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Low MPG

19539 Views 92 Replies 36 Participants Last post by  Tampa8
Took delivery of my 2022 Tucson Hybrid SEL today and drove about 97 miles back home from the dealership. The majority of this was on a relatively flat state road with a speed limit of 75 MPH. 3 points during the trip, there are small town sections where the speed limit goes down progressively to around 45 MPH. Temperature for the day was in the mid 60's.

I set the cruise to 75 during the first part of the trip and after about 20 miles, the MPG was below 25. At this point, I set the cruise to 70 and the MPG improved slightly and I finished the drive with a 26.4 MPG for the entire trip. The entirety of the trip I was in eco mode and I had the AC set to low and driver only. I toggled it on and off a few times, but I would estimate it was on for 75% of the trip.

Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed with the MPG that I was able to get for this first drive with this new vehicle. Am I missing something with this vehicle, or is this expected?
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Your gas engine will likely never shut down at 75mph unless it is going on a downhill grade. I did a 2000 mile round trip from Ct. to Memphis and back. The sweet spot on the highway was 68 to 72mph and I got 36mpg for the trip with about 70% highway driving.
Your gas engine will likely never shut down at 75mph unless it is going on a downhill grade. I did a 2000 mile round trip from Ct. to Memphis and back. The sweet spot on the highway was 68 to 72mph and I got 36mpg for the trip with about 70% highway driving.
The thing that got me was that even when I turned the speed down to 70, the real time MPG indication was never over 30. Usually right around 25-27. Over 60 miles of the trip were done at 70 MPH.
My wife and I have completely different driving styles. She has a lead foot even around town. She uses the car most of the time, maybe 100 to 150 miles per week. She rarely gets over 30 mpg, which really isn't bad for what I would consider a mid sized suv. I am a little more conscious of driving for fuel economy and with very little effort I can get 38 mpg or better. hope you have better results over time.
Your first tank of gas should not be a point of reference on a new car. You are now 97 miles into the break in period. While opinions differ on appropriate break in methods (using the paddle shifters to keep it at 5,000 rpms for new Passats…or otherwise). Your first tank will be crappy mileage. Give it some time to break in and your mileage will increase. I have over 10,000 miles on and average MPG ~ 37. First tank was not at that level…
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OP - given your lack of response on this, guessing you to be a Troll. Two posts lifetime, and both on this thread…
OP - given your lack of response on this, guessing you to be a Troll. Two posts lifetime, and both on this thread…
Literally just got the vehicle 3 days ago. Why would I post on a forum about a car I don't have? I posted a question about my experience and was looking for feedback if this was expected performance. Why the hell would someone troll about this?
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Your experience doesn't surprise me a whole lot. We have about 1300 mi on ours now. In the lowcountry area of SC, where we live, we average around 37 mpg mixed driving. On a recent highway trip to Louisville, Ky. at 75+ mph and some hills through the Smokey Mts. we did 28.5 with the cruise on, and I was able to get 30.5 on a tank without using the cruise. I'm sure if I dropped the speed down, I would have gotten much higher in the 30's.

Winter gas and cold weather takes a big hit out of hybrid car gas mileage. We used to drop almost 10 mpg in our Sonata hybrid at times during the winter when we lived in central NY, and had real winter to deal with. I wouldn't worry too much about your mileage until you get the car broken in more and you get back into spring and summer fuels.
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Literally just got the vehicle 3 days ago. Why would I post on a forum about a car I don't have? I posted a question about my experience and was looking for feedback if this was expected performance. Why the hell would someone troll about this?
There have been a lot of people with one or two posts put negative comments up on new cars never to return… thanks for following up. Always nice to see that there is a human involved.

Good luck with your break in period and May the MPGs ever be in your favor.
Winter gas and cold weather takes a big hit out of hybrid car gas mileage.
Yep - and also stickier winter tires (if applicable). Plus, I would wait until after the break-in period (as noted in the owner's manual) before drawing any hard conclusions.
Took delivery of my 2022 Tucson Hybrid SEL today and drove about 97 miles back home from the dealership. The majority of this was on a relatively flat state road with a speed limit of 75 MPH. 3 points during the trip, there are small town sections where the speed limit goes down progressively to around 45 MPH. Temperature for the day was in the mid 60's.

