I’ve been trying some hypermiling driving techniques and seeing improvement in my mileage so far. It takes a lot more concentration than traditional driving, but it seems to work. My current goal is to break 300 miles on one tank, which I haven’t done in months. The essence of the driving technique is to coast as much as possible and apply the gas or brakes as little as possible. For example:

• As soon as you know you’ll have to stop ahead at a stopsign or light, take your foot off the gas and coast. Your tachometer might still show greater than idle RPMs, but the fuel flow will be idle fuel only.
• When approaching a hill, speed up gently at the bottom and coast up the hill.
• Coast downhill when possible.
• If you don’t have much traffic nearby, “pulse and glide”. Pick a target speed, accelerate gently to slightly over your target, and then coast until your speed drops a bit below your target. Make sure no one is behind you because this is highly annoying to other drivers.
• When you accelerate, pay attention to how hard your engine is working by watching the tachometer, listening to your engine, and noticing how much torque you feel. If you’re pressed back in your seat and approaching redline on the tach, you’re having fun but wasting tons of gas. I try to keep my engine below 2500 rpm.
• Time your lights. Stopping and starting burns more fuel than maintaining a constant speed, and it’s annoying!

Good luck!