Hypermiling

I recently read two articles on hypermiling. One of the articles described how some guys were able to get more than 100 MPG out of a stock Prius. Hypermilers use driving techniques to exceed the estimated fuel efficiency of their vehicles. It sounded interested so I thought I would give it a try.

I decided to adopt a single technique for one tank of gas. One the next fill up I checked my mileage and started the experiment. Crunching the numbers 305.0 miles / 10.9 gallons resulted in approximately 28.0 MPG during normal driving. Not bad when you consider I tend to have a lot of fun while driving the Miata. Maybe, maybe too much fun.

The driving technique I applied is called pulse and glide. Essentially you accelerate up to some speed and then shift into neutral and coast for a while. Some folks kill the engine while coasting. I did not. After using this technique for a while, you begin to realize how often being in gear is actually holding the car back. You seem to get a little bit of free speed every time you shift out of gear. You can also use the hills for a little free energy whenever possible.

After two weeks and 324 .4 miles I filled the car up with 9.86 gallons of gas. This time the tank averaged 32.9 MPG, an increase of 4.9 MPG or 17.5%. Not bad.

Pulse and glide is easy on the open road with a manual gear box. I don't think I would try this with an automatic transmission though. Will I drive this way all the time? No. Occasionally? Certainly.