Poor Hybrid Mileage

People in another thread have said you must drive very carefully and non-aggressively to get such mileage. Yet even when I start from standing still by only very lightly pressing on the gas pedal, the gas engine comes on by the time I'm going (sometimes only) 5 mph and always by 15 mph. Nearly any acceleration starts the gas engine. Of course it is battery powered when I de-accelerate or coast down a hill... but even any gas-powered vehicle gets great mileage under those conditions. My car only has 1000 miles on it so far, so maybe it will get better after "wear-in"... though that whole concept makes little sense to me.

Ran some errands today, all in town driving. Went about 16 miles and wanted to see what my average MPG would be when finished, so I did my best to use EV as much as possible. At one point my average was above 40 MPG, but pulling into the driveway at the end of the trip I’m at 35.9 MPG. I’ll have to see if that improves over time.

I bought a sail, installed it and now I get 38. Depends on the wind of course.

I’m also thinking that the estimated mileage on previous vehicles was never very accurate. When I refill I’ll check the mileage the old fashion way.

Went on a trip to look at a car for my son about 140 miles away this weekend. Filled up on the way back and wanted to see what kind of mileage I could get on the highway on the way back. I was in Smart mode.



That was a bit before I got home. When I got home it was at 38.1. So an average of 38 MPG is possible depending on your driving style. I was doing my best to improve the MPG. Where I live it is hilly so a lot of gentle to moderate ups and downs. Perhaps it would be even better on a completely flat road.

I was averaging 31-32 MPG w/my HEV SX Prestige when I first started driving it last fall. Cold weather doesn't help! But what I discovered is that there is a 3-4K mile break-in period, which seems to mostly be for conditioning the battery. I would watch the hybrid diagram while driving on the highway and it would charge to just over 50% full and then discharge to just under 50% full, so not much use of the EV capability! A few months later, even in the dead of winter, it was charging to 75% full and discharging down to as low as 25%. My gas mileage improved to approx. 35 mpg and now in the warm weather, I'm getting closer to 38. But note: If you drive on the highway a lot, especially over 70 mph, you will be getting somewhere in the low 30's, even in warm weather. So have patience during the first few thousand miles, slow down on the highway, and learn to "feather" or "pulse" the gas pedal to keep it in EV mode longer, and you will get much better mileage. Holding the gas pedal constant starts the ICE more often.

One more tip is to try to keep the power display in the "Charging" zone for as long as possible when braking. This avoids using the actual brakes and is using regen battery charging to slow the car. If the needle is pinned at the bottom of the charging zone, you are braking. It's hard to tell when the actual brakes come on (which is a good thing!) To be most efficient when braking then, is to start using the pedal earlier and coast into the stop. Best practice is on the highway off ramps. It takes a while to get a feel for how much longer stopping distance you will need to achieve this.

Fantastic car. Love it!

We have 2023 HEV SX Prestige. We took a trip from Ohio to Arizona and back (almost 5000 miles). At one time we were only getting 26 MPG on the highway and at another time we were getting 45 MPG @75 MPH on the highway. It seemed to change each time we filled up the tank with gas and then lasted for that whole gas tank. So my theory it is this car is more sensitive to the quality of the gas that you use and I am thinking it is because of the turbo charged engine. This is my first car with a turbo in it. I was always using the lower grade offered at the pump. In Ohio it is 87 octane but out west there was 85/86 in some states. Now that we are back home we are almost always getting between 37 and 39 MPG. We have >7000 miles on the car now. We have not driven in winter yet. We will have to see if this changes much in winter driving.

We have not had even the smallest thing wrong in this car, and as complex as it is, I find that impressive so far.

I’ve got a little over 2000 miles on my Sportage EX HEV now. At the last refill I did the mileage by hand and it came out to 32 MPG. The computer said 34 MPG for that tank, so the computer seems to be a little on the high side.

On the current tank (only about 1/3 of the way through) the computer has me averaging a little higher, but now that it is colder I can see I’m not getting quite as much life out of the battery. We’ll see where I end up at my next refill.

I have been driving a hybrid for 10 years and I have to say it is a learned art to squeeze the most out of it. Things I have learned:
1. When braking, stay in the charge zone as much as possible. Make it a game. On my hybrid with 150K miles, my lifetime average for energy recovery is 91%. PS, still on original brake pads.
2. Keep tires properly inflated.
3. EPA Hiway mileage test has average speed of 48 mph. Not very realistic. I have gotten the EPA expected but it is not the norm.
4. Heat and cold reduce MPG. Above 90 and below 40 will reduce MPG.
5. Wind matters. On one trip during the tail wind part, I got 30% higher MPG than on the headwind return trip.
6. Use the cruise control. That alone will give you an extra 3 MPG.

solarchi said:

I’ve got a little over 2000 miles on my Sportage EX HEV now. At the last refill I did the mileage by hand and it came out to 32 MPG. The computer said 34 MPG for that tank, so the computer seems to be a little on the high side.

