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Kia Optima Real World MPG

csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
2006.5+ actually.

Didn't have a pen or calculator with me but it looks like I got about 27 mpg when I filled up. Short mileage, mixed driving but better than I thought given Hyundai's reputation for being a tight engine up until 5K or so.

Pleasantly pleased by the car so far.
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Comments

  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    My Optima has 2850 miles on it as I write this.Mostly highway mileage so far,I :blush::blush: would estimate 75-80%, and the best MPG so far has been 31.7 and the worst 20.7
    I have a 2.4 engine with the 5 speed auto.
  • analyzerlxanalyzerlx Member Posts: 23
    My Optima averages 25.5 MPG mixed driving. The best I've done was 32 MPG highway. Going from Asheville, NC to Wilmington, NC.
  • analyzerlxanalyzerlx Member Posts: 23
    My car has over 41,000 miles.
  • robmanrobman Member Posts: 7
    I've got only 2,000 miles so far on the 2006.5 EX equipped as above. I'm averaging roughly 27 MPG with a low of 22 and a high of 30.

    I live in the mountains so I use the auto-stick feature consistently. BTW - the transmission is unbelievably smooth in either mode but in auto mode doesn't downshift when I attack the mountain inclines in a sporty fashion (LOL).

    The dealership has treated me like "family" so far without being pesky. This is not what I expected from a South Korean manufacturer with a comparatively new dealer network.

    Best deal on the market for $20K but you should shop the Hyundai products as well!
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    25.5 is exactly what I averaged after 3000 miles.Frankly Im a bit disappointed as I had averaged 28.6 on my Sonata.Both are auto-4 cyl.EPA is higher on the Optima.Surprisingly my last fill up was an atrocious 16.4MPG.Lets hope that was an aberration. :sick:
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    Mixed: 24 mpg
    90% highway: 30 mpg

    Not bad given Hyundai's reputation for a stiff engine. Still no better than my Maxx V6.
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    Not bad? Despite horrendous head and side winds,and then some driving in Chicago,my Chryler mini van with a 3.8 engine managed 18.6...actual,not trip computer.Of course thats after 148,000 miles. :confuse: BTW they still havent figured out the problem with the air bag issue on the passenger side.Whats more,they dont seem to have any sense of urgency about it.I wouldnt want another KIA if they gave it away.Giving this car a rating of 7 was too high.
  • spmrebelspmrebel Member Posts: 130
    Thats actually pretty good. My 05 Elantra GT with auto that has 38K miles gets about 29 mpg with 90% highway driving (no stop and go) and about 25 mpg mixed. My 05 Spectra EX gets about 31 mpg highway and about 26 mpg mixed. Your Optima should do better once you have 20K miles.
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    Click here and complain:

    link NHTSA

    Did you ever take it to another dealer or complain to the zone rep? (I know we've covered this before, sorry my memory is bad).

