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My '05 Sonata V6 has "only" 170 HP and at least as much torque (I forget the rating). This is considerablly less power than your '06, yet I seldom give it more than half throttle, usually less than that. This moderate acceleration still has plenty of "giddyup." I could probably count on my fingers the number of times in 12K miles that I've taken the engine over 3K rpm.
Most of my driving in on local streets on trips under 5 miles. In the warm weather I get just under 19mpg. Last winter I averaged around 16.8. And this warmer winter in CT I'm averaging close to 18 mpg. This is with less than 10% highway driving, sometimes 0% highway.
You'd be suprised how just a little adjustment in your "mash the gas & jam the brakes" driving style will improve your overall mpg.
Amen to that! A few years ago, my son had a Chevy S-10 4WD truck. He complained abou the mileage constantly and said he couldn't get more than about 10-11 mpg. I had to use the truck and while I was driving it, I managed to get over 14 mpg with it while hauling some furniture and building materials!
I can't remember who told me this, but years ago I was told to press down on the gas pedal as if there was an egg between your foot and the pedal. Good advice, especially if you want to maximize your mileage.
My point was that I have always driven this way (slam the accelerator to the floor, drive as fast as possible on the highway, etc...). And driving this way I got around 6 to 8 mpg better in the V6 Accord I traded in.
The last time I had taken it to the dealer I even asked them to see if there could be something wrong with the car because I was getting low mileage and they found nothing.
I guess this wouldn't have bothered me much a few years ago when gas was about $1 a gallon, but the last year with gas going over $3 a gallon it really got me pissed off!
After all of the reports over all of the years we all should know by now that a light foot on the throttle saves gas. But as the old saying goes, "old habits are hard to break!" The trip computer(along with 3 dollars per gallon gas) has helped me to lighten my foot and break the old habit of over accelerating, in town driving, and then having to break hard at the next stop sign.
My four-cylinder Sonata is capable of getting between 20 and 22 miles per gallon in town, and by driving 60 or 65 mph, on the highway of getting between 31 and 35 mpg depending upon how hilly the terrain is, and how strong or weak the wind conditions are.
So, for me at least, I will watch the trip computer, lighten my throttle pedal behavior, and put money in my bank account. :shades:
That is a problem when the driving styles don't change, yet the more powerful, faster car get's you 6 to 8 mpg better !
I'm posting my experience on this forum so that people can have a true picture of what the Sonata does in terms of mpg if you like to accelerate hard and fast. I have talked a few people out of the Sonata due to my experience and this will be my first and last Hyundai. A couple of trips to the dealer to get things fixed under warranty did not help either when comparing to an Accord that was around for many more years than the Sonata so far.
From my experience Hyundai is way begind Honda in terms of fuel efficiency and engine technology and I guess that's one reason why you pay much less. Overall it's not a bad car for the price, but next time if I'm interested in just cheap I might even have to consider a GM! I won't even go into the resale value of the Sonata vs the Accord that I got top dollar for...
Good luck to all and to all a good night.
My 06 I4 has about ther same MPG as yours. You are right about watching the computer to save gas. I make a game out of it and set a number.2 to .3 higher than shown to achieve on my way home from work (about 8 miles). I usually make my mafrk by the time I pull into the garage.
I really haven't done much highway driving since I got mine. The highway driving I have done has been in extreme winds with blowing horizontal snow.
The other good thing about the Sonata is its adaptive learning regarding the transmission shift points. As others have pointed out, Hyundai has a very good learning curve programmed into there Auto trannys. I noticed mine acquiring much better costing behavior the more I drove it in this way.
It all saves gas, and today that equals MONEY!
There are several posts against your comments so I thought I'd add mine, which are more favorable to you as far as mileage goes. I have an '06 GLS V6 with 7,500 miles on it.
Contrary to your driving style, I drive fairly conservatively. Sure, I like to step on it once in a while but that's certainly not the norm. I drive about 90% city/10% Hwy. On the freeway, I have gotten over 30 mpg and recently averaged around 29 with two friends and our luggage going on a 400 mile one way trip. That's pretty good mileage.
However, in my day to day city driving, I only get between 15 and 16 mpg. I'm fairly disappointed about this and don't have any hopes the dealer can do anything. I do think that your comparison to your previous car is mostly fair. What's important to do is to compare how a car performs relative to the sticker mileage numbers. Then compare those results from car to car. I think that the Sonata and your Accord have similar sticker numbers so I do believe that your previous car performed very favorably against the Sonata. Several people on this board have complained about the Sonata's gas mileage. But some have praised it. I imagine that the same is going on over at the Accord board.
Someone had commented that they rarely rev above 3,000 rpm. I don't think that's possible on my car. It just would move so very slowly! And on a Nissan Altima board someone had commented how his rental V6 Sonata had great low rpm acceleration. Is he really talking about the Sonata? I guess this is to say that it seems that there's variation from Sonata to Sonata, not just driver to driver. I think the Sonata is a good car but luck of the draw plays a part, too. Maybe I got one that tends toward the lower end of the gas mileage spectrum. But I may have also gotten one that won't have a problem that others have.
