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2022 HEV performance in winter months

5562 Views 22 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  Captain Pete
Just looking for owner's experiences on the HEV in the winter months.

I have read that the phev and hev have heat pumps but they are not too useful when its negative temps out (0 degrees celcius) and I was curious what owners are seeing in terms of mileage numbers translated into fuel savings.

I hope to contribute to the thread soon with real-world data - car hasn't arrived yet!
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Look through this forum. There are is a lot of discussion on this. Long story short, there is no heat pump and I would say, on average a 15-20% drop in mpg in colder weather.
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I can say for the past week in Edmonton, when it was -26 to -28 my battery stayed between 96 and 98% charged as the gas engine was running to maintain cabin heating.
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For me, since the temp dropped, I am getting average 8.2L/100 (28mpg) which is definitely not great. Warmer weather I was getting mid 7's (31mpg), again not great. The only time I get anywhere near advertised mileage is when I am going less than 60km/h. The advertised highway mileage from Hyundai must be when the Tucson is rolling downhill with a strong tail wind because I've never come close to 34mpg on the highway (average speed for me is 115km/h). Realize there are all sorts of factors when it comes to fuel economy but I don't feel like I am driving a hybrid at all. Previous vehicles got better mileage and they were not hybrids (CR-V and GLA250).

I hope once warmer weather returns I will start to see 34mpg with more "break in" but so far I have seen no evidence of this being possible.
Yours must be a HEV. I am going from Buffalo NY to Florda with PHEV in 2 weeks I will let you know my readings. In charged state it only idles if heat is needed and as long as I keep my car charged it uses no gas.
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For me, since the temp dropped, I am getting average 8.2L/100 (28mpg) which is definitely not great. Warmer weather I was getting mid 7's (31mpg), again not great. The only time I get anywhere near advertised mileage is when I am going less than 60km/h. The advertised highway mileage from Hyundai must be when the Tucson is rolling downhill with a strong tail wind because I've never come close to 34mpg on the highway (average speed for me is 115km/h). Realize there are all sorts of factors when it comes to fuel economy but I don't feel like I am driving a hybrid at all. Previous vehicles got better mileage and they were not hybrids (CR-V and GLA250).

I hope once warmer weather returns I will start to see 34mpg with more "break in" but so far I have seen no evidence of this being possible.
^ @Ron_Sea, I agree with virtually everything you've stated - I'm getting pretty much the same average fuel economy as you are with my '22 Tucson HEV. My average fuel economy right now (with mainly city driving) is 7.9 L/100km (29.8 mpg). Btw.. the highway mileage number that automakers advertise is based on the test vehicle travelling at 50 mph (80.5 km/h), but who the heck drives that slow on the highway??! Driving at speeds over 80.5 km/h / 50 mph will cause the fuel economy number to nosedive, as we've both experienced. Short distance drives also help reduce the fuel economy number. The only way to consistently achieve Hyundai's fuel economy numbers for the Tucson HEV is to avoid short trips and drive for good distances (ideally 10 km or more) at speeds between 50 km/h and 80 km/h with as few stops as possible.
Note the lack of a heat pump system in the Tucson HEV also hurts our fuel economy.
I've decided my next vehicle will be a BEV (battery EV).
- Richard
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^ @Ron_Sea, I agree with virtually everything you've stated - I'm getting pretty much the same average fuel economy as you are with my '22 Tucson HEV. My average fuel economy right now (with mainly city driving) is 7.9 L/100km (29.8 mpg). Btw.. the highway mileage number that automakers advertise is based on the test vehicle travelling at 50 mph (80.5 km/h), but who the heck drives that slow on the highway??! Driving at speeds over 80.5 km/h / 50 mph will cause the fuel economy number to nosedive, as we've both experienced. Short distance drives also help reduce the fuel economy number. The only way to consistently achieve Hyundai's fuel economy numbers for the Tucson HEV is to avoid short trips and drive for good distances (ideally 10 km or more) at speeds between 50 km/h and 80 km/h with as few stops as possible.
Note the lack of a heat pump system in the Tucson HEV also hurts our fuel economy.
I've decided my next vehicle will be a BEV (battery EV).
- Richard
100% agreed. Highway mileage should be based on real highway speeds. If I drove 80km/h on the highway, not only would I be a dangerous driver, I'd likely get a fine.

