Hyundai Sonata Real World MPG

craigbrooks

Shark,
I use Motorcraft Semi-Syn AND a factory filter. I do mine avery 3K. You should be fine at 5K. It's all a matter of warranty requirements. How far do you want to push the issue? My oil changes cost me $13.50 and allow me to crawl around under my car. I don't mind it every 4-5 months. Except when it's -20 degrees F.

caaz

Personally it depends on your driving habits. I switched to synthetic on my 03 camry, and i change it every 10,000 miles. However, i drive from So Calif to phx and back EVERY week. Hence pure freeway driving, and when i change my oil it is quite clean. If you do alot more city driving, i would change it about every 5,000 mi.we change my wifes Sienna every 7,500 as prescribed, even though she does alot of city driving, and its crystal clear when we change the oil. The filters will go the distance, i dont believe the mechanic who told you every 3500 mi. If the oil is pretty clean, then the filter still had plenty of life in it. It also depends if you're in a new area of housing or freeway construction, hence much dirtier air and might need to change it sooner. But i never change it personally before 7500 mi. Hope this info helps

later
Caaz

rick2456

There was a time when semi truck drivers were very courteous drivers. These days however, anybody can drive a semi and the roads show it. There are as many left lane morons driving semis as there are other vehicles. My motto is "support road rage, one less left lane moron is a plus for all of us".

Left lane moron- a driver who blocks the flow of traffic in the left lane (passing lane) due to driving the same speed as the cars in the right lane(s). They are inconsiderate, ignorant, and shooting them should be legal, as the traffic jams they frequently cause, leads to accidents that kill people.

sharksoup

Thanks to you & craig for the remarks. Think I'll use syn and change at 5,000 miles the first couple of times and see how it looks. Most of my driving (85%+) will be two lane highway, as I live in a very rural area, at about 55 to 60 mph, so won't putting undue strain on the engine. Because of the extreme winters we have here, with temps reaching as low as -35, think I'd feel more comfortable doing 5,000 than pushing for 7,500 mi between changes.

dudleyr

3,000 mile oil changes are a thing of the past. I use synthetic (mobil 1 0w-20) and go about 8,000 miles between changes.

caaz - how about more mpg reports for that Camry. (Camry mpg forum of course)

jim1299

As my '09 V6 Limited Sonata just passed 10K on the odometer, which should represent a 'well broken in' engine by any standards, I thought I'd update my previous mileage posts here. I continue to drive a 12 mile stretch of divided highway several times each week where, because of aggressive police patrolling and light traffic, it is no hardship to set the cruise control at 55mph and leave it alone. Had been averaging 37mpg under these conditions with the A/C running fairly hard (this is Washington DC in the summer, after all). Tried it with the AC off today-- and my sweaty discomfort was rewarded with an average reading of 42mpg for this 12 mile run! I believe the gently rolling hills may slope downward over the length of this road --which would artificially drive up the fuel economy numbers-- but doing the drive in the opposite (uphill) direction on the other leg of my commute still netted a 39.0 mpg figure! Averaging the two to cancel out terrain slope yields 40.5 mpg. Not bad for a 249 horsepower V6 engine!!!!

Am averaging 26-28mpg tank to tank (doesn't take much city driving to drag this stellar highway performance down!), but am ecstatic about the 'pure highway' mileage I'm getting on my commute. Even on the days when I don't drive that particular stretch of road, in preference to a route where I move with traffic at 65-75mph, I still net 33-35mpg over a 35 mile one way commute, depending on traffic density.

This performance is obtained despite using the ethanol-laden gas sold in the Washington DC area, which I've found brings net fuel efficiency down 10 percent or so. Can't wait to fill up in a more rural area this fall on a long interstate road trip to visit my kids at college to see what kind of mileage I can sustain over a full tank of gas. (The trick on these long road trips, though, is having the mental discipline to drive on cruise control at 55mph all day. Those are the conditions where an extra 5-10 mph gets you to your destination and out of the car an hour or more faster. Still, would like to try at least one 55mph day just to see how it works out.)

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll note that I have my Sonata's tire pressure set to 36 psi, vice the default 32. (One of my tires was at this level as delivered, and I opted to increase the others to this pressure as well.) I can tell that the ride is a bit stiffer over bumps (surprisingly so, given this modest pressure increase), but since 90% of my miles are on smooth highways, it seems like a decent trade-off in a world of $4 gas. Am also running synthetic oil (mix of 0W-20 and 5W-20 extended wear) and my favorite fuel cleaner/cylinder lube (Fuel Power 3000).

