2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS: Road Trip Fuel Economy

More than impressed. That's flat out amazing for a car that large and with that kind of performance.

I'm neither impressed nor disappointed, but I was thinking you'd get a bit better mpg on this road trip (~33 or so). How comfortable was the interior and ride during that time? Any major quirks/characteristics you discovered worth mentioning?

If you drove up I5 that's pretty impressive. When you aren't climbing grades you are going 80 to keep up with traffic and probably hitting some good head wind somewhere along there.

Very impressed. 32mpg for a family sedan that is reasonably fun to drive in town and not down on power is incredible.

I didn't I expect Geerdes 60+mpg but I think most people could get 35-40mpg unless this was more mixed driving or driving bit faster (70+ mph).

35-40mpg? You clearly never drove on that stretch nor do you understand that a 3300# family sedan is incapable of such numbers.

Impressed by the mileage numbers, which were likely achieved without great sensitvity to coax the best figures out of the car on a difficult route.

A bit disappointed - I do better in my 2.0T (32-34mpg) - but my highway runs tend to be dead flat with no grades - and that makes a difference.

Any report on how it performed as a long-distance cruiser beyond fuel consumption?

Impressed. It's great that you only would have to fill up once along the route, with gas to spare(assuming you filled up before you left, of course).

I was hoping for better given the EPA estimates, but that certainly isn't bad.

I always like to use the long term '02 Z06 as a benchmark for other cars. The Z06 with twice as much power (405hp) gets 28+ mpg on road trips according to this post "no matter how it's driven", so it's hard for me to get excited about 31mpg: http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2010/09/2002-chevrolet-corvette-z06-fuel-saver-smackdown.html

Considering the grades and my assumption you may have pushed it a bit on the highway at times, I'll say I'm impressed.

A Cruze Eco run by one of your Straightline contributors through the hills of PA on a trip from Pittsburgh to NYC @ 75 mph averaged about 31 mpg -- not a terrible number in its own right.

The Hyundai is larger, quicker, better equipped, and requires no "Eco" trickery. So that's darn good. Even within its own class, I imagine few if any mid-sized/full-sized family cars would do as well.

My 2007 MS3 has been averaging 30 mpg in mostly interstate driving, and 27-28 mpg in suburban driving. To get those numbers I don't exceed the posted speed limits by more than 5 mph and I decline 99% of the invitations to participate in the Stoplight Grand Prix...

"35-40mpg? You clearly never drove on that stretch nor do you understand that a 3300# family sedan is incapable of such numbers. "

Weight doesn't have a lot to do with hwy mileage. It's mostly aerodynamics and rolling resistance. The Sonata should do better (given the ratings) but it's tough to say with how knowing how it was driven.

Apples to different apples, my V6 Taurus gets 30 mpg on the hwy with little effort. I used to average about 32 mpg hwy on my Legacy awd wagon (2.2, auto).

My VW CC 2.0T on a recent 1500-mile road trip got 31.07mpg averaging between 85-90mph on the freeway, so depending on your speed, it's not bad.

Grapevine doesn't really affect mpg much. Sure if you fill up at the top of the hill you'll see low mpg, otherwise you end up coasting down the hill for what seems like forever, and the mpg go back up.

I want to see a similar trip in the Regal, Optima, Cruze, ZO6, Juke, and TSX. Sure its a long list, but it's a job :-)

As of now, I would expect a bit better.

I have a friend who would make a drive from KS to WA in a 98 Camry V6. He drives at +5 mph, so 75 or 80mph. He would have 4 people in the car, with luggage.

On multiple trips his average was 30mpg for almost 4k mi. Calculated. And crossing the Rockies and the Cascades.

This is why I'm a bit underwhelmed by less than 32mpg in a 4cyl car.

EPA estimates for highway are usually for speeds of around 55-65 mpg. IL drivers routinely go much quicker, and even going up to 70 will drop highway mpg by 5 mpg in a family sedan.

I think the speed impact on mpg is being exaggerated on the forums here. Going from 65mph to 70mph kills 5mpg? I don't buy that. Maybe in a school bus going backwards, but not in a modern sedan.

From experience every car I've had hits EPA on the highway at 70mph. The Aura even beats EPA at 75mph.

And, driving from Portland, OR to LA on my 08 T&C 4.0L, I got 22mpg on two different trips, in both me driving at around 80mph throughout most of CA. EPA is 23mpg. And I crossed many mountain passes in northern CA and over the Grapevine.

