Hyundai Sonata Real World MPG

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  • bhmr59bhmr59 Member Posts: 1,602
    From the drive to work you describe, your average speed is probably a lot lower than 40 to 45. Check your trip computer to see what it says.
  • zakiszakis Member Posts: 7
    I recently drove my 2006 Sonata I4 950 miles from Atlanta to Connecticut with one passenger and a trunk full of luggage. We had stretches of highway where the speed limit was 70 mph and the traffic was running around 75-80 mph but most of the time I kept it around 70. We also hit a half hour of bumper to bumper traffic near Richmond due to an accident on I95. I was really surprised to see that at the end of the trip the mileage was 33.0 mpg. The car had 5,000 miles on it at the start. The mileage does seem to be getting better as it breaks in. It burned zero oil and gave us a very quiet, smooth and comfortable ride. The Sonata is really a great car for the money.
  • delaluzdelaluz Member Posts: 48
    Here's a little background:
    1) I owned a 2002 Elantra auto 5 door hatchback for four years (50,000 miles). I measured the mileage on close to one hundred tank fulls (I checked it at least 4 out of 5 times I filled it). I averaged around 27-28 MPG on my normal go to work 5 days a week, use the car on the weekend driving.
    2) A year ago I totaled it in a rear end collision & bought a 2006 Elantra 5 speed. I kept the car for 13,000 miles. I checked the mileage four out of every five tankfulls over the same route. I averaged 29-31 MPG.
    3) Two weeks ago I traded in the Elantra for a 2007 I4 Auto GLS Sonata. I checked the mileage on the first 2 tank fulls:

    tank 1: When I got the car from the dealer the gauge showed full. I got 29+ with the first tank which included the first 60 miles non stop on a freeway.

    tank 2: I averaged 27 mpg for 333 miles.

    Please note that for every mileage calculation I would divide the miles on the trip odometer (which I would reset after a fill up) by the amount of gallons in the fill up. Please note that I drove the same route these last 5 years.

    I'm amazed at this mileage!! Please note that if anything I felt I was driving at least as fast and possibly faster in the Sonata as the Elantra.
  • bhmr59bhmr59 Member Posts: 1,602
    From early November (11/4?) until 3/10/07 I drove a little under 2200 miles in my '05 Sonata, 2.7L v-6. Average MPG is 18.58. Most of that was on short trips, under 4 miles. Highway milage was maybe 10%. Can't complain about that milage, especially for a car rated by EPA at 19/27 in the winter. Car now has 13K miles on the odometer.

    Bank drive-in windows and stopping 3 or 4 minutes for road construction undoubtedly reduced MPG, but that's what average MPG is all about.
  • blnewtoblnewto Member Posts: 146
    Just posted 20K on our 06 GLS V6, we've avg'd 30 MPG Hwy/26 City. Our city is small so we don't spend much time in heavy traffic, but our Hwy mileage has been very impressive since I usually go 80-85mph on most our trips :)
  • jtedrickjtedrick Member Posts: 1
    I have an 06 Sonata (V6) that gets only 14.4 MPG.
    It is also very slow to start. I had the battery replaced as it had a bad cell in it.
    The car is still slow to start, as if it is cold.
    I live in Phoenix, AZ and the car is not cold! Could it be an electrical problem?
    I want to sell the car as my previous car was a Honda that got 28+MPG.
    Also the leather seats in AZ need covers and I am told I can not use any seat covers due to the airbags. Any advise?
    Any advise for me?

    Thanks!
    Joy
  • joe97joe97 Member Posts: 2,248
    Time to take your foot off that pedal ;)

    Kidding aside, something doesn't sound right. You should not be getting only 14.4 mpg, not even if 100% stop and go traffic. The Sonata NF real world mpg averages about low-to-mid 20s local and high 20s highway, with a mixed mpg generally in the mid-to-high 20s. One of my neighbors' has constantly achieved mid 20s in town and 30s highway for a combined high 20s mpg.
  • cxccxc Member Posts: 122
    Something is wrong.