Jim

robert1955

Well, as I said in the title I now have 35,000 miles on my baby in only 11 months. I made the switch to a synthetic 0W-20 at about 9,000 miles and I am now getting around 28mpg, hand calculations, over a normal 3 day tank of gas. I drive 120 miles a day and average about 46mph over the 3 days in a mix of 4 lane highway with mixed heavy traffic and 22 traffic lights on the commute 1 way. On a good day if I catch the lights right and traffic is light I have seen 30+. I have not yet had a chance to make a full highway run but I feel 30+ will be easy to see on a pure highway trip. The 09's should, and do from what I have been reading here, do better.

kam327

I rented a 4-cylinder 2009 Sonata with about 12,000 miles yesterday. Over a 130-mile trip that included interstates, two-lane country roads, and city driving (probably worked out to about a 60/40 mix of highway/city driving) I averaged 24.2 mpg. I topped off the tank as soon as I picked up the car and again before I returned it so my manual calculation should be pretty accurate. I had a/c running the whole time.

deepwater33

I have a 2006 Sonata GLS V6 with 19,200 miles. I drive about 75% freeway, 25% city. Occasionally I'll reset the trip computer when filling up the tank. This summer, I've been seeing around 24 MPG overall.

On the freeway, running AC and keeping my speed between 70 and 80, I'll get 26 to 27 MPG. In city driving, I average about 17 to 18 MPG. If I'm easy on the throttle around town, I'll see 20 MPG. On the other hand, when I'm having fun blasting through 1st and 2nd gear I can dip down around 14 to 15 MPG.

Keep in mind, I live in Southern CA, and our terrain is very hilly / twisty in many parts. When I get on a flat stretch of freeway, I'll usually see the mileage increase by 1 or 2 MPG. Running on a flat stretch of freeway, with cruise set at 65 and no AC, I've seen up to 32 MPG. I don't cruise long stretches of Pacific Coast Highway very often, but I could imagine my car's mileage being up around 36 to 37 MPG cruising at 50 to 55 MPH along the coast.

I'm happy with my overall MPG, and IMHO the V6 Sonata models are a nice balance between power and economy.

yokey

Last month I piled my 3 kids and a trunk full of gear into my '06 with 60k miles and spend 8 days circumnavigating Lake Michigan. 2700 miles later the instrument showed 29.6 mpg for the entire trip, which matched my calculations pretty closely. I seldom exceeded 65 mph, and most of the drive was highway. The car was loaded down so much that when everything and everyone was out of the car it sat 3 inches higher.

Smooth, quiet and 29.6 mpg. Sure beats my old Range Rover (except for sex appeal *grin*).

earbuckle

4 cyl or V-6? Auto or manual trans?

Nice mileage in any case. What weight motor oil do you use?

aneesh

I recently did a road trip to VA...the mileage amazed me since I get terrible mileage in city driving (about 200 miles on a full tank)....but on the highway with cruise set at 70-75 mph the car gave about 440 miles and could still go about another 50 miles.

the trip was 1000 miles and used up 2 full tanks.

bryan66

i have no clue as to where you come off saying truckers are rude and thoughtless. you say you were cut off by a semi driver when you where 3/4 of the way pass well i hate to tell you this but you were in the drivers blind spot.as for drafting a semi truck that is just plain stupid and not to mention deadly for the tailgater,if that semi trailor blows a tire you could end up with a piece of rubber that can weigh over 200pds thru your windsheild.just so you and everyone else knows this little bit of info by the time you see them trailor brakes light up that truck has been alrerady slowing down for about 2 seconds. i am a trucker and i try to be as polite as i can but i also live by the saying what comes around goes around..so pls be patient

m6user

i have no clue as to where you come off saying truckers are rude and thoughtless.

Yeah I just love those piece of crap retreads you guys run till they fly off and litter the landscape and cause accidents. That's real polite. Then the stones flying out and breaking windshields when the law says to cover and you guys are too lazy to cover the load. That's real polite. Or pulling in front of a line faster moving traffic and taking 2 to 5 miles to pass another truck. That's real polite. I could go on and on but I think that is hint at where he's coming from.

He should have said SOME TRUCKERS to be more accurate and I realize that you guys get shafted by car drivers as well. But I think most of that is stupidity on the car drivers part----you guys seem to do it on purpose. That's the difference.

dave868

I just noticed that you are torn between the same two cars. I am on the fence between an Elantra SE w/leather or a Sonata Limited.