I set the cruise to 75 during the first part of the trip and after about 20 miles, the MPG was below 25. At this point, I set the cruise to 70 and the MPG improved slightly and I finished the drive with a 26.4 MPG for the entire trip. The entirety of the trip I was in eco mode and I had the AC set to low and driver only. I toggled it on and off a few times, but I would estimate it was on for 75% of the trip.

Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed with the MPG that I was able to get for this first drive with this new vehicle. Am I missing something with this vehicle, or is this expected?
I only have less than 100 miles on my new Tucson, and the mileage is horrible. It shows about 14 MPG at this point, and when I reached out, they told me to drive it out on the road, hell, I'm never 'out on the road'. The EPA ratings say 24 MPG in the city, and 29 on the highway, that's what I thought I'd be getting, not happening.
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From www.fuel economy.gov

“New vehicles will not obtain their optimal fuel economy until the engine has broken in. This may take 3–5 thousand miles.”

That website also has “Many Factors Affect Fuel Economy”.

Check it out…

I have never had a new car with great fuel economy right out of the gate. That is not realistic expectation… unless you have an all electric vehicle and then it is range miles not MPGs.
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You will never get an accurate mpg with 100 miles of driving. Just idling in your driveway for 5 minutes or going in reverse (because your engine would be running but you wouldn't be clocking miles) would likely show a drop in mpg for 100 miles on your odometer.
From www.fuel economy.gov

“New vehicles will not obtain their optimal fuel economy until the engine has broken in. This may take 3–5 thousand miles.”

That website also has “Many Factors Affect Fuel Economy”.

Check it out…

I have never had a new car with great fuel economy right out of the gate. That is not realistic expectation… unless you have an all electric vehicle and then it is range miles not MPGs.
I'll do that, thanks! I suppose I will have to drive it more on the highway and get a few more miles, will do.
You will never get an accurate mpg with 100 miles of driving. Just idling in your driveway for 5 minutes or going in reverse (because your engine would be running but you wouldn't be clocking miles) would likely show a drop in mpg for 100 miles on your odometer.
Sure, I just don't drive much any longer, hardly any on the highway, especially in the Winter months, no golf across town, which is about 20 miles each way on the highway, but I'll make an attempt to get some highway driving in, thanks
Sounds like you might be a retiree. A full electric vehicle would seem to fit your lifestyle perfectly. Regardless, from what it sounds like, transportation costs don't sound like a big part of your budget. Just enjoy your new vehicle! Don't drive just for the sake of driving, why not try a couple of months of Uber driving, that way you will get paid for breaking your car in ha.
I am retired, enjoy most of it...in the Summer, golfing and such with friends. Uber? No thanks, not going to 'greet' anyone at Walmart either. Hey, I'm well off, but am frugal with certain aspects of my life, watch for bargains on what I use, and have a 20 year Jimmy that gets 13 MPG and 19MPG on the highway, thought this Hyundai would allow me to see much greater MPG, and so far it's not. I do like the car however, sharp looking, linear line of the digital dash, rakish body panels, all suit me.
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I am retired, enjoy most of it...in the Summer, golfing and such with friends. Uber? No thanks, not going to 'greet' anyone at Walmart either. Hey, I'm well off, but am frugal with certain aspects of my life, watch for bargains on what I use, and have a 20 year Jimmy that gets 13 MPG and 19MPG on the highway, thought this Hyundai would allow me to see much greater MPG, and so far it's not. I do like the car however, sharp looking, linear line of the digital dash, rakish body panels, all suit me.
On the bright side, my "gas" Limited with 4,127 miles gets 30+ MPG in mixed driving. Yours will surely improve.
On the bright side, my "gas" Limited with 4,127 miles gets 30+ MPG in mixed driving. Yours will surely improve.
Great news! I'm sure mine will do better once I get some miles on it, and thanks for the update on mileage.
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I am retired, enjoy most of it...in the Summer, golfing and such with friends. Uber? No thanks, not going to 'greet' anyone at Walmart either. Hey, I'm well off, but am frugal with certain aspects of my life, watch for bargains on what I use, and have a 20 year Jimmy that gets 13 MPG and 19MPG on the highway, thought this Hyundai would allow me to see much greater MPG, and so far it's not. I do like the car however, sharp looking, linear line of the digital dash, rakish body panels, all suit me.
I am retired also, and enjoying every minute. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. Enjoy!
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