    Here is MPG of my 2006 Sonata LX V6.

    33 mpg @ 65 mph; 29 mpg @ 75 mph when temperature around 60 - 80 F.

    Average 26 mpg for 30% local and 70% highway.
  • pekelopdpekelopd Member Posts: 139
    In Stop N Go city traffic (like where I am, NYC) you can and WILL get 14.4mpg or less! even in an I4 like mine. I don't drive much in Manhattan, but a lot of stop/go. Stop signs, traffic lights, turns.... A lot of local drive and most of the time I can only go about 1/5 mile before stopping. The car is heavy and you need some oomph to move all that weight. On the flip side, HWY only I have been able to achieve 33-34mpg.
  • pekelopdpekelopd Member Posts: 139
    u can get seat covers that are safe for the sideairbags, or so they are advertised as so. I've read it in these forums b4, check the "hyundai sonata 2006+" forums. I have cloth seats, but because of the light color (light grey), I got sheepskin seat covers that sits only on the parts that your body touch the seat. Meaning, the seat covers have a bottom seat pad connected to the back seat pad and is held to the seat with straps. ZERO interference with SAB.
  • bhmr59bhmr59 Member Posts: 1,602
    If you are in the Phoenix area and are on I-10 during commute hours you are going to get crummy MPG. When we flew in last year (on 3/16) it took us over 45 minutes to get from the airport to Baseline Road. That's normally a 10 minute or so drive as I recall.

    On 3/17 at about 2:30 PM we were heading back to Tempe from Chandler and there was a huge traffic jam on I-10 near Queens Creek Rd.

    The main local roads in the area we stayed were also very heavy traffic. Basleine, South Prince and other "main" local roads. Those stop lights every couple blocks in heavy traffic just suck the gas out of your tank.
  • ppcdc30ppcdc30 Member Posts: 18
    The problems I had was that even on warm, cold and heated garage days the transmission would shift 1st to 2nd fine. I would have to manually make the auto transmission shift into 3rd. I have also had it shift from 3rd to OD then back to 4th the OD. I talked to Hyundai the recommended changing the fluid with Hyundai specific ($6.00 a qt) transmission fluid with 5 fresh qts. You cannot change the filter without tearing the transmission apart. Even after all that it still shifted the same way. The car only had 66,000 miles on it.
  • duke16duke16 Member Posts: 36
    Check tires,use 5W 20 oil.I in Vegas and I get 21,6 average
    never on freeways.
  • wanna_azzywanna_azzy Member Posts: 41
    Has anyone tried one of the "modules" sold on Ebay that guarranties 15-30 HP AND 5-15 MPG increases? Has anyone seen any MPG increase? I have an '07 Limited (V6).
  • targettuningtargettuning Member Posts: 1,371
    I'm not sure exactly what one of these "modules" consists of or by what means the maker describes it should increase your HP by 15-30 or fuel economy by 5-15 MPG but it really doesn't matter. It is totally bogus. Save your money. If I remember Consumer Reports tested these gimmicks and all of the subject vehicles lost performance AND fuel economy. Take my word for it,with all the engineering in a modern vehicle and with everything controlled by more processing power than the Apollo moon shot computers had nothing you or I could add would make any improvement whatever.
  • craigbrookscraigbrooks Member Posts: 420
    I agree. I remember that report. If those thing did what they claim Hyundai would already have them installed and we would ALL be going faster with better gas mileage. :D
  • hotrod54hotrod54 Member Posts: 82
    Yes, you are quite right. Pat Goss (Motorweek tech guru and tech guru here locally on tv and radio)has tested them all and reports no gains of any sort and, in fact, some problems resulting from their use. He too has said that if these so called fuel mileage increasing products worked, you can bet the manufactuer's would already have them integrated into vehicles. :D
  • xebraxebra Member Posts: 9
    40% HWY, 60% includes lots of snarl traffic and use engine breaking while coming down the hill.
    This is during break-in period. Total mileage so far 400.
  • platedsonataplatedsonata Member Posts: 3
    100%city-14.9 MPG, 2007 V6,total mileage-2500.
  • rickb56rickb56 Member Posts: 14
    I didn't get better mileage with the synthetic oil. I am back to standard 5w/20 and now the car has 12000 miles on it. I was amazed to get 32 highway mpg on a recent highway only trip at 65 miles per hour. I am starting to be a believer that these cars get better mpg after appropriate breakin.
  • craigbrookscraigbrooks Member Posts: 420
    sometimes I envy you guys and gals who HAVE to drive 65. But then again 80-85 is kinda fun but the gas mileage goes to heck especially with the I4.
  • bobadbobad Member Posts: 1,587
    Rick, the wear and mileage claims for synthetic oils are mostly theoretical. Yes, they are true, but not to the extent that the average driver would notice or benefit. The best benefit is the longer oil change interval, but that's more than offset by the high price. Even if synthetic is effective for 10K miles, who would trust a filter beyond 6K miles?

