I have 2 other cars. I use my Sonata occasionally to go to work and to the beach. If I take it to work it is 100 miles round trip all hiway. Going to the beach it is 200 miles round trip hiway. The Sonata is basically for pleasure. I live in the middle of no where so its a drive to everywhere

This post has been edited by brihvac: Aug 11 2008, 08:05 PM

Had a 2000 Elantra before buying the new Sonata SE V-6, I can't see any difference in the mileage. Granted the Elantra had a smaller gas tank, But we are driving the Sonata more. In town (which is where most of our driving is) it is averaging between 22 and 24 mpg. On the highway it averages 30 - 34 mpg depending upon how deep my foot is into it. If the speed limit is 75, I set the cruise at 79 But I will run with the flow if the traffic is moving faster. (90 - 95 on I-90 between Rapid City and Mitchell SD mileage was not that good) So far in the 7 months we have had the Sonata, we've put on 9,000 miles 2500 of those were highway miles on trips to the Ozarks and Blackhills. Very impressed with the performance and gas mileage of the V-6. Had a new 2009 Sonata GLS I4 with 20 miles as a loner while they were butchering, err,working on mine (SEE POST SERVICE NIGHTMARE) and was not impressed with the ride or performance. It was a lot noiser both engine noise and road noise (Mine has the sun roof, loaner did not) and enterior seemed cheaper.

I've posted many times before, but I get "poor" mileage from the car based on my commute. Lots of stop signs and sitting at lights. Its either that or sitting in traffic. Right now I am seeing about 18 -20 mpg with a minimal amount of highway miles. That being said on longer highway trips I'll see anywhere between 25 and 30. Last weekend the wife and I went up to the Pocono's and I saw a little under 25 mpg's. That was with mostly highway driving (65-75mph) but lots of hills (afterall we went up to the "mountains"). My previous car (a manual '04 Elantra GT) didn't get much better mileage. It typically averaged low 20's.

I was in the same shoes are yourself. Considering the 09 4cyl GLS but ended up going with a V6 SE. The 4cyl has adequate power and seems fine. But my justification was I knew if I had the 4cyl, I'd want to sell it quicker (get killed on depreciation) whereas with the 6cyl has enough power and I'd probably keep it around longer and turn it into my beater or give it to a family member. I was coming from a fully loaded 2007 Camry SE with Navi. with 268HP (written off) so it was hard to go backwards in power for my daily driver.

As for mileage.... 1700 miles so far... and calculated avg totals 29 mpg. I would say that's easy/breaking in mileage and about 80/20. On a trip 300 mile highway mostly trip I avged over 30.

The margin difference in gas a month for the added power and fun factor is worth it.

Roger

Dude buy the 4......you can listen to these V6 guys with 4 envy all day long. :grin:

It's more than adequate and probably cheaper. To buy and maintain. :thumbsup:

Got the V6, didn't even consider the 4-banger :P Perhaps sometime I'll go test drive a 4 cylinder just for comparison, but I really wanted my power! And averaging about 24MPG all around, I really can't complain.

With Gas prices falling, and falling fast, it makes sense to get the V Six. :trophy:

There isn't a day I jump into the LX and not appreciate the refined power and

smoothness of the V6. You can't compare the two models, and the Gas mileage

difference is minimal. In 2006 they were selling the base V6 for $16.9K. What a

bargain! :banana: :beer:

I've had my 08 Sonata GLS I6 for 3 weeks today. It was the sales manager's car and had 3,000 miles on it.
On a short expressway trip yesterday (125 miles) we got 36-37 mpg, which dropped to 31 mpg after 50 or so miles of city/rural driving. Moreover, the hills here in eastern TN don't slow it down enough to worry about.
Bottom line: gotta love that six! :banana:

You meant V6, of course. The Sonata has never had an I6.

I have the 07 Limited V6. I picked it up about 2 months ago for $14K. I test drove the 4 and I wasn't impressed the 6 felt smoother. I have a mixed driving commute here in DC. I go against traffic to get to work so its wide open.

My V6 likes to sit at 22 mpg thats about 70/30 (highway/city) and my comute is about 65 miles round trip. On a tank of gas about 300 miles are highway and the other 80 are city.