It seems you may not keep a car for so many years. Therefore, the difference in gas mileage that you are experiencing won't really cost very much money. So why not enjoy your Sonata for all the good things about it and a few years from now trade it in on a car that gets better mileage or in some other way meets your needs.
Please believe me when I tell you that our modern cars are marvels of engineering. Good gas mileage being just one of the many characteristics of automobiles today. This good gas mileage is of course considered GOOD in relation to the excellent acceleration and top speed that cars are capable of now.
It was not too many years ago that excellent acceleration was zero to 60 mph in the 10+ second range. Now, the sub 7 second range is fairly common for many V-6 engines. I believe, that if the automobile manufacturers wished to do so, they could be producing engines that had slower acceleration and top speed characteristics but would achieve phenomenal mpg. But that is not what people will buy. We want more speed!
My bottom-line point is this. Our automobiles today give us a very good mix of gas mileage and power. I feel we should be about enjoying the very expensive cars we have purchased. If a person wants better fuel economy then buy a lighter auto with less horsepower and use a light foot on the accelerator. If you want to go fast, then buy one of the many high horsepower automobiles on the market, and be prepared to pay a price in fuel economy and speeding tickets.
Enjoy! :shades:
And yeah, let's play nice. We don't want to have anyone have to stand in the corner or anything. :shades:
I LOVE my new 2007 Sonata v6 Ltd. However, at 1,000 miles, the mpg averages 16.4mpg, driving 24mph/ave.
I bought the 10 year warranty intending to keep this car for a long time, but I am now depressed about the mpg performance...10 years of this?
I brought the performance issue to the attention of my dealer representative, and they responded with
...the gas mileage-in the winter, everyones fuel economy is affected due to the chemicals that are put in the gasoline in the winter (so it doesn't freeze), also until the vehicle reaches 4-5,000 miles-it will not have a regular mileage, best gas mileage comes when you drive at higher speeds on the highway, the computer will tell you if theres a problem, or the check engine light will come on. If you reach 4,000 miles, and you feel the gas mileage is dramatically less than it should be--make an appointment in service, and bring the car in. //
My commute is short, it will be a while before I get up to 4,000 miles.
Does this sound reasonable to fellow Hyundai drivers out there or do you think that I got a bad egg?
Thanks for any help!
Has anyone brought their car in with complaints about mpg and the dealer done something to the car that helped out? Mine has fine highway mileage but disappointing city mpg. I have 7,500 miles and I've kept careful track of mpg starting with my second fillup. The mpg did not go up from new compared to now.
If your commute is less than 5 miles each way, you will never get much better than 17-18 MPG in this car. Maybe 19 in the summer with A/C off.
I'm so patient with the car as it is too early to judge the real MPG. Would wait till 5000 miles and end of summer and see what will happen. For an engine this size and considerably a heavy car I’m more than OK
Why does nobody understand why city use is ALWAYS going to be relatively poor??? Whatever your personal expectations are the reason is a stopped but idling vehicle gets zero (0) mpg and this very quickly drags down your average..always did,always will. I ammend that, Toyota hybrids shut off at stop. Speaking of personal expectations I guess you expected the EPA numbers "advertised" on the sticker? If so, be prepared to continue to be disappointed.
I think you mistook what I wrote when I asked if the dealer did something when a customer complained about gas mileage. The only time I would expect the dealer to do something is when something or other is not working as it's supposed to work. If everything is working properly and the car is still getting poor gas mileage then there's nothing that the dealer can do. Additionally, not "everyone" expects the dealer to "do something". There are several posts on this thread that speak positively about the gas mileage of their Sonata. Therefore, it's understandable that people who are experiencing much lower mpg might feel like asking their dealer if anything can be done.
As to your next point, I think that everyone DOES understand that city mileage will be RELATIVELY poor. That's relative to highway mpg. It doesn't mean the mpg will be poor relative to the sticker city mpg. And I'm really tired of some people reminding others that at idle every vehicle gets zero mpg. I don't think that anyone expects their car to get 20 mpg if it's just running in the garage.
Finally, YES, most people do expect/hope for the EPA numbers "advertised" on the sticker. For my Sonata V6 the numbers were something like 20 city/30 hwy. There was also a note on the sticker that most drivers will experience between 17 and 23 city and between 27 and 33 hwy. (I may be remembering slightly incorrectly, please correct me if you have the actual sticker numbers.) When people experience numbers below these, of course they will want to come to this forum and ask questions of other owners. And occasionally they will want to post complaints.
You say that if we expected the EPA numbers "advertised" on the sticker then we should be prepared to continue to be disappointed. This is the fourth car that I have owned and only the first that has disappointed on (city) mpg. My commute is different from the commutes I had when owning the other vehicles so that probably has a lot to do with it. However, taking all my driving habits into account, I still feel my city mpg is lower than it should be.
As for your experience, you admit you don't have a frame of reference since your commute has changed. If you want to put your mind at ease, maybe you could rent a Sonata V6 for a week and take it on your daily commutes, and see if its fuel economy is markedly different than for your car.