    I can set my cruise to 65, clear the trip computer, and it sits on 31-32mpg forever. I think that's very good mileage for such a wide, tall, heavy vehicle. Other vehicles that get better mileage are sacrificing somewhere.
  • pekelopdpekelopd Member Posts: 139
    Yeah, late nights when I do get the chance to hit 85-90, the car is smooth as a whistle! Mileage might not be as good as it is when it's at 65, but certainly better than the stop and go traffic during the day!
  • whisper1whisper1 Member Posts: 50
    My V6 was stuck at 11 l/km for the pass 4 weeks. It didn’t make sense because I changed driving habit, with and without AC, windows rolled down; it was always 11.0. I reset it last night, it is working again, and my mixed 25km driving to work was 9.5 l/km, very happy with that number coming from a V6. Is mileage stuck a problem? Do I need to reset on every fill up?

    It has 3500km now. The only complain is click/pop noises on the dash when the AC is on, probably due to temperature change. I think the chassis could be a bit stronger.
  • mort4371mort4371 Member Posts: 27
    You don't need to reset on any set schedule, but until you reset it you will just see the mileage as an overall average since the last reset. If you want to see your overall, combined mileage, just let it roll. If you like to see tank by tank, just reset each time. Or each trip. However suits best.

    That's probably why it appeared 'stuck'. You just had a long-built average, which will not perceptibly change over a short-term observation under any reasonable driving conditions. If you had 1000km worth of average mileage built up, your next 5 or 10km of driving could be pedal to the metal or coasting with the engine shut off, and neither would change the average by more than 0.1 km/l, if even that.
  • falsafifalsafi Member Posts: 8
    Mine is V6 made in Korea. Still not pushed much according to its service manual. Our figures here are Liter/100km which needs some math to be converted into MPG, however, I get 13.5 lit/100km for a mixed cycle, 60% HWY, which is about 20.3 MPG. Too much!? I am not sure! If you check European Hyundai sites, e.g. Germany, they say City Cycle consumption is 14.8 lit/100km, which turns out to be 18.8MPG (perhaps different assumptions, standards, etc.) I am using A/C 50% of time, and there is not much of Traffic Jams on my way!

