Moving right along with the subject topic of hypermiling, let's talk about things that rob us of the small amount of energy we have...
Aerodynamics
Not much we can do here as it is designed-in. Mitsubishi tells us the Cd is 0.35 and they had not optimized this by, e.g., putting in a full-length underbody pan or wheel skirts or aerodynamic side mirror housings nor even building in a spoiler to keep the rear of the vehicle clean (see 1960s Saab station wagon). About all we can do is NOT put on a roofrack or bicycle rack ... I've been told that keeping the car clean and waxed does help.
Rolling Resistance
Again, this is designed-into the vehicle, with rolling friction hopefully minimized with appropriate bearings and zero-drag brakes and efficient low-friction motor and drivetrain. About all we can do is pump up the low-rolling-resistance tires, noting that the factory recommends 36psi and the maximum load noted on the sidewall is at 51psi. Even though I run higher, far be it for me to recommend anything other than what the manufacturer specifies.
Weight
Simple: keep it light and empty. DO NOT CARRY ANYTHING SUPERFLUOUS in the car. Trailer hitch falls into this category. Go on a diet yourself. Drive by yourself and want to be extreme? - take out the passenger seat, and you'll have more cargo room as well if you need it. What the heck, take out all the other seats as well.
Regeneration and Brakes
We already talked about this, but I feel I need to repeat it: use regen ONLY if you need to slow down; otherwise, regeneration sucks valuable kinetic energy from the vehicle. Applying the brakes is even worse: as an experiment, you might practice driving as though you had no brakes and simply apply them when you're down to 5mph.
Other Energy Consumers
HVAC - the onboard heater is a terrible waste of battery power, but if all you do is short trips and don't need to hypermile, then by all means stay comfortable. The seat heater is an excellent low-power alternative. I don't know how much energy the air conditioner consumes, so I don't know how much of a hit the battery pack takes with it, but it can't be good. Where I live I'm lucky and can get by with simply opening the windows (even though that is not good from an aerodynamic standpoint).
Lights - I haven't quantified how much the driving lights, headlights, etc. consume, but those are necessities anyway. About all I intend to do is remove the fuse from my driving light circuit once summer comes (unless someone can point out to me that they're legally needed). My car has the foglamp switch which doesn't work on the driving lights... or else I'm confused.
Radio and accessories - the one or two amps at 12V is probably negligible in the overall scheme of power consumers, so I wouldn't worry about it.
In the next installment I'll talk about what I believe to be the biggest range-limiting hit the iMiEV takes: aerodynamics - and what we can do about it safely while driving. Future topics will include acceleration/deceleration, cornering, dealing with hills, dealing with traffic, and simply examples of real-life driving situations.
Surely the pressure would be properly set from your dealer, eh? Well, I neglected to check up on their prep, and sure enough, the tires were set to a cushy 32 psi when Mitsu recommends 36 psi. Since I had a challenging 50 mile uphill highway run planned with a newby passenger yesterday, I went ahead and raised 'em to 50 psi to forestall her "range anxiety". What a difference! Feels like forever for coast-down, without a noticeable increase in noise or roughening of the ride on concrete highway. On fresh asphalt? Better than rails.