Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Hyundai Accent Real World MPG

2»

Comments

  • misternomisterno Member Posts: 11
    I don't know why I am getting 21mpg mine is automatic shift maybe that is why.
    Or maybe that little override button is always pressed on??

    What do you think?
  • fastrunnerfastrunner Member Posts: 38
    I really like the look of the Hyundai Accent Hatchback, and the price, and the warranty, etc. My biggest problem is the low mpg owners are getting.
    I currently own a 2007 Yaris Hatchback, and I am please with the mpg. I am considering another new car, but the Accent mpg should be better than it is.
  • clev_accentclev_accent Member Posts: 1
    The Accent is a great car and I have no idea why people are getting such low mileage. I've had mine (an automatic) for just about two weeks now and I have been getting a solid 30+ on my first two fill-ups.
  • kuripotkuripot Member Posts: 2
    I don't understand the poor mileage some Accent owners are getting either. Mine is a 3 door manual 2008. My first tank netted 33 mpg and the second got 34 mpg. Thats with about 70% highway driving around 65 mph. I expect even better results after break-in and synthetic lubricants.

    Kuripot
  • misternomisterno Member Posts: 11
    well I don't know why I am getting 21mpg in the city. Next thing I will do, is to change my fuel filter. Then I will post the results here.

    I think my car has a problem, this all happened after I used the tank all the way till it was empty last year. Then, it started to have startup problems so I used Gumout and the problem went away but low MPG stayed. I don't know the MPG before this incident.
  • wanteconwantecon Member Posts: 11
    I have a 2007 Accent. The Sticker which is based on the UNREALISTIC EPA criteria for the 2007 model year states 32 CITY and 35 HGWY.
    Until now, I have NEVER after 21,000 miles gotten anywhere near the EPA estimates. First of all let me state that I ACCURATELY check my MPG's by totally filling the tank and resetting the trip odometer to 0 then driving on the tank and then refilling to the top and then divide miles driven by gallons filled to the top.

    OK, here's what I have found works in my case to improve milage. I am not advocating it's use for anybody but myself, but I can tell you it works for me. My Accent is a 5speed manual tranny and I'm sure that most of you others that have the same model year with a manual gearbox can attest to the fact that 5th gear is geared WAY TOO LOW for the 65 mph speed limit on the highway. Sometimes it almost seems that it feels as if I am still in 3rd when on the highway, ...but I'm not. My wife suggested when going down hills in what would normally be 5th gear, to drift down the hill in NEUTRAL instead.....with the engine ON , of course. As a result of her suggestion, this tank got me the highest MPG ever posted since we owned the car. 37.61 MPG!!!

    My other car is a VW Passat TDI at 296,000 miles and I always get 45 + on that car which even with diesel being $1.00 + per gallon still is more economical than this little pod of a car and might I add a whole lot safer for my kids to be in the back seat as well. Man, I remember when I had my 92 GEO Metro and CONSISTENTLY GOT 45 + and now we try desperately to eek out over 30mpg. And car manufacturers brag about highway milage at 30!!?? WTF? :mad: :)
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Might want to be careful with that technique.. not only is it unsafe (since you lose control of the car with it in neutral), but at least in some states it's illegal to coast downhill in neutral.
  • radar1radar1 Member Posts: 25
    You didn't mention what year or trans you had in the Passat TDI, but the 98 manual trans was rated at 50 MPG Hwy, so at 45 MPG even that gets less than the EPA rating for you (if that's what you have). Although coasting will improve MPG slightly, I doubt if the coasting would actually add very much to your MPG. One of my cars has an instant MPG readout, and although that one gets about 27MPG overall, it will exceed 99MPG going downhill without coasting so the downhill sections do not hurt your MPG even if the revs remain the same, because you're not pushing the gas pedal down.