    I am looking to pass the 2,000km and first Oil change to have more realistic idea about this new car.
  • uwishu1uwishu1 Member Posts: 4
    I just returned from a trip from IL to FL 2500 miles roundtrip 80mph + with the A/C on best MPG was 26.
  • dadof6dadof6 Member Posts: 61
    '07 GLS I4 Auto 99% hiway @ 70mph avg. Best tank 35 mpg-went 580 miles before low fuel light came on. Worst was 29 mpg-75 mph w/20mph headwind. Averaged 33 mpg.
    Car is 10 months old & has 36,000 miles on it with nothing other than oil/filter changes (5w30) & tire rotations.
  • muminmumin Member Posts: 13
    100%city-16.9 MPG, 2007 V6, total mileage-4300
  • oinktrntoinktrnt Member Posts: 22
    When I first got my 06 GL w/5sp manual, it got consistently got 35.5 on the highway. After a while it declined to 34, then 32 finally 31.8. Took it into a dealer to see about this. They scanned it and everything checked out. The tech there said the car would adjust itself to your driving. I don't think I am that much of a leadfoot and use CC on the highway. Someone from Edmonds was on an NPR show about saving gas. He said their tests indicated that CC saved an average of 14%. I had been using Arco and the tech said to try more expensive brands of gas. I have tried this for about 5 months since, have improved some but have never come up to the initial mpg. During a recent road trip to Arizona, mileage has varied from a low of 23 (strictly urban driving in Sierra Vista), to 28 (75 mph speed limit on cheap gas), some 32s and 33s to a high of 36.4. The latter figure came from using Chevron, going 65mph on a two lane highway that scaled a couple of 6000 ft summits!
  • craigbrookscraigbrooks Member Posts: 420
    your 28 at 75 is in line with my I4 auto. I see those numbers when I drive around the state up and down mountains.

    I reset the computer once doing 65 in a construction zone and watched it climb to 36 so this again is in line.
  • jayessjayess Member Posts: 59
    Have a '07 GLS I4 auto with 12,300 miles, mostly city driving and it's hilly here in Western PA. Just made a tpk trip across the state, right to left, with AC on and mostly CC set to 72-73 mph, I got 31.4 mpg - I'm very satisfied. Typically get 21-23 in the city, up and down hills also very satisfied.
  • oinktrntoinktrnt Member Posts: 22
    Further info to my previous post about mileage on trip to and in AZ:

    San Francisco to San Bernadino on I-5 @65-70mph: 33.77
    San Bernadino to Palm Springs, then on to Sierra Vista via I-10 @70-75mph: 31.04
    Actual mileage tooling around on Sierra Vista urban streets: 24.16
    Driving extensively in Tucson on main thoroughfares, up some steep hills to a state park, down the freeway to Nogales (a mistake), 2 hours and 40 minutes idling to get back across the border, coming back to Tucson via Patagonia: 26.99
    Flagstaff to St. George Utah on 65mph two-lane highway with a couple of 6000 ft. summits: 36.41
    St. George to Las Vegas (generally 75mph), a little urban driving there, then to Bakersfield: 32.31
  • lightfootfllightfootfl Member Posts: 442
    For information to whomsoever may be interested.
    From 0 miles (actually 9) to date, I have traveled 8138miles which includes aprx 2000mi hghwy,(indicating 26.2mpg @ 70+mph) otherwise "suburban"miles. In FL, because of heat & humidity I keep the A/C on. My to date mileage for overall appears to be: 19.8 mpg, figured by actual math, not the computer. Considering the vehicle size, etc. (2006 Sonata LX) I guess this is acceptable, although I was really hoping for better. (I know, some people are never happy.) I seem to see the mileages getting ever so slightly better with every tank, that is why I decided to look at it from the beginning. :) Oh yes, I use Mobil 1 oil,since the 1st oil change and have had my servicing done by the dealer.
    van
  • rickb56rickb56 Member Posts: 14
    I put 2500 highway miles on recently and now have 16,500 total miles. Driving through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado I averaged between 26.3 and 27.7 mpg at speeds between 70 and 80. It did not seem to make much difference within that speed range though traveling under 65 makes a difference. I used the cheapest gas possible, usually 87 octane unleaded, sometimes with 10% ethanol, sometimes straight gas, not much difference in mileage, no difference in performance. In fact car ran great in mountains at 9000 ft altitude on 85 octane gas bought in Denver.

    I think the only way to get the advertised 30 mpg is driving at 60mph but Im not complaining about 27 at high speeds. Mileage aside, the car is terrific for trips, comfortable and easy to drive, very sure footed in panic stops or rainy roads.
  • craigbrookscraigbrooks Member Posts: 420
    Filled up my 06 I4 yesterday and with "my" city driving 23.8 mpg actual. The computer showed 24.7.