    I bought a Kia because of the quality of my Hyundai dealer, but both brands have some bad dealerships (but no worse than some Japanese makes).
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    Yes,I am now going to another dealer.They say that some sort of KIA super tech will "re-flash" the seat.Unfortunately,the guy never shows up.Ive made the trip for this procedure 3 times, and he is yet to show up.The problem being intermittent does make it much more difficult to find,but IMO they are the ones who designed and built this car, and it really is THEIR problem.I'm hoping that if they cant fix this,I will get a refund and I can get the name KIA out of my mind,once and for all.I have bought so many cars in my lifetime that I lost count,and I have never had a single car,any brand, that had an unfix-able problem.
    BTW I sure hope you are right about the MPG improving.Thats been a big disappointment. :lemon:
  • sike00sike00 Member Posts: 4
    I have a 2006.5 Kia Optima with the V6 and am having trouble with the passenger side airbag also,,,the light in the dash by the clock will be on even if somebody is sitting in the seat,,,this is an intermittent problem but actually happens quite frequently,,,but when I took it to Kia to have it checked out,,,they said that everything is alright with it,,,no codes in the computer, and could not get it to act up while they had it for 2 hrs. But they did tell me that if the light is on,,,then the airbag is off,,,so I asked them if my wife/passenger has to be hurt or killed before they fix this,,,and they said that the sensors are around 1200.00 each and they cant just throw money and time at it hoping to get it right. I then stated that the safety aspect of the vehicle was one of the main reasons I bought this car,,,actually bought 2 of them at the same time,,,one with a V6 and decked out for my wife and one with a 4cyl. and pretty basic for myself as I drive much farther to work than she does,,,and by the way her car (V6) gets terrible gas mileage, about 20mpg with 80% highway usage. We have so far got a high of 22 out of it mixed with a high of 24 all highway, 3 hr trip on the turnpike. Very dissapointed with this car,,,should have got her the Sante Fe that she wanted but thought the gas mileage was too bad,,,I think they get better than what were getting right now,,,the car has 6000 miles on it. Just very upset and letdown with the service,,,is their anyone I can call short of the CEO of the company that could help.
    Mike :lemon:
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    Good news! Ask them to get a KIA rep in to your dealer and have him re flash the computer related to that function.They did mine a week ago and so far,so good.
    If the dealer plays dumb,call KIA on the phone.You can find the number on their site www.kia.com.Reflashing seemed to solve the problem, although it took 3 months to get it done.Dont let them beat you down.Like you I feel very disappointed in the gas mileage on my 4 cyl Optima.On a long trip,it actually managed 31 MPG,but on mixed driving,some 80% highway had a low of 16.5, and usually in the very low 20s.I have a feeling that this car is not long for my garage.I have right now 3500 miles on it.
    BTW, keep your receipts,after three attempted repairs if a serious problem persists ,you are eligible for the lemon law.Look it up,Im not kidding.It might be a hassle and Im sure that they will resist mightily,but the law is on your side. :lemon:
    If they deny the malfunction,take a video camcorder when you are traveling with a passenger,and videotape this occurrence ,making sure that the date shows on the video.
    This KIA owner seriously wishes I had bought a Hyundai Sonata which is a far superior car.On my 2006 Sonata,After 10000 miles I averaged over 28MPG.Thats for the 10000 miles,not just a tank.For my first 3000miles on the KIA I averaged 25.5.Thats 3 MPG less,although EPA says 34 hwy for Optima vs 33 MPG hwy for the Sonata. :sick: :lemon:
  • sike00sike00 Member Posts: 4
    I have been video taping it now for about 3 days, and I'm getting ready to take the car back,,,the bad part is they are 1 hr north of us,,,will definately look into the lemon laws,,,,thanks for your advice,,,greatly appreciated. Kinda sucks that I should be the one to have to tell them how to fix thier own cars........glad they're certified mechanics,,,hahahaha
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    I would be satisfied with your average mpg on this engine, it's within 1 mpg of what I got with my 01 Elantra with a 2 liter engine. Your experiences with the Sonata sound phoenominal. I haven't checked the Sonata mpg threads, I'd be surprised if most owners averaged 27-28 mixed with that car. All individual cars fall within a distribution curve, and IMHO you really lucked out with the Sonata.

    I'm averaging about 23 mixed with my 'Bu Maxx. Note that the EPA for the Optima V-6 is just about the same but the experiences in the real world are probably worse. I stated going in that if I got the mileage in the Optima 4 a mpg or two higher than the Maxx I'd be a happy camper.
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    Your experience validates my idea that Kia (and Hyundai) still aren't all the way there with their dealer network. I can't figure out why you were jerked around like that on a safety related issue. Also amazing that the rep. stiffed you repeatedly on scheduled meetings or why had to be the one to flash. Amazing.

