By David Sherpardson, Detroit News, July 7, 2007
WASHINGTON — Facing $3-a-gallon gasoline prices in California last year, John True decided to stop driving his Mercedes-Benz E320 and bought a Honda Civic Hybrid.
Impressed by the gas-electric hybrid’s advertised mileage — 49 miles per gallon in the city, 51 mpg highway — True plunked down $28,470, at least $7,000 more than for a comparable non-hybrid Civic EX.
After 6,000 miles of driving, True said he averaged just 32 mpg in mixed city/highway driving. So in March the Ontario, Calif., professional jazz piano player filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Riverside, Calif., in what appears to be the first legal challenge to the mileage claims of hybrid vehicles.
True’s frustration with the actual mileage of his hybrid vs. the advertised mileage echoes that of other owners — many of whom voice their complaints on online message boards — and reflects the findings of some independent tests, including one by Consumer Reports.
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