And I am with you, next car is 100% EV for me. My Tucson HEV is a lease and I am so glad I didn't decide to buy it because I was on the fence about that.
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I have the HEV Blue model. I am in the Chicago area. It was 38 degrees Fahrenheit outside when I got off work, today. I drove 96 miles home from work, mostly on the highway at 70 mph. I averaged 35.4 mpg. After I got back to town and filled up the gas tank, it had dropped to 34 degrees. I ran some errands around town and averaged 44.4 mpg. I find that in town, at lower speeds, my Tucson runs in electric mode more frequently. I am pleased with my mileage. I drive normally, and I set the cruise control even while in town. The adaptive cruise control is fantastic!
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I have a Tucson Limited HEV and live outside of Philadelphia. The gas mileage has been less than expected. I am waiting to see if it gets better as the weather warms up and I get more miles on my car. So far I have just passed 1000 miles. I am averaging around 30 mpg on mixed driving (state highways, top speed 65, average speed 30 - 40). I have had a few stretches on similar state highway drives when the car was already warmed up that I hit or exeeded the highway mileage estimates but those are few and far between. I had one trip on an interstate with cruise control set at 70 mph on interstate for 50 miles and the car only showed 27.7 (and that was on a day that the outside temp was 40 - 50 deg F). On my combustion engine Audi A4, I am getting above the highway mpg estimate when driving on the interstate at 70. Yup, A4 has lower drag than my Tucson, but wow, 27.7 is pretty far below the EPA estimate of 36. Hoping that warmer weather and the car being broken in make a dramatic change.
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Yours must be a HEV. I am going from Buffalo NY to Florda with PHEV in 2 weeks I will let you know my readings. In charged state it only idles if heat is needed and as long as I keep my car charged it uses no gas.
Starboy, I will be very curious to hear how your mileage with your PHEV on the interestate goes. Your in town mileage makes me second guess my decision to not get a PHEV. My HEV gas mileage continues to disappoint, especially on the highway. I think some cars just do a lot worse than others with gas mileage.
Thanks I will be documenting the trip with pictures. Will leave with a full charge and a full tank of gas but will probably not recharge before landing in Florida. I will leave on EV Mode and change to hybrid mode on first gas fill.
We have been driving our HEV in sub -10 -- -20 degrees Celcius temps and it seems to be kicking in the battery, even when the heat is up (HVAC settings on Auto Low, 22 degrees, seat warmers on).

A summary is, even under these cold temps, highway looks like 9.4l/100km (110km/h avg speed), but around the city stop and go or even some driving around Richmond Hill/Markham area, the EV mode is well active (7l/100km avg) anytime you are:
[ECO drive mode select]
1. ~within 30% throttle position, or off throttle.
2. i have seen it go into EV at any speed, even on highway around 110km/h - as long as the load on the vehicle to maintain that speed isn't too great, the EV mode is fine for modest driving in the city

My driving habits are really really gentle (mechanical sympathy here) as I am used to having a boost gauge in the car to tell me that my right foot is too heavy, and I find that the right gauge in the ECO cluster much the same. As long as you can keep the needle on the right below the 11 o'clock, the car stays in EV, provided the cabin is up to temp, at least from my weekend runabout.

I will continue to try and update this. and hope to see more EV usage in the spring/summer months, but as it stands, I would say the PHEV would just have even more aggressive battery only modes as the electric motor is more capable. Vehicle loads being similar. But i think the additional cost savings would only pay itself back if you were doing a lot of city driving.. UBER/taxi usage..

the trip meter resets every time i drive, but I want to see how i can set this to average out over a full tank of gas.