    John
  • wanteconwantecon Member Posts: 11
    I'm sorry, yes the 98 Passat TDI manual tranny was rated at 50 MPG, but I have a 1997 manual rated at 38 and 47. I get a combined 45 with AC. I use the SCANGUAGE II to calculate exact instant, current and tank milage as well as many other engine functions. Just having that guage has improved my fuel economy and I recommend it to everyone because it encourages good driving habits and is NOT the same as the OEM driving computers that come with many cars. Well worth the $159 pricetag. Additionally, I use the "pulse and glide" method to maximize economy. Pulse and glide is not possible on the 2007 manual ACCENT simply beacuse of the low 5th gear ratio.
    I will be going on trip to DC this weekend in the VW and will be getting 50 + on the HGWY using alternative fuel as I have done for the last 8 tanks which costs me about $.50/ gallon to make. I am not a shill for any company, so if anyboby is interested please look it up on the internet. Sorry about mentioning Scanguage by name.
    Regarding the coasting, like I said... It works for me and I do not suggest it for everyone. However, I must disagree with you in that you must not be familiar with the 2007 tranny. IT IS JUST SIMPLY GEARED TOO LOW! YOU MUST ACCELERATE DOWN A HILL ON THE INTERSTATE to keep it from slowing down. Coasting does improve speed DRAMATICALLY....PERIOD. Check out some others' post on this thread from those who have the 2007 with manual trannies. I have literally taken it out of gear and re-shifted into 5th thinking that I put it in 3rd by mistake. I understand the engine is not under load going down hills in gear, but the low 5th gear ratio simply acts as a brake which in turn causes the driver to HAVE TO accelerate to keep up to hghwy speeds, which in turn DRAMATICALLY decreases fuel efficiency because the engine must be PUSHED to go DOWN a hill. Once again, you MUST PUSH THE GAS PEDAL DOWN, unlike you posted. Yes, it is that bad because it is geared THAT low in 5th. I hope I'm making my point, it geared that low my friend.

    As for the safety issue, I'm not sure if I buy that either. If evasive action is needed the driver needs to shift into gear. Let me add this caveat to my previous statements... I do not recommend this coasting technique in and inclement weather such as rain, snow or sleet.

    As for legality, I guess if I'm ever driving with a policman in my car I won't use the technique either. LOL

    In summary , with kids and wife in the car I never got over 31 mpg with the tires inflated to 95% of maximum allowed pressure. Now, with this coasting method with wifey and kids in car for most trips, I got 37.61 on this tank.
  • misternomisterno Member Posts: 11
    Back to my MPG problem

    2002 Accent Auto Transmission, hatchback 1.6 Engine

    I think I need to have the following done; spark plugs, wires, air filter, fuel filter, cleaning the throttle, check the o2 sensor..

    Anythingelse I should do? 21mpg in city 33 mpg in hwy

    somebody on a different folder said he cleaned the carberator. This car does not have carberator does it?
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Fuel injection. So you might add injector cleaner to your list. Also be sure your car's tire pressures are at least at the Hyundai-recommended numbers, if not a few pounds higher.
  • litesong1litesong1 Member Posts: 39
    My January comments in this thread indicated that my wife was getting OK MPG from her hard commute to work. She is a careful driver tho, & I was hoping she might get better with her 2008 Accent. As the weather warmed, her MPG increased a bit but again, nothing outstanding.

    As a feather footer, I always got good MPG out of my cars. Finally, on 3 day trips over 1400, 3000, 4000, & 5500 mountain passes & to Mt. Rainier, the Accent performed spectacularly, giving 41.5, 42.6 & 45.1 MPG.

    Again, these were not flat highway MPG, but excellent mountain driving trips, starting near sea level.

    Agree with others tho, that the Accent has too low a gearing & should be driven slowly to get MPG well over 40MPG. However, the Toyota Yaris & Honda Fit manual gearing is best at lower speeds too.
  • kevperro2kevperro2 Member Posts: 13
    Looking over the user supplied MPG numbers for the Accent vs. the FIT. If you compare users and their driving habits, which is limited to breaking down the miles driven by city/hwy you can see that the average is higher for the FIT partially because the driving habits of those reporting data have more highway miles than city driving. There is also more data because there are more FIT owners reporting their fuel economy.