What the EPA calls a highway driving test consists of the result from the crawling 48 mph original from the early 1970s - on which, for example, the Terrain that Edmunds couldn't even baby 30 mpg out of scores 45! - combined with the 2008 update which has acceleration from six dead and two near stops in just 8 miles, and an average speed that's still just 48 mph.

Both of these take place on a stationary treadmill. Which is loaded by curve fitting approximation. Running on E0 gas which you can't even buy anymore.

As such the rated score will reflect actual interstate behavior only by occasional coincidence.

Which makes it only slightly less useful than the interwebs, where people magically get 31 mpg at 90.

I'm disappointed of the mpg figure of the Sonata. I have driven a rental Camry with the average mpg of 31 during my road trip in mountainous regions in Colorado and Utah with 3 adults on board with the luggage. Camry is rated 33 mpg on HWY.

31 observed HWY mpg in 35 HWY mpg EPA rated car is nothing to brag about.

I'd be interested to hear what the average speed was and whether Scott forced the car to downshift using the manumatic. I seem to remember several editors complaining that they couldn't manually shift the Flex into a lower gear on some of those moutainous roads. Doing so would probably increase responsiveness at the expense of gas mileage.

Besides, the statement your mileage may vary still holds very true. Edmunds' drivers tend to be a bit accelerator happy. A couple of other publications seem to be a bit easier on the gas.

@andrewss60r:

I agree. 5 mpg is a stretch, but 2 or 3 isn't. Both in my old Camry and my Freestyle, the difference between around 73 and 78mph is about 2 mpg.

"The Hyundai is larger, quicker, better equipped, and requires no "Eco" trickery. So that's darn good. Even within its own class, I imagine few if any mid-sized/full-sized family cars would do as well."

People are really overstating the Sonata's advantage in mileage. It's not huget. Malibu gets 33 (and is 200lbs heavier), Fusion gets up to 34, Accord gets 34, Camry gets 32, etc. In real world conditions like this you are likely to find a 1-2mpg spread between the cars- its nothing major. On top of that the Sonata's city rating is only 22 which is average for the class- even though the Sonata is one of the lightest in the class.

I dont think this vehicle has gotten 35mpg on any trip so far and I dont think its likely unless someone plans to average 60mph for a road trip.

@1487:

"People are really overstating the Sonata's advantage in mileage. It's not huget. Malibu gets 33 (and is 200lbs heavier), Fusion gets up to 34, Accord gets 34, Camry gets 32, etc."

I think it's the fact that it has a fair amount more power than the others. The only thing I've noticed with my Optima is that you don't really notice that it has more power until you really get on it, which negates any mileage advantage.

"On top of that the Sonata's city rating is only 22 which is average for the class- even though the Sonata is one of the lightest in the class."

That's very true. I wonder why the Sonata is rated at 22/35, and the Optima is rated at 24/34. I've had no problems getting 24 mpg city, and it's not even broken in yet. I'd say I'm pretty easy on the accelerator most of the time though.

The Sonata with the six speed manual gets 24 city, 35 highway. Unusual, since a lot of cars these days get better EPA numbers with automatics.

I think the bottom line is that gas mileage is determined by a lot of variables. The only rational way to look at it, when you are trying to figure out what car to buy, is to just compare the numbers. Don't think any further, because there are too many ways to get higher or lower numbers in the real world.

Although, anecdotal info wouldn't hurt-- like the Juke not getting near the EPA numbers. (Having driven one, I forgive the Juke. It is a blast to drive.)

got an 04 E46, 325i, slushbox. Yesterday I drove about 300mi, lots of rolling hills, more than 70% of that at 80 to almost 90mph. averaged 32+ mpg
first leg of the trip was at 34.6 mpg even though I passed through lots of small towns with only short hwy parts in between. smooth driving is the key
my car is probably quite a bit lighter but I doubt it's been optimized for mileage as much as the sonata, doesn't even lock the converter below 70mph. EPA only rates it at 25 hwy.

The updated EPA ratings are more realistic, but still not realistic enough. The test schedule barely duplicates real world highway cruising were most folks do 75mph on open road. In the last couple of years all types of optimistic hwy numbers have surfaced on redesigned vehicles and they largely seem impossible to hit if you drive like a normal person on the highway.

