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Some reasons hybrid owners might not get as far above EPA as others:
The largest gains to be had are from EoC, which works by running a relatively large engine at high load a short amount of time and leaving it off between pulses, thereby running it at full load as much as possible. With a hybrid, the engine is downsized nearly to the point that it needs to be run at full load just to maintain cruising speed in top gear, and the electric motor provides accelerating and passing power.
Hybrids will have electric power steering and no alternator, which are equivalent to cutting the belts on a traditional car. Pulling the fuse on electric power steering nets very little gain, and electricity generation is much more efficient in a hybrid.
Hybrids employ regenerative braking, which discourages coasting in neutral with the engine off up to a light.
Hybrids shut their engines off when not needed, which also reaches for the same fruit as EoC and/or shutting the engine off at lights.
Hybrids often come from the factory with less low hanging fruit via aerodynamic improvements.
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