    I haven't taken my Kia back to the dealer yet, but my Hyundai experience indicated that was the weak link in the occasion. The sales experience was worse than the service experience, however. The sales experience deteriorated from my Elantra purchase in 2001 to my looking at a Sonata at the same dealer in 2006.
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    I just checked straight city,Kewanee mileage.What a shock that was,12.2MPG All local,no highway at all.I was horrified.I get at least that on my Chrysler T&C with a 3.8.engine.Im really at a loss of what to do.
  • sike00sike00 Member Posts: 4
    Does anyone find it odd that Kia does not include a MPG option in the display,,but does include an average for Miles per Hour. I wonder if they know that the mileage on their cars are all over the place,,,and if it we had displayed in front of us it would cause more issues as I assume they hope we wont sit down and actually figure it out by hand. I have 2 kia's,,,on 4 cyl and one 6,,, the 6 cylinder gets right at 20-22 mpg, and my 4 cyl will get anywhere from 18-28,,,hardly ever the same average twice. When I talked to the dealership service dept. about this they told me that with the mass airflow sensor and the ambient air temp sensor that when it is cold outside and the sensor is only seeing 16 degrees F. that the system never fully goes into closed loop operation but stays in open loop and causes it to use more fuel, since the computer thinks the car is cold. So it runs it more rich on the fuel even though the engine is up to temperature. Oh I miss the days of carburation.
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    It's been cold in northern Illinois. If you're driving strictly around town and not getting fully warmed up I can understand the 12 mpg. The Optima seems to have a large variation between city and highway driving. I think Consumer Reports picked up on this (don't have access to this month's issue-- from memory).
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    I understand the fact that it's cold and the car doesnt get a chance to warm up,but neither does the Chrysler.It just doesnt make sense.
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    I have a friend who is a mechanic with Chrysler.He says that they are having the same air bag issue with all of their new cars.As he put it,they've had to "recalibrate"all of their computers.Mine is OK now, its been 2 weeks since the re flash,now the issue is the horrible gas mileage.My last three fill ups have been 20.something.20.something and 12.2.Thats just not acceptable.The 20 somethings were mixed driving,I would estimate 80% highway.We are going to look at the Prius and the Honda Civic hybrid.If we dont get one of those,then maybe a nice mini van.If we cant get great mileage, we might as well be comfortable. ;)
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    I'm sorry that I took so long to comment on your post.You bring up one of my pet peeves of this car.I believe the KIA Optima may be the only car on the market with a trip computer that doesn't have a MPG indicator.As far back as 1987 my Chrysler Le Baron had a trip computer which included MPG.It's hardly new technology.Whats with the average speed though.Like who cares?My mileage has really varied,from 12.2 to 31.7.Im doing a whole tank strictly city driving,so I will get a really good test.Its not as cold now,so it had better be at least a little better than 12.2 :D
    PS Did you get your "re flashing" done?If you have,did it solve your problem.Mine has been perfect since,so if the MPG improves I will just sigh in relief and move on.Looked into trading it.Not possible.In 4 month the car has dropped 50% of it's actual selling price,more than that if you consider MSRP.That means,its mine to keep,like a bad marriage. :(
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    Mickeyrom's right about that one. This is one of the dumber driver information centers that I've ever seen.

    My buMaxx has constant termperature display, flashes things like warnings about ice, has a slightly optimistic mpg indicator and an oil life monitor. I think (and mickeyrom can confirm) that the Sonata shows mpg's, so why not Kia?

    1. An attempt to cripple the car's amenities to less than that of the Sonata.
    2. People will be reminded of sub-standard mileage (I'm still not convinced that it's worse than the Sonata although individual models may vary).

    Certainly all the smarts are in the computer to do that since it gives you miles to empty.

    When I was a kid, my small town hardware store had two identical Shakespeare casting reels. One had a plastic spool, held half the line and cost $10, the other had a stainless steel spool, held twice as much line and cost $15. Being cheap, I took the plastic one. Within an hour the plastic spool had fallen off and the more expensive reel lay underneath. They'd actually spent more in order to make it crappy. Sometimes it's all about marketing.
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    The Sonata Ltd,has all the toys.A great computer,visible outside temp,and compass.The only thing they do NOT have is a top of the line car with a 4 cylinder engine.If I had taken the time to think about it,I could have simply had leather installed in my 2006 Sonata GLs, and avoided all of this annoyance.You would think that at my age,I would be less gullible.The only things I wouldn't have had are the moon roof,power seats,climate control and cassette in the stereo.
    BTW,I want to compliment you on your always interesting posts. :)
  • iluvmysephia1iluvmysephia1 Member Posts: 7,704
    of online serenity. Cool. :D

    How are y'all doin'? I am waiting for my local(local meaning 90 miles away)Mitsu dealer to get '08 Lancers in still. :)

    2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick

  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    The only Mitsu. dealer in St. Charles County just converted to a used Chevy dealeship. This is the second one to belly up.

