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Well, I now have a new job that I have been working at for about 3 mouths. That means my commute has changed from almost 100% highway driving to about 25% highway and 75% city, and my numbers are showing it.

I know that the cooler weather is coming but im wondering if anyone out there can give me some advice on how to drive in the city and achieve some sort of desent numbers?

I am coasting as much as possible and I am trying to FAS where I can.

P.S I am hoping that in the next say, two years, or sooner, ( you never know) I will finally be able to buy a hybrid, so im wondering what everyone thinks might be the best hybrid for city driving? I am leaning toward the prius.

You got it! A Prius would do the job. They are coming out with a smaller version around 2012 that may work for you.:D H

City driving is nothing but P&G. When the light turns green, pulse efficiently, then coast to the next light. No brakes until you're below 20mph.

Set your ScanGauge to gallons per trip, and write that figure down twice a day. Try a few different routes. I bet you can find routes with less traffic, shorter red lights, or some other factor that will save you gas.

The Prius is the natural choice for city driving, but a first-gen Insight with a stick can compete. In the summer, I manage 60mpg in the city even without plugging in. It's lightweight, and as long as you drive such that you never have to brake, you won't mind its weak regen too much.

I concur on the Insight… but you have to be on the very top of your game to keep up with a good Prius driver in snarly traffic. My commutes have always been through some harsh traffic and my last job had the worst… but I often got through it at well over 120mpg. That was 100% city driving and I managed my record distance and FE tank on that route (1hr 5min to drive 23mi :p)

No plug in for me, either…

The Prius is an excellent choice for city driving, though.

I have to concur on the city driving. My mileage always gets a nice bump at the end, even with the hill I have to climb.

The Prius really is an anti-car.

Is the commute the same length?

Get well acquainted with the timing of the lights. My best numbers come not from the highway, but an 11 mile commute with over 20 lights (each way). I aim for 35 MPH, but sometimes pulse to 45 or go 25 for a half mile in order to hit the next light on a green. The goal is never stopping. It's down to a routine that changes little.

My driving is almost 100% city, and my mpg is always worse when I hit the highway. I treat my acceleration through the gears as one big pulse: get to target speed as quickly as possible (within reasonable LOD) and the glide it out.

I've noticed that some stretches of roads in san antonio, unlike in austin, actually have synchronized lights. That means if I just go and stay at the 45mph speed limit I hit all green lights. I started out trying to P&G on these roads but kept hitting nearly every light.

Otherwise there's not much to do with city driving. Try and do P&G, and FAS at the stop-lights.

Im getting better with timing lights, but unlike most places, a lot of lights in Kitchener are just on timers so I could be driving at midnight with no cars anywhere and the stupid like ill turn red and stop me for no reason at all, so very frustrating!!!!

I would LOVE to buy a 1st gen Insight, and there are a couple here, but in the next year ill probably have at least on kid so I do need a back seat. My wife doesn't drive either so I cant even use it as a second car. I think Ill be looking into a prius not sure if ill get a used gen2 or gen3 yet.

Is the commute the same length?

No its shorter. I went from a 130km round trip to a 40km round trip, but most is in the city with just abit on the highway.

Then you're ahead. You'll still be using way less gas.