[elhigh]

I was a lot boy for a Toyota dealership when the Mister Two was introduced to the States. It suddenly became THE car for errands. That little engine loved to sing, and the linkage to the transmission couldn't have been slicker if it was wired directly to the pleasure centers of your brain. The flingable chassis LOVES diving deep into the apex of every corner...

...but NONE of that is good for your fuel economy.

You're right. Motoring around in 5th at low revs will do a lot. The torque band is off in Never-Neverland from there but what the heck, you're in town. Simply backing off the gas and driving as if the brakes were broken will do you a lot of good. Build some kinetic energy and then hoard it jealously. Never give it up. Steal what you can from every downhill, bank it against every uphill, and watch as far in front of you on your route that you can, to determine whether the light will be green when you get there, red, or what.

Once you've learned to do that, start experimenting with new routes. Most people go to just a few places on a regular basis, but there's almost always more than one way to get there. You may be able to find a more efficient route. UPS, for example, discovered that even when the route isn't the most direct, they could save fuel by simply eliminating left turns wherever possible from their routes - so they did.

Keep us updated. I love MR2s and I'm glad to see one in the forums.