My driving patterns are 1. kid chuffer around a bedroom community where everything is about 10-15 mins away (mall, restaurants, grocery, etc)
2. highway is regular as we venture out to more mall/restaurants/grocery
3. office is about 13 mins away from home, backroad or highway - i am curious how that fares once things warm up as i can maintain 40km/h-80kim/h along the entire route.
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the trip meter resets every time i drive, but I want to see how i can set this to average out over a full tank of gas.
So there is 3 display in the dashboard
1. Current trip meter (when you turn the car on and drive until you turn off)
2. Trip meter since your last refuelling
3. Accumulated trip meter for the entire life (I think you can reset this in the menu if you want)

You can scroll thru the different display with the arrow key on the right side of the steering wheel.
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ah yea, i know its buried in there somewhere - just need a moment to reset it on a fill up and go from there. thanks!
Just looking for owner's experiences on the HEV in the winter months.

I have read that the phev and hev have heat pumps but they are not too useful when its negative temps out (0 degrees celcius) and I was curious what owners are seeing in terms of mileage numbers translated into fuel savings.

I hope to contribute to the thread soon with real-world data - car hasn't arrived yet!
Just looking for owner's experiences on the HEV in the winter months.

I have read that the phev and hev have heat pumps but they are not too useful when its negative temps out (0 degrees celcius) and I was curious what owners are seeing in terms of mileage numbers translated into fuel savings.

I hope to contribute to the thread soon with real-world data - car hasn't arrived yet!
I have Tuscon Hybrid Ultimate and the performance fell by 30%. In summer months, it gave performance of 15.6KM/Litre which has dropped to 10Km/litre since Dec-2021. I live in Manitoba Canada in temperature hover aroung -20 Dec C on an average from Dec to March monhts.
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Yup, i got a very unimpressive 9.5l/100km average on my first tank since delivery. not impressed

however, filling it to max was only 46liters! found that a bit strange.
When I received my Ultimate last October, I was able to achieve 6.0 l/100km on the cluster. I am currently at 8.6l/100km since it self reset, all city driving. The colder it gets, the worse the mileage as the vehicle needs to maintain heat for the comfort of occupants and to prevent glass from fogging up. When it is -20C, the EV rarely comes on or only comes on briefly as it seems to take a long time to reach full operating temperature. I am sure your mileage will improve once it warms up outside.
The hybrid has a 52 liter tank and there is always a reserve to prevent you from running out of gas which can damage our hybrids.
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When I received my Ultimate last October, I was able to achieve 6.0 l/100km on the cluster. I am currently at 8.6l/100km since it self reset, all city driving. The colder it gets, the worse the mileage as the vehicle needs to maintain heat for the comfort of occupants and to prevent glass from fogging up. When it is -20C, the EV rarely comes on or only comes on briefly as it seems to take a long time to reach full operating temperature. I am sure your mileage will improve once it warms up outside.
The hybrid has a 52 liter tank and there is always a reserve to prevent you from running out of gas which can damage our hybrids.
^ Same situation here. I'm at 8.0L/100km and it's dropping fast. The advertised fuel economy can only be achieved (maybe) when all the conditions are "just right". Sub-freezing temperatures, multiple short driving trips and speeds above 100 km/h (62 mph) will certainly help erode your fuel economy in this vehicle. Not impressed with what I'm seeing. I think my next vehicle will be an EV, which makes more sense for mostly city driving.
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does anyone know how much range is impacted in cold on the phev in just EV mode?
From what im seeing so far on my PHEV, 5-7km. But I have not driven it in only EV mode. As the engine kicks in to often when it is more than -5c outside. So far this winter if its cold outside, the engine stays on (idle at 1100rpm) to provide heat. And the battery/electric motor will power the wheels. So for the 50km trip you will see the mileage in the 2-3L/100km range. The best i did on a 50km trip was 1.5L and that was full battery down to whenever (usually 16%) it switch over to HEV mode.
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