    I don't see a problem with Accent numbers. There are WAY too many variables that dictate what a user is getting to draw large sweeping conclusions from one user. From looking at the weight, engine and gearing it is pretty obvious that the two vehicles should be within a 1-3mpg difference of each other. The FIT has the advantage. If there are larger numbers than that, there is something wrong with the vehicle, or you are driving in unusual conditions that don't reflect the average user.

    If you consider that the street price of the FIT is $3000-$6000 higher, depending on configuration, that difference obviously doesn't favor the FIT in terms of cost of transportation. Even if you figure the lower side of the cost differential up-front ($3000) and the Maximum difference in terms of efficiency (3MPG @ $4.00/gal), at 15,000 miles per year you have a $163/year difference in gasoline paid per year (favoring the FIT) and a $696/year extra cost in the vehicle favoring the Accent. I figured the cost of money amortized over five years @ 6% interest. The payment would be $58 per month to pay for the extra cost of the FIT. The fuel savings if it gets 3MPG better than the Accent would only be $14.25 per month @ $4.00/gallon. The FIT cost an extra $44 per month due to the up-front premium cost of the vehicle.

    I think that is a fair comparison both in terms of the market cost of the vehicles (what you can actually buy them for), the cost of money considered on a conservative metric, and the cost of gas (best guess on this one). If you drive a LOT more than 15,000 miles a year the numbers get a little better for the FIT but not enough to overcome the up-front cost difference. If gasoline drops back below $4/gallon that will favor the Accent.

    If you plan to sell the car in a couple years, the resale value favors the Honda but when you consider the up-front cost, the better resale value is largely negated. I can buy the Accent for less than $10,000 out the door, sales tax and all related dealership cost. The cheapest I've been quoted on the Honda is $16,250 out the door. That is a $6250 difference in price that wouldn't be made-up even if the price of gas quadrupled to $16/gallon and if the Accent got 6MPG worse fuel economy. Even under those conditions, the Accent is cheaper.
  • wanteconwantecon Member Posts: 11
    I agree that logic dictates that the Accent is a better value. However, I don't see where you come up with the cost of $10,000 out the door, unless your talking abot a used vehicle. When I bought my 2007 in July 2006, it was 12,780 and that price was not negotiable at all by the dealer, although they did give me a fair trade on my vehicle I was trading and there was a rebate of 1,000 I think. Even if you factor in all the college grad rebates, etc. ,etc., which most everybody won't qualify for, a new Accent still isn't gonna be $10,000 out the door even with the base model w/o air when all is said and done.

    On a seperate note, while my Accent was a very nice and reliable car without any problems, I just sold it on eBay and went backwards to a 2003 VW Jetta TDI Diesel because I am making my own alternative fuel for both it and my Passat at $0.46/ gallon and getting 45- 50 mpg. Sorry, I'm not bragging but doing the math, it didn't make sense to keep the Accent even with the 100,000 mile warranty, which BTW become 60,000 miles for subsequent owners despite what some sellers on eBay will tell you. All in all, if you don't have access to used french fry oil, an Accent is fine car to drive. Just don't believe the EPA estimate sticker unless you plan to drift down hills in neutral like I did on the interstate ( in clear weather only), in which case you can EXCEED the EPA highway estimates by 2 - 3 mpg's. Bye ,. bye.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    FWIW, Accent is available for under $10k OTD at dealers such as Towne Hyundai. Their latest advertised price is $6,899 for a GS with automatic and A/C, or they offer Internet pricing on any Accent of $1600 under invoice before rebates.
  • wanteconwantecon Member Posts: 11
    I don't think so. There's got to be a catch somewhere in the fine print. Such as, " includes $xxxx.00 cash, trade equity" or " includes all applicable rebates and incentives" , which unless you are freshly out of college and graduated in the past 6 mos., you don't qualify for the college grad rebate. Besides, there's a big difference between $1,600 below invoice before rebates and $6,899. It doesn't make sense and unless you are a rube, you can't possibly think that in 2008 you are going to be out the door in ANYTHING new for $6,899. Not even a Yugo, if god forbid, they were still available.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Adding in the college grad rebate would still put the OTD price under $10k.

