Ask the Car People.SM


Hyundai Sonata Real World MPG

922 messages,  Last post on Apr 21, 2013 at 3:12 PM

You are in the Hyundai Sonata Forum.

What is this discussion about? Hyundai Sonata, Fuel Efficiency (MPG)

Messages Page 92 of 93

#907 of 922 Re: My new 2013 Sonata Limited [nymatt] by backy

Nov 22, 2012 (10:00 am)

Replying to: nymatt (Nov 22, 2012 8:27 am)
"City driving" has so many variables, very different for different people. For some, it's cruising on suburban roads with some urban freeways. For others, it's sitting stopped in heavy traffic a lot (when FE is zero). Then there's the folks who have short commutes, with the engine not warmed up and operating at full efficiency for most of the trip. And some people live where it's hot so AC is on full blast all the time, others live where it's cold 6 months of the year so the car takes longer to warm up (and maybe the driver starts it and lets it warm up awhile before starting out).
 
So lots of things can bring down city FE. Plus there's the variation in how people drive. Case in point is my DW and me. She drives carefully, but hasn't mastered how to get high FE out of a car (light foot, coasting as much as possible, turn off the engine if sitting a long time etc.). And she doesn't want me to tell her. So on our 2007 Sonata, she does well to hit 20 mpg in the city... which for us is more suburban driving, not inner city. I have no problem getting mid-20s unless it's very cold weather.
 
It's an old saying "YMMV", but there's a lot of truth in it.
 
BTW... looks like I'll be trading in the 2007 Sonata on a 2013 GLS tomorrow, due to a too-good-to-pass-up deal at my local Hyundai dealer. So I'll be able to report on what the car can do in my real world of driving, and my DW's real world of driving. They will be different, that I know.

#908 of 922 They do get better as they get older by brittonk

Nov 26, 2012 (2:43 pm)

After reading a lot of posts here I count myself even luckier....I was getting in the 20's for combined fuel economy on my 2002 sonata 4 cyl. but I was also suffering for a long time with what turned out to be faulty ignition coil packs. After I replaced those and a new set of plugs I'm now getting around 40 mpg....and that is normal daily driving(ie Indy 500) which is combined....not strictly highway. But then again I'm running around with an Optima lower block in my sonata....maybe there is some difference after all. This will end up being the franken-car that I give to my kids to drive someday....much to the chagrin of my wife.

#909 of 922 Re: My new 2013 Sonata Limited [sonata13loser] by mileagemyth4

Nov 27, 2012 (1:35 pm)

Replying to: sonata13loser (Nov 17, 2012 9:59 pm)
I agree with you 100%. I bought my 2013 Sonata Turbo 6 weeks ago, and immediately complained about the gas mileage (19-22 mpg in mostly highway driving). I was told by the dealer it would increase after getting my first oil change . . .?!?!? So much for the 28-34 mpg promised!

#910 of 922 New GLS first results by backy

Nov 27, 2012 (8:56 pm)

Picked up my wife's new GLS on Friday, drove it about 100 miles so far (well, I have to help her break it in ) . It's been all in-town driving (suburban streets with a lot of stop lights, a little urban freeway), temps 10-32 F, no trip longer than 7 miles so a lot of driving while the engine was warming up. I do use a light foot on the gas, although I punched it a couple of times.
 
Per the mpg meter the average mpg to date is 24.7. I noticed the instantaneous meter was pinging between 30-50 while on the freeway jaunts.
 
So still very early, but encouraging given all the short trips, the cold weather, and the brand-new engine. Can't wait to take a long trip to check out the highway mpg.

#911 of 922 Re: very low mpg [sonata13loser] by petey931

Nov 27, 2012 (9:19 pm)

Replying to: sonata13loser (Nov 17, 2012 9:43 pm)
I used to own early production 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The avg mpg was phenomenal. 26 town (in NYC traffic) and 35-36 highway. I have to say that I have a heavy foot and still I managed to get amazing MPG - i never used the annoying econ light on the dashboard. Right now I'm driving a 2013 Sonata - i only have 239 miles on it and the mpg I'm getting so far is awful! 18-19 in the city and 26-28 on the highway with the ECON on and veeeeery delicate use of the accelerator. I have no clue whats going on, the car drives amazingly other that a completely different feel of the steering wheel. I liked my old steering feel much better. 2013 doesn't give me ANY road feel at all. I'm worried about the mpg, maybe I should have gone with the Altima - I hope the mpg will go up when the car brakes in.

#912 of 922 2011 Sonata by romil01

Dec 02, 2012 (3:16 am)

I have a 2011 Sonata GLS and have been pleased with the MPG. I do 25% city and 75% highway driving and normally average about 33 MPG. The MPG display in the car doesn't seem to be that accurate, I calculate it myself based on the range driven and amount of fuel used (the car normally tells me 31 MPG on average). I usually drive 75 MPH on the highway with AC on.

#913 of 922 Re: very low mpg [sonata13loser] by cpeny

Dec 02, 2012 (8:30 am)

Replying to: sonata13loser (Nov 17, 2012 9:43 pm)
I have a 2013 Hyundai Sonata GLS. I have approximately 25,000 miles on it. As an experiment I drove my car 25 percent in the city and 75 percent on the highway. I never let me RPM's get above 2000 RPM's. hi then calculated my mileage for the fuel that was used over the 300 mile trip. the average gas mileage was 26 miles per gallon

#914 of 922 Re: 2011 Sonata [romil01] by crankeee

Dec 02, 2012 (9:05 am)

Replying to: romil01 (Dec 02, 2012 3:16 am)
Very close to our 2012 GLS; 22-24 in city and highway only is 33 at max speed, and 36-37 at 65-70, where it is best. Your numbers indicate 24 city 36 highway for the average of 31-33 or 32. Math works and that is pretty close to EPA #'s. Exactly what we needed and for less than $20,000 a pretty good value to boot. So far, the dealer service is outstanding and only minor issue was the toe adjustment on front was out on left side only. After 8000 miles more (11000 total) all is well on that score. Good choice for us and no buyer's remorse here either.

#915 of 922 Re: 2011 Sonata [crankeee] by romil01

Dec 03, 2012 (2:26 am)

Replying to: crankeee (Dec 02, 2012 9:05 am)
Yeah, it has been a good car. I have almost 37,000 miles on it now and have only done regular maintenance and one recall. The biggest issue is creaking noises from the hard plastic in the center console and dashboard. I wish Hyundai was like other manufacturers when it comes to frequency of oil changes...they recommend every 3,000 miles where as most companies seem to be moving to 5,000 or 10,000 mile intervals.

#916 of 922 Re: 2011 Sonata [romil01] by crankeee

Dec 03, 2012 (10:54 am)

Replying to: romil01 (Dec 03, 2012 2:26 am)
Actually check your book in the glovebox. 3000 changes are really for hard service. The routine is longer. I personally prefer 3000 miles for all cars but that is an old timer's habit that may not be true anymore. Seems like cheap maintenance. The I-4 engine in the Sonata appears to be well matched to the transmission and the weight of the car - very smooth shifting and the excellent MPG on the highway. We do lots of research before buying, but it feels good when the purchase pans out.

Messages Page 92 of 93

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement