Hyundai Veracruz Real World MPG

pinevalleyite · May 2009

Have my Veracruz for one week now. So far, on gauge it shows I'm getting an average of 16.4mpg mostly highway so far but still on my first tank of gas.

pinevalleyite · May 2009

On my old vehicle, if I pushed the keyfob lock after I was out of the car, I would hear a beep of the horn to know the doors were locked. Had remote starter installed on my Veracruz so have a different keyfob than what's in the manual. But everything I read says you'll hear a beep for this or that "if attached." Does that mean they may not have set up the horn to the keyfob?

pinevalleyite · May 2009

One feature I thought was interesting in the Veracruz was it's "backup warning system." When I put the car in reverse, I hear one tone not the general beep, beep, beep of a truck when backing up. Am I misinterpreting what they mean by "backup warning system?"

acdii · May 2009

A solid tone means stop, you should hear a slow beep, then a quick beep as you get closer to something, then a solid tone when you are roughly 6-8 inches from something. If it is a solid tone, a sensor is being blocked by something, could be one was knocked loose during transit from the factory.

One other thing, you mentioned a truck backing up, the warning system is only heard inside the car, not outside if that is what you were expecting.

acdii · May 2009

The tips II one was mostly good, the only gripe I would have with their tips is the tailgate down on the Tundra. Mythbusters flat out busted that one, Twice. The tailgate down actually causes more drag on a pickup and lowers fuel economy. The fact they got a slight improvement could have been due to other factors, such as a tail wind. When the Myth guys tested, they used identical trucks, drove exactly the same, with exactly the same amount of fuel and drove until they ran out of gas, the one with the tailgate down ran out of gas first. Then to be doubly sure of their findings, they re ran the test again in one truck with a host of different gauges, the most important being the fuel flow meter. Again, the tests showed more fuel was used with the tailgate down. I have an F350 Dually and tried it my self, and sure enough, tailgate down I use more fuel, then again, the tests were done with long bed trucks. It the test on the tundra had the short 6' bed, drag may not be such a big deal.

The drag comes into play when the tailgate is no longer there to create a pressure bubble in the bed that reduces the drag behind the cab, so there is a more linear airflow. When that bubble is not there, you get a lot of drag directly behind the cab. You should see the mess it can make when the back window is open and the tailgate is down in the truck, if there are any leaves or dust in the bed, it winds up inside the truck.

Other than that, pretty good results in that article. The main thing you see in both, use common sense and you will get better MPG. Since I have a Hybrid, a Pickup and an SUV, I can pretty much tell you that everything in the articles, with the exception of the tailgate, is true. My F350 if driven with an egg between the pedal an my foot will get 18 MPG. That is in an 8000 pound monster brick of a truck with 6 wheels.

tidester · May 2009

I saw that episode! They also showed wind tunnel testing of a model to visualize the "bubble effect."

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

stever · May 2009

I remember being a bit surprised about the poorer showing the Edmunds testers had with the tailgate up, since I've also heard for a few years that the tailgate down trick hurts more than it helps. Those net things you sometimes see in place of tailgates probably hurt worse of all.

My quibble with that test was with the roof racks. I only lose about 1 mpg hauling canoes, but I guess they are shaped better than hunks of luggage up there. I do take my racks off when I'm not hauling stuff up there.

I usually manage to beat the EPA estimates in my rides. The egg trick is good, and I like to try to anticipate stop lights. In town I note the flashing of crosswalk signals to give me an idea if I can beat the yellow or if I should just coast in gear* and let the light change on me.

(*Coasting in gear uses less gas than coasting in neutral thanks to the way fuel injection works. Go figure.)

acdii · May 2009

So far my mileage on the VC is holding pretty steady @ 21 MPG, actually had it up to 21.6 for a while today, but that damn traffic lights and putting people doing 5 under for some reason hurt my overall. My average drive is between 35 and 60 MPH through suburbs and county highways. If I can catch lights and not get stuck behind someone doing 5 under or hitting the brakes constantly, I get pretty good MPG.

rmhockman · May 2009

I have had my Veracruz, silver with black leather, for two years now and have accumulated 20,000 miles. It runs like new and looks,inside and out, like the day I got it, even the tires show little wear. (keep them inflated to 35psi)

I can usually expect about 25 or 26 on the highway and when pushed hard like on my recent trip to Daytona and back, 2400 miles of hard driving on mostly interstate roads, maybe down to 23 or 24. This is a heavy vehicle (4600 lbs.) so don't expect it to act like a much lighter Honda CRV. Remember the faster you drive the less gas mileage you can expect.