    BTW when we post mpg's it would be nice to know year and engine size.
  • kimweigelkimweigel Member Posts: 43
    It is possible to get 30 MPG with the V6. I just drove mine up the NJ Turnpike at a steady 67 mph with the air on for 60 or so miles, and got readings from 33.1 to 30.4 mpg.
    It is, however, very painful to drive this way. The engine feels like it is not in it's happy place, and everyone on the road is passing you. As smooth as the Hyundai is, it feels like you could walk faster. After a while of this, it is easy to enter a trance /dream state, where you can almost hear the insane asylum happy music from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" playing in your head.
    Basically, as much fun as eating soup with a fork. On the other hand, driving like everyone else at 75 to 80 mph still nets me 27.5 to 28.5 mpg. Driving 65 and getting 30 mpg is possible, but it is too painful, and just not worth it.
  • schandaischandai Member Posts: 10
    Driving 65 and getting 30 mpg is possible, but it is too painful, and just not worth it.

    Fuel economy is one issue, safety is another. Speed kills. Many studies have found correlation of high speed to increased fatalities.

    For example, I know one study that compared states with speed limits above 65mph to states with 55mph in the early 90s. They found that the odds of deaths in crashes increased from 30% to 100% involving collisions. Just be aware that high speed "fun" driving carries a non-negotiable price tag.
  • kimweigelkimweigel Member Posts: 43
    I'd rather be rolling with traffic, relaxed and alert at 70-75, than looking in the rearview at 65, waiting for the KABOOM! 10 miles over on NJ turnpike is not high speed "fun", it's just survival. A study from the early 90's must have been done with cars from the late 80's. Cars were vastly different then, along with tires. Besides, 63% of all statistics are made up on the spot!
  • rickb56rickb56 Member Posts: 14
    Kim... I agree with your premise that a V-6 Sonata can get 30 mpg under certains conditions but I must tell you that driving 60 miles and using your trip odometer's reading is not a good test. Drive a full tank of gas and refill the tank and divide the actual mileage driven by the number of gallons needed to refill.... that would give actual mpg, not estimated. I am also a firm believer that highway mileage varies 10% or so depending on speed, type of gas, passenger load, wind direction and speed, whether the motor is broken in.... not sure synthetic oil helps this engine though.

    I also agree that driving the Hyundai at speeds of 75-80 has a very good feel to it.
  • bhmr59bhmr59 Member Posts: 1,602
    Your comments regarding highway driving are spot on.

    Don't be a turtle and don't be a kamakazzie zigging and zagging to get a car length or two ahead. Steady speed is good for MPG and for not causing accidents.

    Sunday of Labor Day weekend I was coming back on I-95 on what is normally a 45 to 50 minute drive. Traffic was heavy (thankfully no accidents) but the drive was an hour and a half. Idiots were pulling into rest areas so they could immediately merge back into traffic, which only lead to additional delays for everyone trying to drive like a sane person. These a-holes really screwed up the traffic flow, just so they could jump about 1/4 mile ahead of other cars.
  • effect18effect18 Member Posts: 41
    So far my gas mileage for my 2007 Sonata Limited is 16.6mpg with barely no ac(only used the ac once)and an average speed of 18mph. So its mostly city driving, but this is a lil low I think. Only have 1200 miles on it though... i'll give it a lil time and check back at 3000.
  • waltchanwaltchan Member Posts: 124
    Is it just my car only, or is the 2006+ Hyundai Sonata Theta 4-cylinder engine can reach up to 50 MPG HWY max if driving only 55 mph on highway with A/C turned off.

    If I drive 65 mph, I only get 34 MPG, and at 75 mph, I only get 30. But at 55 mph, it's a complete different story here. I gain about 11-16 MPG more. When driving 55 mph on long distance trip (with people honking at me), I watched the fuel guage a lot and it barely goes down or takes forever to drop.

    I get almost 750 miles from full to empty in one tank when driving 55 mph constantly. One time, the trip from San Francisco, CA to Los Angeles, CA while driving 55 mph with A/C turned off, and it only reached from full to halfway at the end the trip. I think this is incredible.