EPA highway for my MS3 is 28 mpg but if I keep it below 75 mph I pull down 29-30 mpg- that's dividing miles traveled by gallons of fuel consumed; the OBC indicates @3% more mpg(30-31 mpg).

seems like before gas prices went up, and everyone freaked out over a couple mpg on their purchase, cars, especially transmissions, were programmed for the best driving experience, not to get the best numbers in that test.
The side effect was that EPA ratings were easily achievable. You could probably change that test again and as long as fuel economy list high on buyers priorities, manufacturers will build their cars to game that test...

arumage: what you said makes sense. Going from 73mph to 78mph and observing a 2mpg drop, especially because both the Camry and Freestyle are not particularly aerodynamic.

After 70mph is when I START to to notice an mpg drop.

But stating that going from 65mph to 70mph will kill FIVE mpg is unrealistic, especially considering Sonatas low Cd.

"The test schedule barely duplicates real world highway cruising were most folks do 75mph on open road"

Do you have proof or is that just a guess?

"they largely seem impossible to hit if you drive like a normal person on the highway. "

Define "normal".

Please site studies of average speeds that people drive on the freeway and also those studies showing what "normal" people are and what they drive. If you cant your statement is pure fantasy.

Here are the EPA tests done to calculate the city and hwy figure. The high speed test is around 65-70mph with short stints up to 80mph.

I can easily exceed the new EPA #s in my '00 Z28 (LS1/6spd), so I don't think they are unrealistic at all. At the end of the day, they need to pick some standard cycle so the consumer can compare cars and the automakers can be held accountable to meet a min mpg.

Oops, forgot to post the link:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml

The testing procedure link has been posted before- don't mind the troll- he isn't serious.

They have to settle on some standard, but in recent years highway ratings have jumped big time which suggests automakers are tuning transmissions to ace the test. I've not seen one test of Equinox get 32mpg or ANY of Hyundai's recent products getting their highway ratings in testing. Several test of the Sonata have shown highway mileage to be about 32mpg. Not bad at all, but that's about average for the class.

"he isn't serious.'

You bet I am....you post your BS lies like this all of the time then run and hide when challenged on them. I see this is the case again. PROVE any of your statements or admit you have no evidence for them.

I think we do not know enough about the variables to really judge this figure as good or bad. I have come very close to this figure driving from Las Vegas to LA and back in a Volvo with a 2.5 turbo motor, cruise set at 75 with the A/C on at all times. Oh, and there were just two of us in the car plus our luggage.

Given the size of mid-sized cars in the US, I would not expect there to be a huge difference in highway trip mileage between a V6 and a four cylinder car, say 2-3 mpg at most. The drag is going to be about the same, so the power required to maintain speed will be very similar. I would expect the V6 to get slightly worse mileage due to increased losses as it has more moving parts, but other than that the actual consumption of fuel should be pretty similar.

well, the most efficient V6s are around 29-30mpg highway which is close to the rating of the average midsize sedan. The I4 versions of 200/Avenger only get 31mpg and the Altima/Camry get 32mpg which means you dont gain much vs the Accord V6 at 30mpg. Of course cruising at highway speeds means that having lots of V6 hp means little anyway so many folks are content to spend less on an I4 model and gain 2-3mpgs in the process.

I've done this round trip 25+ times over the last 20 years. I've done it in an 88 and 89 Ford Taurus with a 2.5 L 4-cylinder - averaged 25-26 mpg round trip. In a '97 Honda Civic EX with a 1.6L with a 4 speed auto - averaged 29-30 mpg round trip. I've done trips in a '95 Ford Probe GT with 5 speed manual - averaged 26 mpg round trip. I've done it in 1999 Dodge Intrepid with a 2.7L V6 and 4-speed auto - averaged 27 mpg round trip. a '93 Mazda MX-3 with a 2.5 L v6 (Jspec engine swap upgrade from the original 1.8 L v6) and 5-speed manual - averaged 25 mpg. My most recent trips have been in a 2008 Passat Wagon with 2.0T and 6 speed auto - averaged 27-28 mpg.

In all the cars with cruise control, I use it, and usually keep it set between 75-80mph except when in LA and San Fran areas, where I cruise between 70-75.

I'd consider myself an authority on the route.