My problem is that the Elantra is 9/10th the size of the Sonata, costs about 4k less and gets better mileage (i think). However the Sonata seems like a much more substantial vehicle.

I was just wondering which direction you went. Or is anyone else had an opinion between the two.

bryan66

that is way i dont run recaps.but we could sit and agrue for the next 100yrs about truck and car drivers.but i think the bottom line is there are good and bad drivers and it dont matter what is being driven.

m6user

I agree and I apologize for blasting away. It's just that when you have a bad truck driver the damage can be so much worse.

targettuning

This is where I "come off". If you would have read my post completely or more carefully (some of it might have been in your blind spot I guess) you would have found that I noted the driver looked directly at our car because I was even with the cab window and only then proceeded to move left from the right lane into our lane running me and my wife off the road to the point only my right wheels were still on the pavement. I was driving in the grass and uneven median at 70+ mph. If you call that polite I'd hate to see rude. There was absolutely NO WAY I was in any blind spot nor was I lingering along side the truck. I never, but never, use an extended amount of time trying to pass a tractor trailer going only 1/2 mph faster than the truck is...nope its 8-10mph faster than the truck for me to generate as fast a pass as possible.. Further, I am not an idiot and therefore never have nor will I ever "draft" a trailer. I was only pointing out to another poster how unsafe that practice is.I stand by my statements that some (certainly not all) truckers play games with other passenger vehicles and sometimes these games go very badly...for the passenger vehicle. I still wonder about all the 3:00 AM single car accidents on the interstates, you know, where the car ends up crossing through the median and ends up being crushed by oncoming traffic in the opposing lanes of travel or rolls a couple of times or hits a bridge abutmet.. Fell asleep or the victim of some bored trucker, we'll never know for sure will we??

targettuning

Ahhhh, I am still on that fence with a few more choices added as well. We rented a Prius over Memorial day week-end and I was quite amazed at the mileage (51 mpg observed) of that car plus it isn't a slug either. The "new and improved Prius is coming out fairly soon as is a Touring edition of the Elantra. Hyundai still has a few more tricks with their gas engines too i.e. direct injection and a 5 or more speed transmission for the Elantra. Not to mention that Hyundai is planing to release a hybrid Sonata for the 2010 model year or sooner knowing Hyundai and their product release dates. Gas prices may have eased somewhat but you know how it goes....10 cents cheaper for a week or two and as soon as someone farts anywhere along the pipeline it goes up 25 cents so I'll always keep fuel prices as a prime concern regardless of where it might be at the moment because it will never be $2.00 per gallon again.

moocow1

Well I decided to do a couple basic tests and it's found I can hit 40+ mpg running 60-65 on freeway. Pretty awesome, although unrealistic. Specifically I hit 41.5 mpg by the end of the test. Now normally I'd expect to be around 36-37 mpg for highway as I drive faster than that most of the time. Sadly the city driving I do drags me down a lot, I believe I end up at like 21-22 mpg in city.

dudleyr

I would think 40+ highway is quite doable in a Sonata with a stick shift.
anybody have a stick Sonata that has tried a slower speed (65 mph) highway run.

On a two lane mountain rd I turned a corner and saw one trucker passing another - no attempt to tuck back in. I had to pull completely off the road (barely enough room still). Also had a trucker force me off the road at speed he was weaving through a crowded highway and I was not the only one - probably on something. Called the cops - hope they nailed him.

Car drivers behave badly too, but the consequences are not as great, and they are not professionals.

fushigi

"I would think 40+ highway is quite doable in a Sonata with a stick shift.
anybody have a stick Sonata that has tried a slower speed (65 mph) highway run. "

From fueleconomy.gov for MY2009:
Sonata 4MT: 21/32
Sonata 4AT: 22/32

They should be basically the same at highway speeds.

dudleyr

The EPA favors automatics. Sticks usually do much better in the real world.

m6user

I can't argue with that cause I don't know. Do you know that to be a fact? How do they "favor" autos? I've seen some pretty bad stick drivers.

dave868

Funny! 6 months ago I had decided on a Sonata. I then drove a Prius and put myself on a waiting list for one. Prius's are surprisingly roomy and the miliage is amazing. Last month I got the call from Toyota but passed. I had since ran the numbers and driving 12k miles/yr and $4.50/gal it would take over 10 years to get the money back in gas over an Elantra. Prius's just dont pay yet. I will probably get on the list for the next gen prius or maybe even the hybrid Sonata... I will give the hybrid Sonata a few years to work things out. I actually had hoped that Hyundai would release an entirely new model as a hybrid. Hybrid versions of existing cars seem half assed. Like the Altima Hybrid gives up half the trunk for batteries. The smaller looking prius is far roomier.

