Hypermiling in the Winter

Almost a year after reading a couple posts regarding hypermiling from Ed Kohler, I finally decided to give it a try. Basically, hypermiling is using different tactics to increase your MPG.

In 2002, I wound up buying a smaller Mazda. It’s practical, has a few cool features and boasted at least somewhat decent gas mileage. That was a plus. It turns out W was up to something.

The end result was pretty cool. I drove 275 miles (half highway and half city streets) using a little under 9 gallons. That wound up being just under 31 MPG.

Considering over half of the miles were driven in below-zero weather, I was pretty happy with the 6-year old Mazda. I doubt a new Prius would do all that much better. A few thoughts…

Having a stick shift probably helps. It makes it easy to keep the RPMs down.

Hypermiling does not mean you have to drive like you live in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood… don’t-cha know.

You can even speed quite a bit, then coast in neutral for blocks down the slightest hill without going below the speed limit.

Portland/Park avenue between Minneapolis and Bloomington is a great opportunity for all this. The lights synchronize well. Another good route is Olson Memorial Hwy between Minneapolis and Golden Valley. This worked well for me since these are both routes I regularly drive.

Keeping the maximum tire pressure is also recommended and I never did check that out. That’s something to think about next time I fill up.