The southbound trip through the Grapevine (traveling north to south) absolutely affects your mileage negatively if you maintain your average speed (75-80) rather than dropping down by 10-15 mph as most drivers unconsciously do -- I hate slowing down for hills and curves so I maintain my speed and pass everyone I can on the way up. As a result I usually get 2-3 mpg less on my southbound trips than northbound trips.

Based on my experience, 31-32 mpg round trip in a large family sedan is very impressive -- assuming you're driving it at similar speeds as I do. That's 25% better than my Intrepid and Taurus used to get on the same route. It's about 10-15% better than I get with my Passat wagon.

46 mph avg seems in the ball back, but how they do that 46 mph avg isn’t. More drastic stop and go. Most of my commute anywhere I have been in traffic is a lot of 10-70-10-60-15-55-5-75-20 type speeds. Throw in one or two panic braking with a rabbit start or two in that bit.

I try myself to prevent a rabbit start, and try to coast to stops. But sometimes 3 people merge over and cause you to brake hard, or a person behind you isnt paying attention and you have to nail it to keep from getting hit from behind.

That being said I get 23-24 avg mpg in this condition with my G8 GT. My weekly avg speed is only about 38 mph.

California's rolling freeways and sometimes steep climbs are not great for the best mpg.

Not really impressed or disappointed. FWIW, I have an '11 Sonata SE, and I've never everaged less than 30mpg a tank. Ever. And it was only that low a few times. I've averaged as much as 36mpg on a tank. I do prolly 75% highway/25% city driving, and I don't try any trickery to get good mileage. I just hop in the car and go. At 70mph I'm usually getting 40mpg, hell, I can set the cruise at 80+ and still average over 30mpg. I usually average a bit over 32mpg, and again, that's just driving the car like I would any other.

So there's my .02. It still gets metter mileage than anything else in it's class, and that's w/ much more standard power. Combine it w/ it's lower price, and it's a hell of a bargain if you ask me, but I suppose I'm a bit biased. But it's not w/out reason.

I driven the 2011 Sonata 2x on the Grapevine to SF and I average 32-33 MPG. For a car this size and the power of the engine I am impressed. Never felt underpowered climbing those grades.

Not really impressive, given the fact that it is a 4 cylinder. My old Malibu Maxx with the 3.5/4 speed automatic regularly achieved 32 MPG (calculated) on the highway.

Just came back from a road trip in my G8GT and at an average speed of 69.8 MPH I was getting 27.8 mpg.

To the people telling us MPGs....if you are using the in car computer for your figures, you need to post the REAL figures. In car comps are not accurate.

About what I would expect driven fairly aggressively over grades. I would expect 35 mpg at 70mph on the flat. My 06 Mazda3 2.3 5sp auto would get 33mpg at 70 on flat interstates. I'm sure the new Hyundai DI 2.4 is a little more efficient coupled with the 6spd auto.

As far as some of the other mpg claims here; a wise man once told me there's 2 things an honest man will lie about, how tall his horse is and what gas mileage his car gets.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME THAT IS PATHETIC! my 01 impala got better mpgs than that, better looking, less aerodynamic, and it has a v6! oh ya and let me add that its a crap load bigger than that pos hyundai copy! come on! its 2011 and a 4speed v6 3700 pound full size sedan gets better mpgs than a tiny crappy 4banger rip off JUST SAD! anyone who thinks these this hyundai got good mpgs is a complete idiot

"Weight doesn't have a lot to do with hwy mileage. It's mostly aerodynamics and rolling resistance. The Sonata should do better (given the ratings) but it's tough to say with how knowing how it was driven."

I guess that's why sports bikes with their semi-slick tires and terrible drag coefficient get 50+mpg on the highway.

Oh wait...

"I guess that's why sports bikes with their semi-slick tires and terrible drag coefficient get 50+mpg on the highway.

Oh wait..."

I guess I need to explain to you that drag is more then just drag coefficient. It is multipied by surface area (width times height) which if you check is far greater on a Sonota then it is on a sport bike.

Don't feel bad though, it's amazing how many people seem to think the cd is all that matters.

"In car comps are not accurate."

And this is based on what research? I've found them to be very accurate. No more than 1mpg off in my experience. Different systems may have varying accuracy.