I think I have decided to go the the Sonata Limited 4cyl. Unless I get reliable info that the Elnatra gets significatnly better mileage than the Sonata. I need to move by mid October

moocow1

The difference in mileage between the elantra and sonata 4 cyl has always been small. It got smaller with the sonata improvements. You're comparing 22/32 to 25/33. You can definitely tell that the sonata gives a little back in the city(it's that lovely weight difference), so it's up to you if that matters. Personally I can get high 30's to even 40 on the highway and I bet elantras are similar.

targettuning

I think Hyundai still has some "improvements" they are considering for the Elantra. You might see a 5 speed automatic and direct injection in the near future. But considering the 2.0 liter Elantra engine is dated going back to at least 2000, and maybe 1999 ( which makes it ancient in the automotive world) maybe a whole new engine is in order one built for efficiency to start with. Hyundai had been considered pretty non-fuel efficient (engine for engine) as compared to say Honda or Toyota until the last refresh for the 09 Sonata and even the redesigned Elantra seems better than previous models. If you are comparing EPA numbers the Accent does not show significantly better numbers than the Elantra. If I am not mistaken the Elantra is slightly the better of the two.

backy

Hyundai has a family of new, aluminum I4 engines. It's odd they haven't used one in the Elantra yet--or Accent for that matter. :surprise:

moocow1

And you've just mentioned of the main reasons I dislike the current elantra.

moocow1

Should be doable for 40+ highway on both stick and auto. All you need is to stay in top gear, it's not like there's much complication in that

dave868

I just went down to my dealer. I am looking for a 4cyl Sonata Limited. He didn't have any, but should have some by next week. He then tried to steer me to the V6 and the deal he was offering was good.

While I was there, I test drove a 4cyl SE and found it kind of anemic. So the 6 is sounding better all the time

My question to you fine people what kind of MPG should I expect from the V6 compared to the 4? The EPA only shows a 3 MPG penalty for the V6. Is that realistic? Keep in mind, I drive mostly stop and go.

mumin

16.9 MPG stop & go, Sonata 2007 v6, Chicago

qs84

I avg. about 24-26 mpg (as low as 22 and high as 31) mixed driving in the midwest driving nice and easy with up to 5 passengers regularly in my 4 banger.

dave868

Wow!. I was upset with my 16.1 MPG in my Infiniti FX. I guess it's the anemic 4 banger for me.

fscot

Lowest I've seen is 24 mpg stop and go, highway average is 29 mpg. AC use is worth about 1 mpg.

2009 V6 Limited.

auld_dawg

Avg 21.3, mostly city stop and go.........

'08 Sonata GLS V6, now with 6300 miles.........

The one freeway run, from here {Kent, WA} to Portland Ore, was a bit over 32mpg, 65 to 75 mph.......

upstateny6

Going to Washington DC this weekend from Upstate NY (about 350 miles one way) Rt 81 & I95 most of the way. Plan on parking @ the hotel and walking the city, so driving should be about 700 miles highway I'll post the numbers when I get back. I'm hoping for at least 32 mpg. I will set my cc @ 68 mph - yea I'm a grandpa kinda driver

2009 Sonata GLS 2.4
Purchased new in May '08
currently 6,300 miles

upstateny6

after 970 miles of driving mostly highway I came up with 32.5 mpg. So the window sticker is correct on that rating from my experience

retsab

On a new car, less than 1200 miles, 300 plus miles on Interstate and country Highway at 55 and 70 on cc and I got 35 mph. Next day 125 miles on interstate and driving around city, I got 33 mph. Very impressive. In daily use around our smaller city and out to golf course (5 miles one way) I tend to get 24 - 25 mpg. As advertised. I had occasion to drive drive a similar GLS v6 loaner for 2 plus weeks and also got very good mpg on similar routes, I didn't check as closely but seem to remember getting 22 and 30+, around town and on the highway.

cosmo15

Could some 09 6 cyl auto owners post their average city gas mileage. Im curious to see what your averaging for just city driving.

dave868

I have only had the car for 2 fill ups. But I am getting between 21 and 23 mpg in my limited v6.

