[NewHybridOwner_jc]

I’m curious if any of you reporting low mileage are able to re-produce what “OMGIBOUGHTAKIA” said? If you can maybe it’s due to buggy software…

If you can’t reproduce their results then that suggests this is more an issue with the EPA ratings.

I have a Vesta Blue EX reserved and arriving at the dealer in the next few weeks, and these reports of poor performance are definitely giving me 2nd thoughts.

my calculation was done by miles driven divided by gallons filled at the pump- no software needed. in fact, the gallons on refill at that moment was exactly 10.0 gallons so i didn't even need a calculator. 338 miles/10.0 gallons to fill up = 33.8 mpg.

 

[GlitchKs]

I don't know how anyone can get to 38mpg as advertised unless they highway all the time on cruise.

PS: oh, and highway is even worse than city. can't do much past 65 mph without using lots of gas

Everyone needs to know that all hybrids get better gas mileage in the city than on the highway.
It is the opposite of everything you have heard your entire life.

City = All the stop and go driving is where they hybrid system shines. You recapture energy with regenerative braking and use that energy for the electric motor to kick in to assist you in the acceleration using less gas.

Highway = No regenerative braking but more importantly no acceleration so the electric motor stays off so you get no effect at all. Your Engine is just cranking away at whatever RPM for long periods of time.

That all said... when I see several people getting and exceeding the advertised MPG and then a few that can't figure out why theirs is so much lower I immediately blame the driver. I have seen it in my own house. My ex wife got 5MPG less than I did in the exact same car. She drove into stoplights way later than I do, I coast into them. She accelerates WAY harder than I do, etc. etc. And when it is mentioned becomes immediately defensive about how dare anyone criticize her driving.

Your location can effect it, Extra AC or heating can make a difference, Hills/mountains make a huge difference, but I honestly think the Driver makes the largest difference of all.

[edit: found a typo]

 

[HybridPaul]

Everyone needs to know that all hybrids get better gas mileage in the city than on the highway.
It is the opposite of everything you have heard your entire life.

City = All the stop and go driving is where they hybrid system shines. You recapture energy with regenerative braking and use that energy for the electric motor to kick in to assist you in the acceleration using less gas.

Highway = No regenerative braking but more importantly no acceleration so the electric motor stays off so you get no effect at all. Your Engine is just cranking away at whatever RPM for long periods of time.

That all said... when I see several people getting and exceeding the advertised MPG and then a few that can't figure out why theirs is so much lower Immediately blame the driver. I have seen it in my own house. My ex wife got 5MPG less than I did in the exact same car. She drove into stoplights way later than I do, I coast into them. She accelerates WAY harder than I do, etc. etc. And when it is mentioned becomes immediately defensive about how dare anyone criticize her driving.

Your location can effect it, Extra AC or heating can make a difference, Hills/mountains make a huge difference, but I honestly think the Driver makes the largest difference of all.

I agree with this.

 

[Koreanadian]

That all said... when I see several people getting and exceeding the advertised MPG and then a few that can't figure out why theirs is so much lower I immediately blame the driver. I have seen it in my own house. My ex wife got 5MPG less than I did in the exact same car. She drove into stoplights way later than I do, I coast into them. She accelerates WAY harder than I do, etc. etc. And when it is mentioned becomes immediately defensive about how dare anyone criticize her driving.

I agree with the part about the spouse's driving habits. My wife is exactly the same way LOL. I was in my Miata with her once and now she doesn't know why I hide my keys around her.

 

[HybridPaul]

I agree with the part about the spouse's driving habits. My wife is exactly the same way LOL. I was in my Miata with her once and now she doesn't know why I hide my keys around her.

Hahahaha! You should see how it is when your wife drives your RAM 2500 HD 6.4 Hemi 🫣

 

[Koreanadian]

Hahahaha! You should see how it is when your wife drives your RAM 2500 HD 6.4 Hemi 🫣

It was worse when I had my Infiniti G37S. I swear that she used every bit of 330 HP from that car. I think one time she asked why the tires wear down so fast ... hmm... I wonder

 

[HybridPaul]

It was worse when I had my Infiniti G37S. I swear that she used every bit of 330 HP from that car. I think one time she asked why the tires wear down so fast ... hmm... I wonder

Yep. Tired and Brakes!!! Lmao

 

[Koreanadian]

LMAO no kidding, and the tires for those 21 inch rims were expensive too

 

[Koreanadian]

I am starting to wonder if Kia's choice of engine for the hybrid was a mistake.
Using a turbo engine is excellent in theory, but they really don't work as advertised in real life, using much more fuel than EPA rated MPG.
I wonder if the mileage could've been improved further (in real life) by using the 2.5 used in the NA Sportage.
Thoughts?

