I have a 2003 SantaFe 2.7L V6. I knew the gas mileage wasn't as good as I would like so I finally did a small gas mileage test.

Filled her up and zero'd the odometer.

I tried changing my driving habit to maximize gas mileage.

I basically drove like there was an egg between my foot and the gas pedal.

When I saw I was approaching a red light or a stop I let off the gas and coasted as soon as I could (being very carefull to do it safely and with consideration to drivers behind me).

I did everything I could to use as little gas as possible.

The final results?

236.8 miles driven useing 14.445 galls. = 16.39 MPG...............(crap.....)

I really was hoping for better gas mileage, especially considering how carefull I was.


Is there anything else I can do to get better mileage?

Is there a engine computer chip of some sort that will help?

Welcome to the nature of the beast, my friend. On a recent road trip, I was doing 75 on cruise control on the interstates and getting a solid 25 mpg on mostly flat ground. Just to see what would happen, I filled up, zero'd the trip meter, and drove 70 (even though the limit was 75). My mileage plummeted to 19 mpg!!! Filled up, zero'd it again, and drove 75-80. Got 24.9.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. My suggestion is try it again. You may get different results second time around.

I am not sure if the 3.5L is worse that the 2.7L-should be- but I average a constant 19-21.5 with the 3.5L. It is mostly non-highway driving in rural areas. The 19mpg also reflects the mileage using A/C on a few days.

For the 2004 Santa Fe, EPA estimates are as follows (old scale):

4-cylinder MT/AT*: 20/27
2.7 2WD: 20/26
2.7 4WD: 18/24
3.5 2WD: 16/22
3.5 4WD: 17/21

*4-cylinder models were not offered with 4WD. Figures are for front-wheel drive models only.

Thanks to gas mixed with ethanol at different percentages from different gas stations (even in the same area) it is very difficult to determine your gas mileage...unless you compare the mileage from one tank to the next FROM THE SAME GAS STATION...and be sure the mixture percentage hasn't changed from one tank full to the next. Generally, the higher the amount of ethanol added to the gas the LOWER you mileage will be, which results in the inconsistencies.

Seems as if Hyundais older V6s get pretty poor mileage figures in real world driving. I almost bought a 2002 Santa Fe myself...

I had a neighbor who had a 2001 Santa Fe with the 2.7 and she was averaging 16-17MPG with about 50/50 highway city driving. She traded it in for a 2004 Honda CR-V and now averages 23-24MPG with the same route.

Even now, I'm averaging a solid 18.5 in mostly city driving (some loop freeways here and there) which is much better than when they first switched to the 10% ethanol blend here. At that point I would be lucky to return above 16 mpg.

Before the switch I would consistently get 19.5-20 mpg city and it cost me $30 to fill up. :(