    Maybe it's what they call in the trade a "loss leader"?

    Anyway, it's clear that even if the $6,899 offer has special conditions, the Internet pricing is available to anyone who asks for it. Example:

    GS invoice: $11,160
    Less $1,600 = $9,560
    Less rebate ($1000 in NJ; it's $1500 in some other states): $8,560

    More than enough room to get OTD for under $10k.
  • wanteconwantecon Member Posts: 11
    That's funny. I never heard of a loss leader in the new car business. Loss leaders are meant to pull you in to buy something else in ADDITION to the loss leader item. For example, the supermarket offers bananas at .10/ pound, knowing that while you're in their store you'll buy milk, bread, condoms, etc. at the not so loss leader like price. Thus stated, it isn't like you're gonna walk in to buy the loss leader Accent and walk out with an Azerra or Genesis also. LOL Look, a new Accent isn't going to sell that cheap. If it was, then used 2007's would not be going for 9000 plus on eBay with the 100k mile warranty dropping to 60k for the 2nd owner. I just sold my 2007 GS with power package and 21,500 miles for $9,400 and that still was a good deal for the buyer because it was a good $800 below private party book value KBB, NADA. Hyundai is not hurting like GM and Ford, believe me. They don't need a loss leader when this vehicle is in demand. Read the fine print, I'm telling you that you are NOT OTD for under 10k on a new Accent. P-E-R-I-O-D. Or better yet, go to the dealer and report back here when reality sets in.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    A loss leader can also be used to pull someone in to buy a different product than he/she was thinking of. As in, "Oh, sorry, just sold the last of those $6988 Accents. How about a nice GLS for $12,000, or SE for $13k?" Or maybe an Elantra. Who knows, I'm not the Hyundai sales rep.

    You can dispute hard facts all you want. The point is, you are wrong (as in, W-R-O-N-G). It is very possible to buy a new Accent for under $10k. Go to the Towne Hyundai web site, look at their Internet pricing on the Accent, published for all to see, look up the invoice price on the Accent GS (here at Edmunds.com for example), and you can verify this fact for yourself. Reality has set in. You simply refuse to acknowledge it.

    You also may not be aware that used fuel-efficient cars are often selling for more than new models now. I think that's very odd, but I've confirmed it via multiple reports here as well as by checking pricing in my own town. For example, dealers in my area are routinely charging more than current MSRP for used Civics. And I see that even used 2008 Sonata GLSes with 20k miles or more are selling for what I could get a new 2009 (a better car at that) for at dealers like Towne. Go figure. So in today's world, getting $9400 for your Accent isn't all that exceptional, and in fact you said that yourself in that you sold it for well under KBB value. Why, I don't know. Maybe you've heard: gas is $4 a gallon, and small cars are in immense demand. Maybe you should have asked over KBB for your Accent?

    Next topic?
  • wanteconwantecon Member Posts: 11
    Try to calm down and stay civil, my friend. My car was sold on eBay, on an auction. I believe you are confusing "loss leader" with "bait and switch" which you just described. They are two seperate things. Perhaps you should run to Towne Hyundai and drop down your $6899 or whatever paltry sum you mentioned and hope that you don't get "bait and switched" or as you call it, "loss leadered" into a Sonata. Being that I sold my Accent, I no longer have a need to discuss anything on this forum, which has devolved from "real world mileage" to this. Good luck to you and, "let the buyer beware".
  • lightfootfllightfootfl Member Posts: 442
    re 67
    Sorry my friend, but in Pensacola, FL they are selling for well under the 10K figure, and even the Elantra is under 10K, so you haven't been doing your homework in shopping around. Along the FL panhandle and into Mobile AL they are doing a booming business selling them under the 10K prices.
    van
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Hello, I wasn't the one who took a little "fwiw" comment about the fact that Accents can be had for under $10k and blew it up into a huge deal, with the capital letters with hyphens. You took it there, my friend. Maybe next time you want to challenge a point of fact posted by someone, do a little research first before making a big, personal deal out of it.
  • kuripotkuripot Member Posts: 2
    UPDATE, Here are the mileage results since day 1. 80/20 highway/city

