[MetroMPG]

The risk in describing the "punch it" approach as "the best way to accelerate" is people may hear: "it's always better to accelerate briskly", and apply that across all driving situations.

However I guarantee you that if you have to brake shortly after "punching it" (ie. in city driving), your fuel consumption will be much worse than someone who feathers up to speed.

The "punch it" approach only pays dividends when the cruising period that follows lasts long enough that your average MPG has time to recover from the high fuel consumption hit experienced during the "punch".