[RedDevil]

Originally Posted by IamIan

Inaccurately over simplified for my tastes ... but that might just be me , and my personal preferences.
...

Always nice to get a compliment.

If I fluctuate my speed downwards, topping that hill, wind resistance might even be lower rather than higher. Wind picks up at height. But even if it gets higher, that's probably preferable to the 50% or so you lose in the charge-to-discharge conversion.

When the speed variation is low, the amount you lose on the bit you go faster is hardly any bigger than the amount you gain while goiing slower. The relation between wind resistance and speed is quadratic; so it rises sharply by raising the speed but also drops almost as sharply by lowering it. It pretty much equals out.
The hybrid conversion does not equal out; that is about 50% loss for any amount you use.

It is impossible to attain perfection on such a complex matter as this in just a few sentences. But that does not mean that you cannot draw general conclusions.

Cobb's statement was more to the point than many like.
The "Hybrid is good, must use it always" rule simply does not work. The system is great to have when you need it, but you get better mileage and longer battery life by minimising its use when you don't.
And it shows; I just got my best ever FE on my 36 km commute: 3.4 l/100 km (69 mpg) as indicated by the MID; cold start, ambient 20 degrees Celsius, mild side wind, mainly doing 55 mph.