How do you drive in heavy traffic?

^ Good point.
The best way to drive in heavy traffic, light traffic, no traffic is to use the pedals as LITTLE as possible.
Forget about the battery!
Don't put the car in neutral.
If you drive like most people DON'T (leave a gap and do a little low/mid speed pulse and gliding) both the battery SOC and the MPG's will take care of themselves.
You may have to contend with the occasional low-octane-type trying to wedge themselves into the gap between you and the car in front of you, but I haven't found this to be a particular problem. If somebody really REALLY wants that space.....give it up and set up another buffer. It's a commute, not a race! They're only going to gain a quarter second on you at the most anyway.
I grew up driving a car with a clutch, and I still ride 2 motorcycles, so I don't really have to think about it.
If you have to think about it.....you're probably doing something wrong.

 

It looks like I started something with the forced glide (Neutral). I would like to clarify what I was saying a little. Some times in bumper to bumper highway type of traffic I will shift to neutral when I'm going say 3 mph and riding the breaks as I creep along. It's almost always in Situations when I'm using up some of that buffer space. I also always put it back into gear if I have to use the breaks. I could glide instead but it's really really hard at ultra low speed and I'm a American and get lazy lol. Sorry to creat so much confusion. I'll try to drunk post less and be more concise.

 

Revan, I don't think drunk posting was the issue... I think the total lack of understanding what neutral is, on the part of the OP, is where the confusion lie.

 

Well that's a relief because I was buffing about the drunk posting lol

 

Revan... LOL... gimme a couple of hours and I might join you there!

 

Usually in stop and go traffic, when a space opens up I'll press the pedal into the EV region (and if the battery is low, this will engage the engine to charge it a bit, so either way is fine), but I'll only accelerate for no less than half the distance between my position and where I expect to stop. Then I drop the pedal to "neutral-equivalent", and get ready to brake if more space doesn't open up.

If the space is quite a bit larger but I still am going to have to stop in traffic up ahead, I'll press the pedal past the EV region, again accelerating for no more than half the distance to the target, then glide.