 

[drewesque]

I am starting to wonder if Kia's choice of engine for the hybrid was a mistake.
Using a turbo engine is excellent in theory, but they really don't work as advertised in real life, using much more fuel than EPA rated MPG.
I wonder if the mileage could've been improved further (in real life) by using the 2.5 used in the NA Sportage.
Thoughts?

The turbo should be a good choice for efficiency, assuming the tune is right and the driver doesn't accelerate hard. But you may be right that for the real world, people aren't easing into the throttle. And I am not sure how the electric takeoff affects things. I would expect it would help prevent the effects of hard acceleration from a stop, since you get the immediate acceleration from the electric.
Personally, I like the idea of having the power available. My Niro is pretty gutless, which is fine for my commute, but going over a fairly steep pass took all it had to stay at 70. I think a little more power for the one with extra battery weight is worthwhile to me.

 

[NewHybridOwner_jc]

Everyone needs to know that all hybrids get better gas mileage in the city than on the highway.
It is the opposite of everything you have heard your entire life.

City = All the stop and go driving is where they hybrid system shines. You recapture energy with regenerative braking and use that energy for the electric motor to kick in to assist you in the acceleration using less gas.

Highway = No regenerative braking but more importantly no acceleration so the electric motor stays off so you get no effect at all. Your Engine is just cranking away at whatever RPM for long periods of time.

That all said... when I see several people getting and exceeding the advertised MPG and then a few that can't figure out why theirs is so much lower I immediately blame the driver. I have seen it in my own house. My ex wife got 5MPG less than I did in the exact same car. She drove into stoplights way later than I do, I coast into them. She accelerates WAY harder than I do, etc. etc. And when it is mentioned becomes immediately defensive about how dare anyone criticize her driving.

Your location can effect it, Extra AC or heating can make a difference, Hills/mountains make a huge difference, but I honestly think the Driver makes the largest difference of all.

[edit: found a typo]

for sure the driver is a major factor on MPG numbers (perhaps the main factor), but i used to own a hybrid in the past and was able to beat the EPA estimates with hypermiling techniques (easy on throttle, coasting, minimizing braking, etc.) so i know how to milk the system. i still could only get 34mpg out of this thing. i am just sharing my experience to inform others who read these posts - to be honest, i am not disappointed in this car - there is so much tech, comfort, and safety, it more than makes up for the disappointing numbers - i probably would only save a few bucks at the pump if i could get the EPA numbers anyways so that's chump change relative to the cost of the car.

 

[explicator]

Yes you are correct. Size doesn’t really matter that much for this vehicle we plan on buying. Mainly a commuter car/grocery getter for my wife

The point was it does matter when comparing miles per gallon. And if you drove 10K miles a year, you'd only save about $250 dollars a year in gas with a car that is 10 mpg more efficiency at $4 a gallon, so good luck using that to justify paying $10K more for a car, as it would take you 40 years to break even (assuming the more expensive car doesn't require premium gas, in which case the justification is even worse).

 

[RedGeminiPA]

I try to drive mine the way I drove my '21 Niro LX HEV that was averaging 55 MPG when I traded it in. My first half tank averaged out to 34.1 with mostly city driving. Since topping off, it's sitting around 30 MPG, but we did drive the interstate yesterday for a couple of hours. However, it was hovering around 31 before starting the trip. In all fairness, when I let my husband drive it, he was going over 85 MPH at one point on the way there, so that didn't help matters. I'm really hoping it starts improving to at least 35 average. Considering my regular commutes are typically under 50 and around town, I should be hitting the sweet spot for it.

 

[DynamiteRave]

I feel like if you can drive this car on straight aways, it does fantastic for MPG's. But if you have a lot of uphll climbs, even in the city or neighborhoods, it just murders the average. I can excitedly go from 43MPG to 34 in the span of a few minutes by just driving up and down through my township, because God forbid we have any flat lands here from my house to Target.