    07/23/2008 37.12
    07/19/2008 40.47
    07/16/2008 36.72
    07/12/2008 35.15
    07/10/2008 35.62
    07/03/2008 40.70
    06/28/2008 39.23
    06/24/2008 36.34
    06/21/2008 40.11
    06/17/2008 36.25
    06/14/2008 34.26
    06/10/2008 35.69
    06/05/2008 34.26
    05/30/2008 34.96
    05/26/2008 34.06
    05/19/2008 38.00
    05/13/2008 34.06
    05/08/2008 33.33
  • kevperro2kevperro2 Member Posts: 13
    I'm in Washington and don't have any plans to fly to NJ or Florida to buy a car. ;-)

    I have hard numbers. I could walk down to the dealer and buy a new 2008 base model Accent, without the A/C & the radio, for a hair under $10,000 even after paying WA State sales tax and all the dealer fees. So could anyone else for that matter, they have about eight of them in stock. The advertised price is $8995 but after you pay the little dealer nits & picks plus sales tax the final bill (the only one I care about) is $10,000.

    This is in the Seattle area with the current $1500 Hyundai incentive. If I could buy one for $7000 I'd buy it just to have a spare car. :-)

    Those milage numbers look really good. Once again, that really reinforces that Hyundai has the least expensive thing to operate on the road..... bar none.
  • kevperro2kevperro2 Member Posts: 13
    I have the 5-speed manual and on my first two tanks I've gotten 36MPG on both. The first was mostly highway miles with little city driving. I'd say 90% Hwy, 10% city. The second was probably 80% city & 20% Hwy. The second tank was with 10% ethanol.

    I've driven pretty normal, nothing too speedy and not too slow. Just my normal driving style. The tires have the dealer 30 PSI and I plan to max them out up around 42 PSI. After break-in I'm going to run a high fuel efficiency Mobile 1 synthetic and see what impact that has on fuel economy. The Accent only holds 3.5 Qts of oil so a synthetic change is only an extra $6 per oil change compared to using the generic Walmart oil I'm also thinking of indexing the plugs to see if that provides any additional economy.

    I doubt anything but changing my driving habits will have much over 1-2 MPG difference. I'm very happy with 36 MPG though and it seems to do great in my city driving (most of my long term driving will be city). If I can average anything over 35 MPG that will be 5 MPG better than I anticipated based upon the sticker EPA rating.
  • kevperro2kevperro2 Member Posts: 13
    I went on a 500 mile trip yesterday down to Portland. It was mostly driving on I-5 with A/C, one passenger and 70mph the entire way. I managed 37.4 MPG for the trip. I filled the tires to 42PSI before the trip.

    I'm pretty consistent. All three tanks so far have been 36-37 MPG with my 5-speed Accent. That is a good 6-7 MPG better than EPA estimates and I've driven in my normal manner, not slow and not fast and no hyper-mile techniques. The vehicle has just over 1000 miles on it now so it should be past any potential break-in.

    One other note, I drove for about 30 miles past when the fuel light came on. I filled the tank and it only took 9.9 gallons so there is a pretty good buffer once that light comes on.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Actually I've found Hyundai engines tend to keep improving in FE as they add miles. For example, I owned a 2001 Elantra for 5.5 years and the FE seemed to keep getting better, with pretty significant gains to about 16k miles then slight improvements into 40k miles+. So your Accent may still get better with the gas!
  • kevperro2kevperro2 Member Posts: 13
    Hey... that would be good news. I'm pretty happy with what I'm getting now so I don't want to get greedy.
  • zornundozornundo Member Posts: 21
    I saw this forum and thought I would add my data. I drive a 2006 Accent 4-speed auto. I put quite a bit of miles on my vehicle for work, sometimes up to 2,000 a month for work. I have kept track of all my fill-ups except the first one. I really like using fueleconomy.gov's site for that purpose.