I recently took a trip to Atlantic City, NJ minimal traffic. I averaged about 26-27mpg. You will see people post that they hit over 30mpg, but I don't see how thats possible unless your setting the trip counter right before you get on the highway. People should calculate the entire tank of gas. In general people will see what they want to see. I someone wants to see better gas mileage something will tweak the calculations. After about 8 times of filling up the car I can say it likes to sit closer to 22-24 mpg, overall. Go rent a 6 for a weekend and maybe 2 days of traveling to work and test it.

Don't get the V6 and expect to see 28 mpg all the time. If your concered with MPG your looking at the wrong car. You need to go test drive a Honda Fit, very spacious and a well put together car. Also more inexpensive than a Toyota Prius and recent studies show that you would have to drive the prius for 11 years before the gas savings would take effect (thats including the battery replacement which costs $3K). Also, the Fit has this pretty cool feature where if you fold the front seat all the way back and your sitting the back seat it creats a business class seating.

My rant at the bottom is because he said he is looking for Fuel economy. You need to be honest with yourself in what you really want for a car. If you can get 12K for your trade in you can pick up a Fit or other similar car for about $12K-$15K
Enjoy

This post has been edited by yjbeach: Aug 12 2008, 07:24 AM

I'll go against the predominant opinion here. I think the I4 is the 2009 Sonata is just fine: the added 13 horsepower in the 2009 I4 engine makes it a really decent performer. I traded in a 2007 Mustang GT on a Sonata GLS, and I honestly don't miss the horsepower. Yes, with the Sonata I'll never get the thrill of getting pushed back into the seat when I accelerate, but the Sonata is no slouch, and every time I look at the gas mileage a big smile comes to my face. I've got a bit over 1500 miles on the car, and I routinely get 22 MPG around town for my daily commute of three miles with eight stoplights. On the one highway trip I took (80% highway and 20% stop and go) with 600 miles on the car, I got 34.8 MPG.

If fuel economy is what you want, the I4 is the engine to get.

Purchase the I-4 in the Sonata. If you must have less fuel economy purchase the 290 HP Genesis V6. The anemic 249 HP Sonata V6 is outclassed by the Altima, Camry, Accord, Passat, Maxima, and the Mazda6 S.

My favorite V6 is Nissan's VQ which is the only engine to have been present on the Ward's 10 Best Engines list every year since the competition’s inception in 1995.

This post has been edited by mdale007: Aug 12 2008, 12:40 PM

well, for those that drive 95% highway driving, 30 MPG for the V6 is not impossible. I have had 3 FULL tanks that have gotten over 30 MPG (manual calculation - spreadsheet logged). but i average 28+ in warmer weather... my lowest average for a tank since May was 27.5... no "tweaking" of calculations.. miles driven divided by gallons to fill... pretty simple calculation, cant really tweak it much

of course, if one doesnt drive all highway like me, they most likely will not see 28+ average for the V6...

Its not the best article, but it gets you thinking.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/autos/...moneymag/2.html

Pretty much the same here, I didn't even consider the 4 cylinder.
If I wanted a 4 cyl I would have bought a tiburon or a civic/fit. I did drive the I4 sonata for about two weeks, it's not terrible, but it wasn't what I wanted in my new car.

I still say that you need to drive a V6 in your normal conditions before you even consider trading in. People seem to get anywhere from 24-34 mpg on the highway, so this gives you an idea of how good and bad the V6 can do for mileage. Around town, the V6 can be as bad as 16mpg and as good as low 20s.

Do NOT buy a teeny tiny small 4 cylinder for highway driving, especially if you ever maintain higher speeds. You will save little if anything on fuel, and you'll hate your life.

agree with dogstar.. if you are using the car for more of a commuter car (long highway miles/trips), the V6 is the right car.. if you are doing shorter, town trips or do more stop & go, the I4's are the right cars..

personally, as others mentioned, i didn't even consider the 4-bangers... i came from a 4 cylinder Escort ZX2 and swore that i wouldn't get another 4-cylinder car for a while... plus, the look of the dual exhaust is sweet! :grin:


HOWEVER, dont trade in your 4-banger yet... try resetting your tranny (battery) and let the car re-learn your "slower, more conservative" driving habits first, then see if the mileage improves and also test the newer V6's on the same routes and driving conditions to see if there is any difference...

Saying you need a six for highway driving is not looking at things rationally. Granted, getting up to highway speed is faster with a six cylinder, but once you get the car up to highway speed, it takes only a small effort to keep it there. A four cylinder engine will keep a car