On the current tank (only about 1/3 of the way through) the computer has me averaging a little higher, but now that it is colder I can see I’m not getting quite as much life out of the battery. We’ll see where I end up at my next refill.

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I tend to trust the computer over the gas pump. There is no calibration standard for the shutoff on a gas pump. My experience is that you will never know exactly how full your tank is by trusting the pump. Also, it is all relative, if you use the computer and compare it to itself, you will see how your driving habits effect MPG. It doesn't matter if it the number is not exactly right.

I'd be interested in having someone use a tank of gas with the tires at 35 psi, and then try it at 40psi. I know it's not easy to get apples and apples, but it would be helpful. I am also tempted to remove my roof rack crossbars.

Chuck, 2023 PHEV

I have a 2023 Sportage EX Hybrid with about 5700 miles. I just checked and the computer in the car says I've gotten 38.1 MPG cumulatively since I picked it up new, and 39.5 so far on this tankful. I have not calculated my mpg based on total usage, although I plan to do so one day. I am 74 years old, I figure my reaction times are slower, and so tend to drive a little under the speed limit. I live in the high mountains of WV, so a lot of up and down hills.
I notice that if I start out with the engine cold, the engine runs a while, to warm up I assume, and so on a very short trip, my mileage on "this drive" will be poor.
I am persuaded that I can get better mileage if I do not use the cruise control so much going up and down hills. I am content to go up at maybe 10 under the limit to save gas, accelerate after I crest the top, and coast down when possible or simply re-activate the cruise control. (If someone else is behind me, I will drive at about the speed limit so as not to be a rolling roadblock.)
On a couple of trips to Ohio, I have driven at about 65 on the interstates and 55 on state highways and seem to get mileage in the neighborhood of 36. If the computer is to be believed, 55 mph gets much better mileage than 65 mph.
I leave the drive selection on ECO these days.

WNJeffers said:

I have a 2023 Sportage EX Hybrid with about 5700 miles. I just checked and the computer in the car says I've gotten 38.1 MPG cumulatively since I picked it up new, and 39.5 so far on this tankful. I have not calculated my mpg based on total usage, although I plan to do so one day. I am 74 years old, I figure my reaction times are slower, and so tend to drive a little under the speed limit. I live in the high mountains of WV, so a lot of up and down hills.
I notice that if I start out with the engine cold, the engine runs a while, to warm up I assume, and so on a very short trip, my mileage on "this drive" will be poor.
I am persuaded that I can get better mileage if I do not use the cruise control so much going up and down hills. I am content to go up at maybe 10 under the limit to save gas, accelerate after I crest the top, and coast down when possible or simply re-activate the cruise control. (If someone else is behind me, I will drive at about the speed limit so as not to be a rolling roadblock.)
On a couple of trips to Ohio, I have driven at about 65 on the interstates and 55 on state highways and seem to get mileage in the neighborhood of 36. If the computer is to be believed, 55 mph gets much better mileage than 65 mph.
I leave the drive selection on ECO these days.

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Does it show you your mileage since the very beginning? Or just This Trip / Last Refill / Custom?

G-37360 said:

Does it show you your mileage since the very beginning? Or just This Trip / Last Refill / Custom?

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It also shows total/cumulative. I have 16K+ on mine now, in the middle of my 2nd winter in New England, drive 75ish on the highway and am getting just under 35 MPG cumulative. Really great for this large an AWD car, w/“normal” tranny!

According to the car's computer, I've driven 5992 miles over 205:45 hours. Just over 29 mpg. I've given up on ever getting anything better in a Sportage Hybrid. :-(

G-37360 said:

Does it show you your mileage since the very beginning? Or just This Trip / Last Refill / Custom?

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Those were my numbers since I picked it up at the dealer when it had 3 miles on the odometer. The fuel economy (MPG) is noticeably less since the weather turned cold. It now has 6801 miles on the odometer and shows that I have gotten 37.1 MPG in those 6800 miles since I drove it off the showroom floor. Since the last refill the computer shows 35.9 MPG over 278 miles. I still have not calculated the MPG since new on the basis of the gasoline I have put in it. Based on checking individual refills, I think the computer is a little optimistic, showing maybe 1 to 2 MPG better than reality.

Since posting the reply immediately above, it has occurred to me that the somewhat poorer mileage since the weather turned cold would be due to the battery being much less efficient at cold temperatures.

WNJeffers said:

Since posting the reply immediately above, it has occurred to me that the somewhat poorer mileage since the weather turned cold would be due to the battery being much less efficient at cold temperatures.

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Battery performance is definitely worse when the temperature is 40s or below. The lower the worse.

I've been getting 14 mpg in town
Having major buyers remorse

G-222112 said:

I've been getting 14 mpg in town
Having major buyers remorse

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Definitely something wrong there. You should ask your dealer to have a look.

Questions:
- Do you have a Sportage HEV or a regular (gas only) Sportage?
- Do you idle your Sportage for long periods of time? Anytime you’re idling but not moving that counts against your MPG.