38MPG is a pipe dream to me, but I'm happy to be averaging about 33-35 vs my 17-19 of my 2017 Sportage.

 

[RedGeminiPA]

I feel like if you can drive this car on straight aways, it does fantastic for MPG's. But if you have a lot of uphll climbs, even in the city or neighborhoods, it just murders the average. I can excitedly go from 43MPG to 34 in the span of a few minutes by just driving up and down through my township, because God forbid we have any flat lands here from my house to Target.

38MPG is a pipe dream to me, but I'm happy to be averaging about 33-35 vs my 17-19 of my 2017 Sportage.

I'm in Altoona, so I know exactly what you're talking about. Typically, going uphill is often offset by going back down, to an extent, as I can usually get a good coast going for the next hill. I'll be driving to Salamanca this coming weekend, so I'll get a better feel for how it does on that trip. I'm going to try bumping up the tire PSI a few to see how much it helps.

 

[Swoll Cracker]

I have an EX that I purchased about three weeks ago. I’ve driven it approximately 700 miles. Most of the driving I have done is Eco Mode, non-highway. 20-mile round trips to work, grocery store, etc. im Averaging about 42mpg. I have driven on small stretches of Interstate and taken a couple of trips into the nearby mountains and have not noticed any significant change in mpg.

Needless to say, I’m very happy so far. I’m looking forward to a road trip to Salt Lake City next month, a drive of just over 500 miles. I’m dying to see if I can make it on a single tank of gas.

 

[jhinck1414]

I’m 2000 miles in on my sx prestige and I have an average of 38.5 mpg. Mixed 50/50 driving.

 

[RedGeminiPA]

I just did roughly a 300 mile round trip yesterday with 3 adults. Our combined weight was probably around 550 pounds. I had 1 bar less than full when we left. The route consisted of around 20 +/- miles on interstate at 75 MPH, about 30 miles at 70 MPH, and the rest of the route averaged closer to 60 MPH, with lots of hills and a few mountains. This tank also consisted of about 10 seconds of WOT in sport mode. When I filled up at the destination, the computer was reporting 38.8 MPG. Actual calculations came out to 38.54. When I filled up the previous tank, the actual was less than 1/2 MPG lower than what the computer reported. So far, that seems to be a trend.

Disclaimer: before this tank, I did top off the tires to 38 PSI. The dealer only had them set for 34.

 

[Jennifer Lynn]

I’ve been driving a Niro for the last four years and recently traded it in for the Sportage hybrid. Having gotten used to pushing the niro for the highest mileage I can get I’m finding the Sportage to be getting around what Kia said it would, BUT it took about a tank and a half to get there—getting used to the Sportage quirks. I am driving an LX AWD and getting a bit more than than I’m supposed to. I’m driving a mix of freeway and street, putting Costco gas in and I use ECO for around town, Smart for highway.

 

[Jennifer Lynn]

I’m curious if any of you reporting low mileage are able to re-produce what “OMGIBOUGHTAKIA” said? If you can maybe it’s due to buggy software…

If you can’t reproduce their results then that suggests this is more an issue with the EPA ratings.

I have a Vesta Blue EX reserved and arriving at the dealer in the next few weeks, and these reports of poor performance are definitely giving me 2nd thoughts.

i decided to avoid passing judgment too early on the overestimated EPA mileage estimate for AWD hybrid (38/38/38 mpg) and after 2 refills i am convinced that in my neck of the woods (Northern NJ) with 60/40 city/highway driving, 38 cannot be achieved, even with all the hypermiling techniques i have heard of. The best i can get is ~34 mpg (33.8 to be exact). that's still efficient compared to my Volvo XC60 T6 (21 mpg) but i call foul on the EPA estimate. perhaps it will improve after 1000 mile breakin (i'm at 700 miles currently) but i doubt it will improve that much.

at first, i didn't try to game the system and drove fairly normally and only got ~31 mpg, but the 2nd tank i decided to do my best and find those moments to maximize EV'ing and i still could only get the 33.8mpg. curious to see what others get.

PS: oh, and highway is even worse than city. can't do much past 65 mph without using lots of gas

The first tank I got about what you got but things improved after I figured out the quirks and now get 38-40. The first tank nothing I did got me over 32/33 and I was not super happy.