I once had a customer who purchased a Ford Focus specifically to drive back and forth from Knoxville to Atlanta several times per week. His concern was fuel economy. He was only getting 20 miles per gallon when the sticker said 25 miles per gallon average. The scan tool I was using would calculate real time fuel economy. It was obvious the two conditions when the car burns the most gas was on acceleration from a stop (peak load) and cruise speeds above 65 mph. The typical hybrid is designed to eliminate the gas guzzling peak load on acceleration. If during peak load, the gas engine is off, and the electric motor is the sole source of power, peak load fuel consumption is eliminated. This saves a considerable amount of gas, especially if the driver does a lot of stop and go driving.
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