If it helps any, Hyundai engines are well known for being "tight" off the assembly line. They tend to get better fuel economy with some miles on them. For example, when I first got my '01 Elantra MT in October 2000, I struggled to get the EPA city rating of 25 for the first few months. Then after about 1500 miles I noticed the FE started improving, and after five years and 45k miles it was routinely getting upper 20s in around-town driving (nearly a 20% improvement over new) and over 40 mpg on the highway at moderate speeds (under 70), even though the EPA highway rating was 33. So don't lose hope on your Sonata!
"As to your next point, I think that everyone DOES understand that city mileage will be RELATIVELY poor. That's relative to highway mpg. It doesn't mean the mpg will be poor relative to the sticker city mpg. And I'm really tired of some people reminding others that at idle every vehicle gets zero mpg. I don't think that anyone expects their car to get 20 mpg if it's just running in the garage."
The answer to this is short...NO everybody does NOT understand this and YES the city MPG usually is worse than the EPA window sticker indicates. For example we have a 2006 Honda Civic EPA 40 highway/30 city. We average 24 mpg (+/- about 1 mpg depending on summer/winter) in our smallish city with no real gridlock. I am not really rabid about these numbers because I feel they are realistic.
Finally, I remind you the EPA numbers are NOT an advertisement Hyundai posted to induce you and others to buy their cars based on fuel economy but instead a government mandated estimate that all manufacturers are required to post. The key word here is "estimate" and this estimate is based on outdated and flawed testing. I believe the note you refer to is a range of "estimated" fuel economy other like sized/weight vehicles in the same class as the Sonata MIGHT be expected to achieve.
The bad thing about high expectations regarding EPA estimates is that many (the majority?) do not experience the "advertised" numbers..check all brands/models and you will find these forums full of those who don't get the economy they were led to believe they would get. Fact of life!!
Yes I do say those who expect (demand? some get quite irate) EPA numbers will be disappointed. It depends on how realistic an individuals expectations are and I believe many here will agree with me that you are more likely to get closer to the highway estimate (generally) than city.
So, what were your other three cars that met city EPA numbers?? Finally as you state this is a different type commute from the others so you cannot compare the results can you? Different car different drive. Let some others chime in as to their "city" mileage but even then everybody is different as is the severity of their daily drive. The final numbers are as individual as the personality of each driver so whatever number you get may just be an accumulation of everything you do or don't do each day.
So, what were your other three cars that met city EPA numbers??
My reply:
1987 Honda Accord - purchased in 1986
1989 Honda Accord - purchased in 1996
1994 Plymouth Acclaim - received as hand-me-down in 2002.
I'm not trying to start a war here. There's no reason to. This subthread got started with another poster's very negative comments about his mpg. I posted to defend part of his comments and refute other parts. There are some people on this forum who make crazy comments about our Sonatas. I'm not one of them. In the last few posts I've mentioned that I'm disappointed in my city mpg. Maybe I'm being unrealistic. My city driving yields between 15 and 16 mpg. That seems low but maybe it's what all V6 Sonatas would get on my commute and maybe other cars would perform the same relative to sticker as mine does.
How far is your daily commute? How many stop signs? How many (on average traffic lights do you have to stop for & how long is each stop)? After stopping at a sign or light, do you have to climb a hill to get back up to speed? How long does it take you for your daily commute? In your around town/city driving do you go to "drive-up windows" like banks or fast food places? What is the temperature when you are driving (not the daytime high)? Do you run any short errands during lunch time-trip to bank, post office, food, etc.?
Sorry if you've explained this before, I didn't have time to research previous posts right now.
I've only gone that low twice in almost 2 years, but it is a good, not so subtle message, to get gas real soon.
When the light come on, don't drive the car more than another 15-20 miles. Not worth taking any chances.
Seems more reasonable.
New EPA MPG estimates
Well now that I have put it to the test , Four weeks on 91 oct and four weeks on 95 oct ,got a average 22 mpg 91 oct and the some for the 95 oct , city driving / Trip computer average speed 32 kph / AC on. There was no noticeable different in performance .65 litres per tank 5 cents different in price between91/95 Using 91 for me over a year is a saving $85.00
Welcome back Jack!
I had a look at my car on EPA , it is the same as your 06 22mpg Would my o4 be the same motor (4 cyl ), I have said this before the gal here is 4.5 litres ,your gal is 3.8 litres so you would think I should get more mpg . the last two months I have been checking my petrol consumption and my average is 22mpg . Maybe the .7 of a litre different is my right foot!
Today was my first real test of Hwy. 70 miles round trip to airport on Saturday i.e. almost steady speed due to moderate traffic. To make the story short, I got ave. of 25.5 MPG. on driving speed of 65-70 miles per hr (Temp. today in Houston is 65 F)
Now I'm more confident in my car performance.
Bottom line (and as many said before), if you wanna test you car make a 70-100 miles trip on REAL Hwy
NB.
My Sonata: SE 2007 V6
Have a great weekend