    My lifetime average is right at 36.1 mpg. I have over 71k miles on the car. The vast majority of that is highway. But I like to keep it slow, going 60mph for the most part on the interstate. I also try to accelerate gently and ease up to red lights. I had an aftermarket cruise control installed but didn't see a difference in mileage. My main reason for the cruise was all the highway driving and I was so tired of keeping a steady speed with my foot. The highest full tank mpg I recorded was 42.7 and the lowest was 28.4. With over two years' of data, there is a definite effect from the hot weather of summer, even using the AC against winter temps.
  • kevperro2kevperro2 Member Posts: 13
    Ok... I've had my car for 3 months and about 2400 miles. I've kept track of every single drop of fuel put in the car with a log on the fueleconomy.gov site. Most of my driving is in-town. I don't even live near an Interstate and our house is 1100 ft above sea level. I drive down to sea level every day for work so my driving is in town and mountain driving in shot trips, the worst possible situation for efficiency.

    To date, I'm averaging 35.5 MPG overall. My break-down is 70% city, 30% HWY overall. My lone highway trip was a 3-4 hour trip to Portland down I-5 with 70mpg & A/C blowing. I averaged 37 MPG on that trip. Most of my 100% city tanks come in at 35-36 MPG.

    My worst tank was 31.2 MPG and my best tank has been 37.3 MPG. Not too shabby.
  • kevperro2kevperro2 Member Posts: 13
    Update: I now have 3500 miles on her. With winter driving and fuel my new "worst tank" is 29 mpg and my overall average since day 1 has dropped to about 34.6 mpg. Still well above my expectations for the car.

    Most of my driving is short trips with very little highway use above 50mph.
  • arturo7709arturo7709 Member Posts: 1
    my hyundai accent 2002 spends too fast the gasoline, last weekend i fill tank with 2 or 2.5 gal, but i just stayed in the city it last just one day, a week ago the workshop changed the oxygen sensor but it seems the consumtion is still fast,

    any ideas what can i do to stop fast gas spend?
  • notfunnynotfunny Member Posts: 1
    I got a 2009 SE and for such a little car even with a auto trans. I should be getting better then 30 mpg but thats the best i have gotten and have tried every thing !!!! . 35 mpg is what it said on the sticker !!!!!!!, but after 12000 miles even going 50 mph on the hwy. the best i gotten is 30mpg and my norm is 28 mpg. If you are thinking about getting one count on around 30 mpg .
    thanks a lot Hyundai :lemon:
  • ilikepieilikepie Member Posts: 1
    I've been getting 33 mpg city for quite a while. Some of that is regular driving, some of that is speeding, some is highway, some is suburban roads. Every time I do the math, it's 33-34 mpg. I went on a weekend trip (mostly highway) once and got 40 mpg.