Some of the claims people are making about mpgs sound like pure fiction. To get EPA mileage on my car I'd better keep speeds under 65 and not be stuck in traffic. Anything other than ideal conditions and I can expect a 5-10% drop in observed hwy mileage at least. You cannot cruise at 75mph and exceed EPA mileage in a car. The posts here on IL prove it- they rarely get EPA hwy mileage in their LT fleet vehicles on long road trips. The route doesnt matter. The vehicle doesnt matter. The load on the vehicle doesnt matter- they almost always come in a few mpgs short of the hwy figure because they are driving in REAL WORLD conditions on the highway.

Horrible mileage. Is something wrong with the car?

Wow, a lot of people have a lot to say about the mpg when they've never driven this route. I've been driving this route every weekend for the last 2 months and about 15 times the last 6 months. You have no idea how many variables affect the mileage on this route.

It's not just about maintaining hwy speed (65-70) or the grade or slope or whatever you wanna call it. There are hundreds of "obstructions" on this route, from slow drivers in the fast lane to truckers taking 5 minutes to past another truck. So you may be cruising along at 80 mph and before you know it, drop down to 50 mph. And this happens constantly. Everything you've been taught about regarding driving (passing on left, slower traffic on right, etc) is thrown out the window. And though the speed limit is 70 mph, most folks will be doing 80+.

Also, though it's the same road, the mileage for driving from LA to SF is worse than the drive back from SF to LA. Go figure. Also, I've driven a 2010 Sonata, 2010 Optima, 2011 Fusion, 2011 Corolla, 2011 Soul, and a few others on this particular route, all 4-cyl. This is the average round trip mpg I calculated: Sonata - 32mpg, Optima - 34 mpg, Fusion - 32 mpg, Corolla - 34 mpg, Soul - 26 mpg. And no, that is not a type. I drive anywhere between 75-90 on this route. At those speeds, the 4-speed automatic and horrible drag coefficient of the Soul kills it.

Oh, and 01gmfan4life, you sound like a kid out of high school. What the hell are you doing with a 2001 Impala? Go back to school, douche!

We can't say one way or the other about if it's impressive or not without knowing your guys average speed. For example, I can commute in my Gen2 Prius, staying at 65mph or below and average 52 mpg for an entire tank, stop and go and just kickin' it behind a semi's. However, in the same Prius - I might drive 80-85mph up to San Francisco, in which case I get about 38mpg. The Sonata being bigger and more powerful, if it's going 80-85mph, and getting almost 32 would indeed be impressive.

Great contrast of perspectives on MPG & fuel efficiency. About the sportbikes, drag & 50 MPG's. Think about it, much smaller surface area, alot less weight, what surprises me is that they cannot build a bike that gets 150-200 MPG (I guess it would look like a mini-Aptera if they did). 30+MPG in a 5 passenger sedan seems to be the norm, and 2-3 MPG difference at that point is minimal.... it would really make a difference if we could go from 30MPG to 45 MPG (50% improvement).

BTW, Compare the sedan with 4 people riding 2 motorcycles getting 50 MPG's each. If everyone goes the same 100 miles on a trip, the bikes will have used 2 gallons each x 2 bikes= 4 gallons to move 4 people, while a sedan at 33 MPG will use 3 gallons of gas to move 4 people, with room for luggage and even 1 more passenger. Which is more efficient? Obviously the sedan. Then compare it to the school bus which can move 50 kids at 5-10 MPG, or compare to the train which moves a bunch of railcars full of freight or passengers for same amount of fuel as your 1 SUV....!

A trip that includes traveling on steep grades including the I-5 grapevine all the while AVERAGING nearly 32 mpg is pretty awesome for a car this size. If I had the Sonata, I wouldn't be complaining about this mileage especially given that it is right in line with the EPA estimated mpg. If you want to do even better and don't mind a bit smaller car, try the Elantra with a rating of 40 mpg hwy. The Koreans have taken some names in the automotive industry, and now they are starting to take business away from the oil companies.

Not really impressed. Did the same trip last summer only the trip ended at Big Bear we have a family cabin up there. 2010 subaru outback with CVT finished the SF to Cabin drive at 30mpg - we held the cruise at 72mph from 580 to the vine.

Trip home after a few days in the desert palm springs returned 29mpg doing 75mph on the way home. Granted the summer before with fewer miles on it the OB was getting 27mpg on the same trip. Mileage didn't peak till after 15,000 miles.

Two wheel drive sedan should easily get 30+ on that drive.