jrobe is unfortunately correct... energy used to power the A/C is just that....energy used. Even though it doesn't come directly from the ICE it means less battery power to assist the ICE and once the battery become sufficiently discharged the ICE must then use power to charge the battery. I thought about this quite a bit after your other post Jim, regarding the battery powered A/C, and while it's a great concept and undoubtedly saves energy and mileage (electrical motors being more efficient than ICE) it's not quite 'free'. A shame I know!

 

Oh.... and to keep on topic with the thread... I'm averaging 28.5 city and 30.3 highway. Like Jim, I've had to temper my driving habits a bit but this probably works to my advantage in terms of avoiding accidents and speeding tickets!

 

I just returned from a 6000 miles road trip through Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Utah, California coast and back to Vancouver, Canada. I averaged 28.5 mpg with 4 people and full load of luggage in the back, and A/C on all the time. The worst milage was 26 when going 80 to 85 through Wyoming and Nevada. I got about 15% better milage if I stayed between 65 and 70 on the freeway. Driving within the national parks at 35 to 45 I got 33 mpg. I would say the new model is about 15% more efficent than my old RX400h. One significant difference between the two cars is the new car run the engine at idle much less often than the old model. It shut off much quicker in the morning and when the A/C depleted the battery the engine start up and run at a much higher rpm to quickly recharge the battery and shut off again. In the old model once the battery is depleted the engine will idle and stay on for a very long time. Overall I find the new hybid system much more refine and efficient than the old model.