I do about a 30/70 city/hwy split

eagle2a

Hello everyone. It has been a long time since I have posted here. My 2006 Sonata GLS I-4 auto now has 10,000 miles on it and I thought I would make a brief report.

I am getting at least 20mpg in the city and can get 22 if not using AC. And have recorded as high as 37mpg on the highway(constant 60mph speed).

I hasten to add however it depends a lot on where the wind is blowing from and if I am running A/C on highway millage. The lowest I have recorded is 30mph. Average is about 32-33mpg on highway.

Wind and A/C use will give extract from 2 to 4 mpg penalty on my mpg. If I say my millage is 20 city and 30 highway I will never be proven a lair.

If I have any complaints regarding my Sonata it is the interior light switches. I have a sun roof and this puts my ceiling light switch to far to the rear to reach, and the lights switches over the center column are not lighted and I can not find the D** things when it is dark. Other than that, I am very happy with my 06 Sonata.

What are others doing with there light sw. at night?

ash71

I bought my Sonata back in June of this year and drove up to Wisconsin a couple of weeks later and averaged 38 mpg! I couldn't believe it so I checked two more times and got the same. AMAZING!

newowner10

You wrote"The EPA favors automatics. Sticks usually do much better in the real world."
I wonder if that is true. I would think if you really try to get the best possible mileage (shifting at 2000 rpm) you may get better mileage with the stick but I would say most people with sticks kind of wind the gears out more than needed. Who would want to shift back and forth at 25 miles per hour in traffic from second and third you would most likely keep in second gear then shift back and forth. In lower gears you can not coast so you need to keep your foot on the gas or the car starts to slow down quickly. I believe in the modern automatic with lock-up torque converters there is not much lose in the transmission. When cruising in my Sonata down the highway the car will need to downshift from 5th to 4th at time going up hills most people would just leave it in 4th in these areas. If anything my transmission goes into 5th about 10 mph to soon.

craigbrooks

I fumble for my overhead light switches at night too. I usually end up opening the sunroof.

hyundai6

Mpg on sonata is not great. I drove four different sonatas so far. They are getting better for sure in terms of quality every time I purchase them. Somehow I really love this Korean made car. Lots of people think they are just one cheap car but they are very good in quality. But I do know the new sonata will give me low mpg because all of my previous sonata gave me very poor mpg. It almost like a fact now that sonata can not be like honda or toyota in terms of mpg.

bhmr59

Wow! That's an old post you replied to. My Sonata now has a little under 24K miles.

2.7 miles to work (twice a day round trip) and other short haul driving. Depending on the temp I've been getting 18.7 to 19.5 mpg (the occassional highway cruise of 50 miles does increase the MPG quite nicely). During the cold months I meet a buddy for lunch once a week, 12 highway miles each way (15 miles total each way).

I take it to the dealer for an oil change between 3 & 4K miles, normaly closer to 3K. The dealer is only a couple bucks more than the "quick change places" but every 6th oil change is free. So, there is little, if any, difference in price. Plus they have all the service records on the computer if there is ever a problem.

If you're suffering from poor mpg, it must be the driving conditions you face, or you have a very heavy foot.

fannibal

Here is my mpg update at 10,000 miles:

I drive a daily 5 mile commute, with some highway miles on the weekends. I would say that I drive a 80/20 city/highway mix, and I usually get 22mpg combined.

I've gotten 30mpg highway, but when I drove 90% highway a few months ago for a daily commute, I got about 29mpg driving at around 75-80mph.

The few times that I reset my mpg meter at the beginning of a ~ 1 hour highway trip, I can usually get 34 mpg while driving at around 70mph.

zornundo

I just filled up my 2009 GLS I4 auto for the first time and I'm happy as can be. Calculated at 34.5mpg. About 90% highway, give or take. All the while following the recommended break-in in the manual. Didn't use the cruise at all. Following the part about letting the speed vary. Also didn't go over 60 mph, usually at 55 or so. I'm curious to see how this will change in future fill-ups. After the break-in, I'll go to my normal style, which is still driving only 60mph on the highway (much to the chagrin of other drivers!! to heck with them, just cuz the speed limit is 70 doesn't mean you have to go 70!!!!!) I'll also make extensive use of the cruise control. I also follow other maximizing methods, using a feather foot and coasting to lights and whatnot. I'll also make sure to post my stuff on fueleconomy.gov.

caaz

So whats up... are there No Hyundai enthusiasts, or does nobody check their gas milage anymore... i see its been 10 months since anybody posted anything...LOL