    Do you think the new Lancer will turn it around? The new Lancer is certainly better than the last model. Don't know if I'd put it ahead of the Optima though.
  • iluvmysephia1iluvmysephia1 Member Posts: 7,704
    I still like the Kia Optima but I like the new Lancer's bodystyle, including the front valance and flares going out to the side. Also the bodykit along the sides and the spoiler in the rear. I am planning on getting the Sun and Sound Package which has the Rockford Fosgate 650-watt stereo(seem slightly excessive :) )and a sunroof. I believe you can get a sunroof on an Optima but not a stereo like that.

    It's almost not a valid comparison in my mind...the '08 Lancer is a sportier car and the Optima is more conservative yet still sporty. I think Kia did a great job with it. I've just fallen for that aggressive front end of the Lancer and it's stealthy bold stance.

    I would like to forge ahead this time and trade our Sportage 4x4 for an '08 Lancer but I know my wife will oppose the idea.

    It's just that we're getting too deep past the '01 Sportage's Long-Haul coverage(our Sportage 4x4 just passed 127,000 miles but is running like a top). KBB pegs the Sportage to be worth about $3,800. We owe about $900 still on the Sportage so we're just about there for paying it off. It would be nice to not have a car payment, too, indeed.

    I think we're at a little bit of a fork in the road. I see an Electric Blue import humming along coming straight at me and really beckoning to me for at least a harmless little test drive. ;)

    2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick

  • sike00sike00 Member Posts: 4
    About the re-flashing,,,I'm very happy to hear that it works,,however,,,I also feel that I should not have to tell them how to fix one of the cars that they make and support,,,it gives me great doubt about there abilitiy to fix things that might come up in the future,,,,I will take it in again with in the next couple of weeks,,,I have the problem on video this time,,,so I want to see how they will handle it,,,as they stated before that they would have to see the problem before they could try to fix it,,,,I will tell them they can have the car for 3 days if they will give me a lender car of equal size/class/value,,,not some 10 yr old car on the lot,,,and see if they can fix it,,,if not I will wait a week or two,,,take it in again,,,if it cant be fixed then thats strike 3 and lemon law goes into effect :lemon:
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    OK...I just thought you would like the problem resolved.Chrysler has been having the same problem,but thats another story.
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    If you're in the "test drive" mode,drive a Prius.I promise that you will be impressed.Beside the obvious economy,it rides better than the Optima and has a really nice interior.The styling is a bit quirky,but that's part of it's charm.If I hadn't made the mistake of buying the Sonata,I would definitely be getting one of those hybrids.BTW,the trade in value of my 4 month old,4000 miles on the odometer KIA,is between 7 and 10K.(list price $23,400)That is beyond disgusting.I would not recommend this brand to anyone,unless you will keep it like forever.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    How's everyone's fuel mileage looking these days?

    :)
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    Since I bought my 4 cyl Optima EX,21.3MPG.70% highway.
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    Gosh,seems like this thread has fallen on hard times,huh?Do you own an Optima yourself,and if you do are you satisfied?
  • viclikescars2viclikescars2 Member Posts: 11
    "Do you own an Optima yourself...?"

    Yes, we do. We bought the LX-V6 (Bright Silver) on 6/23/06 from Crown Kia. The mileage is just over 6K, with no real trouble at all. The only thing that did happen was the TPMS light came on due to, we were told, a sensor out of calibration. They re-set the light, no further problem.

    Our MPG, with two different drivers, mostly urban interstate, runs a consistent 23.4. And, at least when I drive, all six of the cylinders get used...

    I like the car. I like the Dealer. We will almost certainly buy another Kia.
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    I'm glad one of us is satisfied.If my gas mileage eventually matches my 2006 Sonata's,I will accept this Hyundai stepchild.
    As far as the dealer is concerned,I bought my Hyundai Sonata and the KIA Optima from a giant multi-brand complex,Lujack motors in Davenport Iowa.The service dept.for Hyundai was A+,but I had a less positive relationship with the KIA.Maybe it was just me,but I started taking my car to a different dealer,so things are looking up.BTW,your mileage...has it increased dramatically once you passed 5000K?
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    :surprise: I have "re calibrated"my figures and here is the current corrected figure.14 fill ups,70-80% highway,24.02 MPG.
    Right now this car shows 4012 miles on the odometer.
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    my wife filled up this week. First major trip later this week. Frankly I'm averaging about the same with the Optima 4 as the Malibu Maxx 6. 22-23 around town and low thirties on highway. That's about 2 mpg less than I got with my Elantra and about what I expected. If it's typical Hyundai it will go up about 1-2 mpg when fully broken in.