    It's a great car. Don't know why it's never given it's mention in fuel efficient articles/reports. The cars that are mentioned do get better mileage (some not THAT much better), but they cost 3 times as much. My little Accent was $9300 new after taxes, tags, and registration in 2001. Can't beat it!
  • majun1majun1 Member Posts: 1
    I recently made a trip from Dallas to Eunice, LA, the total mileage is 385 miles and I only used up 8.75 gallon. During the whole trip, whenever I had the air condition on[about 3 hours] I kept my speed limit around 55mph, without the air condition on I drove 65 mph. Of course, I almost killed by several cars trying to pass me. Finally I reached my record of 44 mpg on a 2007 Hyndai Accent, 2 seater. I am happy with it.
  • litesong1litesong1 Member Posts: 39
    Agree with you. With careful driving, the Accent will get well past 40 MPG. Going up to 5500 foot Chinook Pass, east of Mt. Rainier & back to sea level, I nailed down 42 MPG in a 2008 manual hatch. Next day, while traveling over 3000 & 4000 foot mountain passes & into a 101 degree day in Eastern Washington, the Accent got 41.8MPG. On the third day, the Accent got 45.1 mpg while ascending & dropping from a 1400 foot pass. :D
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    A reporter would like to speak to Hyundai and Kia owners who agree or disagree with the latest controversy over MPG. If you own a Hyundai or a Kia and would like to speak to a reporter about your experience with your car's fuel economy, please send your daytime and evening contact info to pr@edmunds.com no later than Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET.
  • easym1easym1 Member Posts: 218
    I just bought this car for my daughter over a week ago and she complained that the USB port does not work properly. I called the dealership to book a date to get it checked and was advised that I need to purchase a $40 connector to make it work as part of the design. I was truly surprised on this and did not expect it. I spoke to the salesperson that sold me the car and he seemed unaware of it. I'm truly dissapointed!
  • uptowndouguptowndoug Member Posts: 2
    I've had my 2012 Accent hatchback SE for 7500 miles now, and haven't posted more that 33 mpg yet, even in ECO mode, cruise control, 70 mph on straight, flat highway. I've been averaging about 31 on highway commutes under ideal conditions. I bought the car based on the advertised 40 mpg highway figure and boy am I feeling like I got fleeced.
  • radar1radar1 Member Posts: 25
    The highway portion of the EPA rating averages only 48.3 MPH, and never exceeds 60 MPH, so if you're hoping to see the highway rating at 70 MPH you probably won't see it. The faster you go the quicker your fuel gets consumed due to additional drag.
    If your fuel has ethanol in it, then it also hurts your mileage.
    http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml
  • dodgeman07dodgeman07 Member Posts: 574
    "The highway portion of the EPA rating averages only 48.3 MPH, and never exceeds 60 MPH, so if you're hoping to see the highway rating at 70 MPH you probably won't see it."

    I do easily. All the time in every car I've ever owned, I can easily hit the EPA Hwy number at 70mph.

    There is a high speed portion (to 80mph) in the EPA testing that have been added in to the formula since 2008. The EPA Hwy numbers are NOT based solely on the test you noted. Haven't been for 5 years now....
  • radar1radar1 Member Posts: 25
    You are correct, I missed that there is an additional high speed cycle used to adjust the highway cycle (likely downward). Although that test does hit 80 MPH, the average speed on that portion is still only 48.4, probably because it includes 4 stops and acceleration cycles, compared to 48.3 on the slower max speed highway cycle.
    I too easily exceed the highway rating on my 2005 Accent (37 vs 30), and my 2008 Subaru (28-30 vs 26). My 2004 Dodge Dakota at about 18-19 has a hard time meeting either the old rating (20) or the updated rating (19).
    For the 2012 Accent, I only see a 37 highway rating, not a 40 as mentioned in a previous article. Was that a change at some point?
  • dodgeman07dodgeman07 Member Posts: 574
    edited December 2012
    Yes, it was revised down on 11/02/2012 after EPA testing. The 40 mpg Hwy rating was lowered to 37 mpg at that time.

    The 37 mpg figure should be achievable by most drivers on the highway at normal highway speeds of 65 to 70 mph. Not uphill, not driving into a 40 mph headwind, and not at 75 or 80 mph.

    Drivers should not be observing 28, 29, 30 mpg Hwy. It defies logic in small, light cars turning relatively low rpms. These cars (mainly Elantra and Accent) don't require that much energy to maintain a constant 65 mph. When owners report under 30 mpg Hwy, I scratch my head because it doesn't make sense. Now if they are averaging 30 mpg in mixed driving? That makes sense. ;)
  • saturn75saturn75 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2012 accent with digital mpg read out when i fill up it resets and according to that im getting just over 40 mpg most of the time but im conservative driver too.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles