Winter driving In a hybrid vehicle

Temperature is the key.

The fuel economy losses due to cold weather especially sub-freezing temperatures are not just limited to conventionally powered vehicles. Hybrid vehicle's with their downsized internal combustion engines are particularly vulnerable and more susceptible to significant energy losses.

That is why many owners of fuel efficient hybrids report terrible fuel economy achievements during the cold spells. They note anything from a gas engine not stopping any longer and electric only operation being nearly impossible for weeks and even months in some places.
However, does this mean that a conventionally powered vehicle would do better in similar circumstances? Certainly not. Even with the detriment of cold temperature operation a hybrid will always be more efficient in part because its small engines running on closed loop operation (the initial stage of warm-up for modern fuel injected vehicles) will still consume far less fuel than their conventional counterparts.

OK, so is there anything hybrid owners can do to soften the cold weather blow to their fuel economy and emissions?
Fortunately there is. Lets just cover some of the most important:

1. Keep the gas engine RPMS down especially during the warm-up stages. Yes, your accelerations will be slower than usual but if you watch your instantaneous fuel economy display you'll notice that it takes little pedal pressure to hit the depressing numbers. The strategy during these warm up stages is to let the higher engine RPM power the car forward with the least amount of throttle pressure. Yes, it is a little slow but full of goodness.
   
2. Avoid setting the climate control temperature to a high value. In fact, you should set it to its smallest value possible!! This will help the car warm up even faster. When it does, tyou be warming up too in no time. This is yet another case where less is more.
   
3. Block your front intake grille. There are many ways of achieving this but whatever means you choose, make sure that it is not just effective but also safe. A popular choice is to use foam pipe insulation typically found in the plumbing section at most hardware stores.
4. If your car has a block heater installed, use it. It will do wonders for your vehicles durability and fuel economy.
   
5. Check your tire pressures. When it is cold the tire pressures are reduced and that induces unnecessary drag as the vehicle moves. Bumping the tire pressures to their maximum rated pressure will help offset the fuel economy losses of winter.

After doing all this and perhaps a bit more, how much improvement can we see in our fuel economy?
Depending on how far you go, you could see very significant improvements. For instance, if you typically get, say 8 liters/100km during the coldest days in short drive commutes, with these techniques you'll see a 1 to 3 L/100km improvement. Not too bad at all if you consider what most other conventionally powered vehicles achieve under similar circumstances. ;)