struck by the lack of "instant MPG" fluctuations - mostly between 20 and 30, rarely up toward 60. And the ultimate proof of MPG was the empty gas tank before we reached home. On reflection, the car "acted" like it was in low, but I know that it was displaying "D". I need to take another interstate drive and see what happens. By the way, the dealer said "it's normal for the break-in period - up to 10,000 miles - to get that mileage".

I've been getting around 40 MPG on short city trips. Every time I would go down a hill, the readings do go right up to 60+ - my wife would joke that I was trying to boost the readings when that would happen (little did she know they were boosting from 25!). I used cruise control on my highway trips - I would have thought that would have helped with MPGs - is that ncorrect?

As a newbie to the thousands of settings available for the dashboard, how do I do what you suggest? (Or should I just browse through the settings?)

I expected the same. I'll check to see what RPMs I'm getting on the highway next time (it's not on my current display, but I can bring it up). Something seems wrong.

When We started outbound, I noticed the shift was in Low, and changed it. For the return trip, I made sure it was in Drive - but we used up a full tank of gas with each leg - 15.5 gallons to refill for a 380 mile trip - so I'm sure of the MPG (actually, I didn't look at the summary screen, but since we usually take 2 bathroom breaks, the summary would have only been for partial legs). I'll check it at the next trip. To have the car in LOW would make sense, but it shouldn't have been. Should I have the gear position checked?

We have a several week old 2010 Hybrid and have taken it on 2 trips that were nearly all highway driving. On the most recent trip (NY Thruway - 380 miles), we only achieved 25.5 MPG - driving at 72 MPH without AC and with windows closed. The mileage is correct as we filled the gas tank before the trip and had to refill it after. I had not expected the mileage to be this poor - it is actually no better than my 2005 V6 Dodge Caravan. While a slower drive might give better mileage, this is not a feasible option on that road. Any and all ideas appreciated.