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I've had mine for a couple of years now. It has been unmodified except for a couple of things. I used a full lower grill block in cool/cold months and I use a block heater as often as I can, especially in the VA winters - makes a huge difference on relatively short trips.
I have gotten some great driving advice from Sean(aka Right Lane Cruiser) over on CleanMPG. I think driving skills make a huge difference with this car, and the skills are definitely different than any other car. Sean has emphasized low engine speed(i.e. short shifts), staying out of assist as much as possible(assist being an inefficient process) and spending as much time as possible in lean burn, as you identified.
I went to hybrid fest in Madison a couple of months ago and got 103+ MPG from Madison to Wheeling, where the eastern mountains set in. No grill block and no mods - just driving skills taught by Sean. I ran very high tire pressures, to which the car is very responsive. I will admit that my average speed was probably less than than 50mph. I have found that an occasional 3 blips of the flashers when a truck is catching up pretty much takes care of the faster traffic.
I found your test results very interesting and want to do some of these things myself. As I said the grill block has helped me a lot also. I'm retired and should have the time to make modes, but I seem to have so many irons in the fire I just can't get around to doing much, so thanks for the results.
For those who ask about visibility with mirror removal, I must say that I found from experimentation that it is terrible. The car is normally rather poor on that score and taking mirrors off is something I haven't been able to sort out so far. The folding Metro mirror is interesting and might be the key for me too.
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