R M H

pinevalleyite · May 2009

I've been playing around with the trip meter button (haven't read all my manuals yet) and it seems in one setting I see 16.5 avg mpg and at another setting I see 21.6 avg mpg. What gives?

acdii · May 2009

Use the dash readout as reference only. Hand calculate to get the most accurate readings over several tanks. For 3 tanks of 87 I add the miles, add the gallons, and divide total miles by total gallons to get the real average MPG. I have records for every tank fill with miles, plus I know how many miles were on when I bought it and how many gallons were in the car when delivered so for lifetime I can figure out the overall MPG, haven't done it yet, soon though.

veracruz2011 · July 2012

We bought a 20111 Veracuz 1 year ago. My mileage has noticeably dropped 3-4 MPG in the last few months. I've checked tire pressure, air filter and run synthetic oil. Any ideas, suggestions for improving the MPG?

stever · July 2012

We have plenty of tips but it sounds like you may have something else going.

Are you recording the mpg manually? If you are relying on the dash readout, best double-check to make sure it's not off.

If the numbers are right, then I'd want to check the brakes to make sure they aren't dragging. Maybe try some Techron for the injectors. I'm assuming you didn't notice any unusual tread wear when you checked the tire pressure.

MPG generally gets better in the summer but I suppose you could be running the AC a lot. Still, 3 to 4 mpg is a pretty big drop.

Maybe there's a fuel filter issue or maybe the ECU is out of whack. But if the computer or a sensor is messed up, usually you'd have other issues, like hesitation, or a check engine light coming on. The thermostat could be another cause. Maybe getting an auto show to pull any codes would turn up something.

One thing that may help, assuming nothing is wrong, is trying to find some ethanol free gas.

robr2 · July 2012

MPG generally gets better in the summer but I suppose you could be running the AC a lot.

Around here - MPG typically drops in the summer due to heavy AC use. My experience is that it drops more than in the winter.

stever · July 2012

Interesting - my van lived in Boise for 10 years with mild winters in town and hot summers (mostly 90s but 105 wasn't unusual). Skimming my spreadsheet doesn't really show any winter/summer trends. But I don't have a commute nor drive in heavy stop and go, so that could be a big factor when using the AC too.

The Subaru appears to do better in the winter, but I don't really drive it much the other three seasons.

jipster · August 2013

Getting about 20.45 mpg combined (80%hwy). About 23mpg all highway with a/c on.

pinevalleyite · September 2013

I've had my 2008 Veracruz for 4 years now (bought it new) and have about 48K miles on it. I don't reset the MPH setting and am now currently showing an average of 19.1 MPH which is my combined city/highway. Not great and I would look for better gas mileage (or an electric option) on any new vehicle I got in the future.

acdii · September 2013

Have you calculated real MPG or just going off what the dash says? Dash readings are notoriously off, only calculating gallons actually used vs miles driven will show what you are actually getting.

Getting 19 in an SUV like this is not bad considering the size of the vehicle, the weight, and that it feeds 6 cylinders, and remembering the one I had was pretty quick, 19 is a decent number.

If you want Hybrid SUV, only Toyota makes one, the Highlander, and the price you pay for it buys a LOT of gas! You will NEVER make up the cost difference between what you get now in the Veracruz, and what you can reasonably expect to get in a HiHy, of maybe, if lucky 28 MPG.

I currently have a 2013 Flex Ecoboost that I get 21 MPG in and am quite pleased with that considering how much power it has, its shape, size, weight, and that it can pull a Horse trailer with ease.

If you want an SUV with better MPG, you have to go smaller than either the Veracruz or the Flex, maybe the Escape that gets about 30 MPG.

jipster · April 2022

@jipster said:
Getting about 20.45 mpg combined (80%hwy). About 23mpg all highway with a/c on.

Gas mileage hasn't changed much in the last 9 years. Sitting on 180,000 miles.

Hyundai Veracruz Real World MPG

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