    Can someone please confirm if this is truely rare, or am I the first person in the world to notice that Hyundai's Theta engine can easily go up to 50 MPG HWY by driving 55 mph on a flat road with A/C turned off and windows shut and nothing is loaded in the trunk. Is it better than a Toyota Camry I4 and Honda Accord I4?

    Someone needs to try this one time. Thanks for your help.
  • lightfootfllightfootfl Member Posts: 442
    That sounds great, but I really can't understand how you are figuring this kind of mileage. I have never heard of anything in this range at all for this car, however if you are actually doing it, more power to you. Hang on to this one forever. :)
  • effect18effect18 Member Posts: 41
    I want to reset my mpg counter and avg mph counter. How do I do that? I wanna see if I just stick to highway if i'll get better gas mileage. Cuz, so far... my mpg is 16.6 and it doesnt seem to go up or down, regardless of if i'm on the highway or city. Any help would be appreciated.
  • eagle2aeagle2a Member Posts: 97
    I have a 2006 I-4 Auto. At a speed of apex 60 mph with A/C off on a trip of apex 160 miles last year I got my best millage of 37MPG. There was some 65 MPH but mostly lt was between 60 and 65 MPH.

    I feel that the A/C, which is a great unit, takes away 3 to 4 MPG when it is quite hot and running a lot. In my part of the country, from June to about this time of year, it gets used a lot. It is so quiet and smooth(can't tell when it engages and disengages)that I thought it was not effecting my millage when I first got the car in June 2006. But after using it quite a bit I found out the info above.

    I just say if you quote 20 mpg city and 30 mpg highway you will almost always get better millage than this with the I-4 auto.

    Sounds like the new 2008 is even better. GOOD! :shades:
  • waltchanwaltchan Member Posts: 124
    Driving on 55 mph is even smoother and quiet. In fact, I get the very strange feeling that the car is not running at all. It feels like one cylinder is shut off, so I only get 3 cylinder running. Perhaps the Theta engine is actually a Theta-E engine that nobody knows if running less than 2,000 rpm constantly.

    Yes, I get around 37 MPG when driving 60 mph with A/C turned off. You may get 45 MPG if driving 55 mph instead. So, if I get 45-50 MPG, what's the point in buying a Toyota Camry Hybrid.

    Combined driving isn't as fuel efficient as I think. I only get 400 miles max in one tank, which includes local (stop and go), and highway speed at 70 mph.
  • targettuningtargettuning Member Posts: 1,371
    Well, it is very, very, very well documented that the slower you drive (up to a certain point) the better fuel economy you will get. The engine is running at a slower speed (RPM) and wind resistance will be minimal so no suprise there. Conversely, the faster you drive (over about 70 mph or so) the less fuel economy you will get until high engine speed and high wind resistance eventually drop economy to an unacceptable point. There is, however, a so called "sweet spot" at which you are not holding up traffic or driving too slow for conditions around you where the average may be 70+ mph nor passing everyone else on the road at 85 mph. You won't get optimal economy as you might driving 55 mph but on the other hand it should be a safer drive since overtaking vehicles in your lane (the slow one I hope) don't suddenly find you are doing 20 mph slower than they expect and suddenly have to swerve into the passing lane. Anyhow, this sweet spot is generally acknowledged to be 65-to about 70 mph depending on your specific car. The 33 or so mpg you get while driving faster is great for a larger car. I personally would sacrifice a few mpg for keeping up with traffic flow.
  • targettuningtargettuning Member Posts: 1,371
    Not to sound trite but..when all else fails read the manual. I think you will find how to do this and more in that helpful little book.
  • dudleyrdudleyr Member Posts: 3,469
    I believe you get 50 mpg. My Accord is about the same. I get about 41 going 65 about 44 going 60 and close to 50 going 55.

    70 and up the mileage gets worse.

    I have a 2007 4 cyl stick.
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