    Mickeyrom, your reported mileage with the Hyundai was exceptional.
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    Your 23MPG around town is what is truly exceptional.My Sonata got that average up by the great Hwy mileage,because in the city it never reached even 15.Usually a little over 14 thats all,but once it was rolling it would register as much as 37 on the computer,which was within a mile or so of actual.
    BTW Im currently doing a full tank on strictly city driving,and its not so cold any more.When I do a fill up I will do a report on that.I'm hoping that this time it at least matches the Sonata's 14-15 MPG. :D
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    There are mpg calculators AND mpg calculators.

    My Maxx shows an averaged mpg reading. It obviously changes rapidly when the tank's filled then levels out. It's presently showing 23.5 mpg (probably 1.5 mpg optimistic), at about half a tank. If I went on a two hundred mile trip it might increase to 25 or 26. If I continue driving mostly around town it will average somewhere around 22-24 when I fill it up.

    I've had rental cars (Chrysler vans) that showed the actual second by second computations. This could go from 3 mpg to 50 mpg depending on what you were doing at the moment.

    What's the 14/37? A computation of mostly around town and mostly on the highway or some kind of second-by-second computation?
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    The Sonata's computer only shows a cumulative MPG.The 14 I got from an actual calculation.Miles divided by gallons.The 37 was on the computer,but as I said the computer was always within a mile of the actual mileage.I got the number by resetting the MPG calculator on the computer while the car was rolling down the highway.After a minute or so the actual mileage pops up.Mine was sometimes 37 and stayed there until I got off the road.Even fighting heavy construction traffic going past Gary Ind. on I80,the mileage stayed around 34 for the whole trip to Sandusky Ohio.Thats 400 miles or so.However,all of my posted MPG is strictly the manual figuring(calculator)not the computer.
  • perspicacity77perspicacity77 Member Posts: 3
    I have a 2006.5 Kia Optima with 17,000 miles and I am currently averaging 26/37 mpg, I swapped out the stock plugs which actually extremely detune the car, I upgraded to the premium Denso Irridium Plugs IK16/5303(.004mm Core) which are available at autozone for $56.17 with tax by doing so I shaved 3+ seconds off my zero to sixty time and I can easily burn a 07' Camry V6, I burned 4 of them as a matter of fact and my gas milage improve also, unfortunately now I have a lot of wheel spin from a light and now all four of my tires are nearly bald despite regulary rotating them, I would definately recommend a stickier tire,I haven't had any problems with the seats and airbags, I think thats a early 2006.5 model problem. My only gripe is a delay in down shifiting which was fixed in the Sonata with a reflash but there isn't a reflash for the Optima as of yet. I can't wait for a K&N to be available for it and some performance struts not that it doesn't handle well as is.
  • micro99micro99 Member Posts: 51
    Your suggestion that the stock plugs in the Optima serve to"exremely detune" the car is interesting and I`d really appreciate hearing a bit more detail. It is quite frankly difficult to believe that performance and fuel economy improved so dramatically but I`d like to hear more !
    Your suggestion that you "burned" a number of 07 Camry V6`s is really difficult to fathom - you obviously know that the Camry V6 puts out something like 268 hp. I assume your Optoma is the 2.7 V6 - but wow, that would be something !!
  • perspicacity77perspicacity77 Member Posts: 3
    I actually have the 2.4 which I think has a better power to weight ratio and the stock oem plugs have a .75mm core which is about as thick of a core as you can possibly get, they do have an irridium core which is a plus but unfortunately they have alot of resistance, whereas the premium plugs have a .004mm core which is about as thick as a straight pin, and a far as the camry's 3.5L V6 goes, the power to weight ratio is the equivalent to a 2.4L with 190-200hp plus the Optima is already a lighter car to begin with. A 2.4 with 268hp would run circles around a 3.5 with 268hp IE: the old SRT4 Neons 230+hp stock and 280+hp with the upgrades and 0-60 times between 5.4 and 4.8 seconds, I would like to know how the 2.7 V6 does with the upgraded plugs, it might best the 2.4 but not by much. I think they used the larger core plugs for warranty and reduced engine stress reasons.
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    What made you change plugs?At 17,000K it was certainly not scheduled.Your post is so technicsl that it makes me think that you are a mechanical engineer.Are you?
  • harrycheztharrychezt Member Posts: 405
    automatic. 40,000 miles.
    Best MPG, 28+ hwy( EPA says 27). May have hit 29, but... may have went faster than need be, at times.
    Worst? 19MPG, mainly city,when newer.

    I avg mainly(mixed, 60hwy-40 % city)... 24-25MPG. If I have new tires, 25-26.
    This is nearly as good as my in-laws 2007 Suzuki SX4,with 143HP, I-4.
    They get 27-28MPG hwy.
    25-26 city... avg 27.
    Last few tanks were 25+ MPG, 28+ MPG, and around 24 MPG, in 40 degree weather.
    Tires do need replaced soon, also.
    I have read, IIRC, on MotorWeek, and here on Edmunds, 34MPG for the I-4 Optima, hwy, on their testing!

    A lot depends on how one drives, also.

    If you try to do 0-60 in 3 seconds after every stop, then of course, you get less MPG.
    I know Many people drive like it's the Indy 500, or a drag race!

    I did drive the Prius, and it is nice, but it handles no better than the Optima, IMHO. Better than my Sonata, yes, a little, just like the Optima handles a little better.

    Neither is a sports car. Our Scion tC out handles either, very readily.

    If you're looking for MPG.... go Prius, or even a normal gasloline engine(only) powered Civic or Corolla.

    If you need a larger car, get the Optima!
    The I-4 is not as "smooth" as my lower(170HP) powered V6, but close enough.
    The V6 in the Optima made the car feel no faster than my Sonata, though.

    Too bad there is not a car that does 0-60 in 8 seconds, the size of Optima, handles like a tC, and gets 40 hwy, 30 city!
    take care/not offense
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    At last I got the good mileage I expected.On three fill ups on a recent trip,the MPGs were 36.1,29.9 and 33.9.
    No complaints there,thats for sure.Now if my city economy approaches the EPA estimate of 24 .....I will be as happy as a clam. :) This was accomplished driving at legal speeds,included maybe 5% city driving,some construction zones as well as one 10 mile long traffic jam.
    2006.5 EX 2.4,auto.
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    Still no better than my V-6 Maxx but hopefully it'll loosen up. Nice of Ifcar to name the Optima the best inexpensive family sedan (tied with Sonata).
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    Took it from St. Louis to Branson this week. Almost 800 miles with side trips. Four people plus luggage. Roughly 3000 miles on the odometer.

    First fill-up. Bucking slight headwind, considerable strip travel behind 80 year olds. Only averaged a bit over 21 mpg. Not good at all.

    Second fill-up. Noticed a LOT of shifting into third and fourth with the smallest grade. Decided to put it into manual mode to keep it in fifth as much as possible. No real lugging of the engine, could easily go up and down hills at 70 mpg. Got 34 mpg plus. Typical Hyundai stiff-enginitis, maybe it's finally breaking in.

    Third fill-up. Some two lane roads but averaged a pretty good clip. No stop and go driving. Only averaged 23 mpg. Second tank must have been underfilled.

    Other than bad mileage, the car drove well and had good room. Think I would have averaged considerably higher in my Malibu Maxx, but maybe it's still breaking in. I'd think I'd be averaging about 28 mpg mixed, maybe slightly better with two aboard. I think the Maxx would have beaten it by 3-4 mpg.
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    You have a 2.4....right?
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    Yes
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    Wife drove car almost exclusively. Doubt if she ever got it fully warmed up (considering June in Missouri). However, 15 mpg is pretty bad for any 4 cylinder engine. Much worse than my 3.5 Maxx and far worse than my old Elantra which averaged 25 or so around town. Of course I always had a lot more highway miles, even in around town driving. Only 3400 miles on the car in six months, less than I put on in two months. I'm going to have to get this car out and running!
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