In December of 2007 the old Subaru went down for the count and it was time for a new car. We got lucky (likely because it was December, not exactly a banner month for car sales) and found the Honda Civic hybrid we were looking for in Schenectady – it was the only one they had and we bought it on the spot.

At first, many of our friends, relatives, and neighbors showed some skepticism. They asked whether we thought we were jumping in to a new, unproven, technology. Some congratulated us for being ahead of the curve. Others wondered about the pick-up, asked if the batteries would hold-up for long drives in the mountains, questioned the costs of repairs, how it would handle in the ice and snow -you name it, they asked it.

So on the flip are some observations about our Hybrid experience so far.

The four-door Honda Civic that we bought doesn’t look funny – aside from the hybrid label on the back and the more streamlined look, it appears generally like most other current sedans.

Most folks who ride along have no idea it’s a hybrid unless we tell them. The car has the same pick-up as comparable automatics of its size. The only clue it’s a hybrid from the inside are the gauges and the fact that it shuts off when you come to a stop. Once you lift your foot off the brake, it starts right up again and you’re off. If the stereo is on, and you don’t know it’s happening, you can’t tell. On a related note – if we got rid of all the unnecessary stop signs in America and replaced them with yield signs we would save a LOT of gas.

Overall the mileage could be better. Although it’s rated for 45 mpg, we’ve gotten only 36 on average so far. Even so, I’m sure the old Subaru got a lot less then it was rated for – the bottom line is we’ve cut our monthly gas bill about 35 percent. Every car should have a current mpg gauge – just seeing how our driving is wasting gas has offered us as much savings as the hybrid technology.

As we’ve learned to drive the hybrid, we’ve gotten better mileage. We stared with about 32 on average, but since there’s a gauge showing the current mpg and a trip setting, we’ve been making a contest to see who can get the best mileage – I recently got an even 42 mpg on a trip to Albany and back. The trick we’ve learned is to keep the speed down on the highway (69 instead of 72), keep the cruise-control on, and keep the rpms below 3,000 when climbing large hills. We could probably make the 45 mpg average if we drove only 55 on the highway, which is not going to happen. It’s true that the mileage is considerably better in the city, primarily because the speeds are in the 20s, 30s, or 40s.

The way gas prices are rising (our theory is $4 by Labor Day, then it falls off again just before the election and rises considerably afterward) – we’re counting on our hybrid keeping its value enough to allow us to upgrade in two years when hopefully electric cars will be available at a reasonable price – that may be wishful thinking.

As far as the Adirondack conditions, the car climbs hills normally but it’s front wheel drive and does not even closely compare with the Subaru – that’s why we’ve kept our older Legacy wagon. When the weather is bad – like it’s been lately (and the Suuby has made legendary trips lately!) – we take the wagon. When the roads are dry, we take the hybrid. Since we live on a fairly main road, we could probably manage with only the hybrid, otherwise it would have to be one of the four-wheel drive models that naturally get much worse mileage. The combination we have now makes a lot more economic sense.

There you have it – I’d be interested in others comments on the hybrid experiences in the mountains.