COLUMBUS — A group of Ohio State University students says it has found a way to get 28 miles per gallon of gas out of a sport-utility vehicle at highway speeds.

        The secret involves replacing the traditional gasoline engine on a Chevrolet Suburban, which normally gets 18 miles to the gallon, with a hybrid diesel-electric powertrain.

        This improvement came with no loss of power, acceleration or passenger comfort — and despite an overall vehicle weight gain of 700 pounds.

        The students' enthusiasm for the hybrid is reflected in the nick name they gave the test vehicle — the Buckeyebrid.

        “I think the hybrid-electric vehicle technology is solid for the next 10 to 15 years,” said Yann Guezennec, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the university. “I think we'll all be driving vehicles of this sort, whether it's an SUV or something else.”

        The hybrid was Ohio State's entry in the FutureTruck program, a competition among 15 engineering schools nationwide sponsored by General Motors and Ford.

        Despite the improvement in mileage, the engineers weren't able to reach the FutureTruck program's goal of doubling fuel economy.

        About 20 student engineers have participated each year in the program, which operates on a $20,000-a-year budget with about $250,000 worth of contributed parts.

        Mr. Guezennec said more basic changes must be made in SUVs to further improve gas mileage. One such change would be a body made of a lighter metal, such as aluminum. In addition, streamlining would be necessary to reduce wind resistance.

        “But otherwise, with a vehicle of that size, I don't think we can get 40 (miles per gallon),” he said.

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