29.5 mpg

[Loren]

Driving habits are a funny thing. A lot of people (probably most people) aren't really driving efficiently, even when they THINK they're not driving aggressively. It all has to do with our habits. Things like trying to maintain a constant speed over hills instead of allowing the car to slow down a bit, or like mashing the gas to pass another car instead of just slowing down by a factor of 2 mph and just following them, or subconciously speeding up when there's a car creeping up beside us on the interstate.

WITHOUT giving up the air conditioning, you can make some very subtle changes to your driving habits and easily see in improvement of 10%. (bringing you from 29.5 up to 33) Without trying much harder, you could see an additional 10%. (bringing you up to 36) And, if you get serious about it, there's still another 10% beyond that. (bringing you up to 38-40 mpg) If you get really crazy, beyond that first 30% of improvement from "typical", there's yet another 10-20%. It's true, you could see an additional 50% more mpg than you are right now. From almost 30mpg to at least 45mpg. And it's all in how you drive the car.

Read up on the "hypermiling" tips, there is much to be gained. As a bonus, you'll find that you become a much more aware driver and more relaxed behind the wheel.