Ioniq with a Boot (#BritishEnglish) - The 2023 Elantra Hybrid

I had my 65HP econo car in neutral coasting down the straight highway from the pass into Death Valley at 80MPH & accelerating. The car would have gone 120+MPH(if it didn’t fly apart). Funny how people find possibilities, where others find none.

 

QUOTE="MaxxMPG, post: 444933, member: 4401"](Do they make videos anymore?)[/QUOTE]

Sure they do. They are on YouTube.

 

I dismissed the Elantra Hybrid because it "isn't a liftback". The only reason
I need(want) a liftback is to carry a mountain bike inside the car. It's not such a huge
need anymore. I did like the Ioniq HEV and PHEV. Try to find one.

But the Elantra Blue looks pretty nice to me.
Again , try fo find one.

I'll be watching for more detailed reports on your Elantra's performance under
different conditions. Keep up the good work, Chris.

 

This car is nuckin futs...

I took it on a road trip to Kentucky last week, and it already has 2k on the clock. Tank averages were around 56mpg at posted 70mph speed limit, up and around and through the Appalachian mountain range. At the posted limits of 50 (within NYC limits) and 55 (east of NYC), the FCD is in the low 60s. So much for the 49/52 rating. Must've been tested with the parking brake set and 10 degrees of toe in.
The car was topped off in NJ last week near Metuchen NJ, then driven home, then driven around locally for three days, and then out to the office and back (38 miles) and after that distance, the fuel shows just under full (see below).

Lest anyone think the 88.x posted earlier was a fluke, here's the trip mpg driving home from work tonight, with temp around 63F and light wind.
Picture taken on a slow roll up to a light that was about to change - a quick click and then ready to move as the light changed and traffic started up again.

80+mpg displayed after 39 minutes & 17.9 miles into a 19 mile commute in NYC suburbs. Not bad for a midsize sedan.
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Alas - Daily driving is not all Yodels & YooHoo (shout out to those aspiring to achieve insulin resistance)...
Start it up in the morning and after a short time, the engine fires up and runs at high rpm (sounds like about 2k or a bit less) to heat things up. It runs for about a minute. I suspect it's a strategy to avoid engine sludge because the engine doesn't need to run that long just to light off the catalyst.

Drive it about a mile and shut it down and it may show something like 14mpg. But continue driving it for 15+ miles and you're ending up with an average anywhere from 60 to 90, depending on temperature, traffic and terrain.
Low temperatures mean lower FE, although the car does have a PTC heater so it doesn't need to run the engine much if you ask for a little heat. Terrain can hurt if you don't know what you're doing but gentle hills can be handled very well. Traffic? The worse it is, the better the numbers, as you would expect with most hybrids.

EV gliding for long distances is quite possible. I went to the local diner to pick up an order - maybe a 3 mile drive each way. The engine fired up only twice each way. It was a low speed back street route to ensure minimal engine use. FCD showed 70+ at the end of the drive.

Yes, there's a technique to enable it. But you can definitely cover fairly long distances in EV - no doubt because the car rolls so well. Especially when you have the tires "properly inflated".

This car is absolutely a steal, based on its capability, pricing, and most important of all - availability. They're actually out there on dealer lots, and it's just a matter of finding one of those dealers willing to sell it without excessive ADM or aftermarket frippery. It is possible. I have the evidence parked right outside.

 

Until you get into TRAFFIC , where you sit and watch your SOC go down until the ICE fires up.

 

True. The serious "hard stop" - get out and play cards because you're not going anywhere - is going to hurt. And using AC and accessories whittles down battery level. The drive-time crawl, where you can roll along at maybe 5-10mph, seems to work very well with this car.

 

Took this picture while driving to the dealer to pick up the registration paperwork so I could take off the temp tag and install the license plate.

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That's the first 20% of a typical homeward-bound afternoon commute. The final number when heading in this direction is typically in the low 80s, so this shows the first quarter to third of the commute distance allows the best efficiency.

 

Are you planning any countermeasures for when it gets cold?

 

The cold so far has been down to the high 40s on a couple of days, but mostly 50-something on the temp display. It does hurt, and the FCD shows low teens for the fist mile until it warms up. There isn't much I can do other than to eliminate short trips in the cold, so the car can warm up and spend more time in EV mode every time it's booted. The car has shutters already so a grille block isn't needed.
I think I will skip winter tires on this car since the Soul has winter rubber for it already, and the pressure will be updated as temps fall.

 

Sounds like a good plan. Thanks.

 

Decades ago for my car that was parked in the nighttime outdoors, I had an “electrical dip stick” that would warm the oil a bit through the night. Think it was about 10 watts & the engine always started easier in the morning. It may have helped early morning MPG.

I have some used, over-sized studded snow tires that I got FREE & will put on the Hyundai Accent for the winter. Used them for 2 winters now & loved them. Presently, I’m out of regular over-sized used tires for the Accent, & will enjoy the winter Big Boots again for the Accent.

 

Quoted from a post on 10/10/22, and a quick update that I'm still running on the tank from 10/6 in NJ. It's under 1/4 now, so I will likely fill up three weeks to the day. I guess I will be able to stuff in 9 or 9.5 gallons. Hyundai is notorious for leaving a few gallons in the tank when the needle is on "E", so I figure "E" means "Eight gallons burned" in this configuration. Add 8 to the extra gallon or gallon and a half of headroom inside the tank and my next fillup should be under $30 and take me through the next three weeks.

 

I'm lucky if I can get 10 days from a tank.

 

64F on the trip home from work, and the fair weather and little wind make the HEH happy. Offers a fairly easy 80+mpg on the homebound trip. Morning trips lower due to lower temperatures and driving in "can't be late" mode, but still far beyond EPA.
Silly 0-75 FCD bar is pegged as usual. Unfortunate that it is not 0-175. Or at least 0-100.

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From work to church Thursday night - temp in the high 50s and very little wind...

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Strange observation. A few of the older (retired) church people puzzle over the word "hybrid" when used in automobiles. I explain that it sounds like the Jetson's vacuum cleaner because the government says it needs to make noise so you can't sneak up on pedestrians like in that skit we saw in The Office. You tell them it's a hybrid and they ask, "Where do you plug it in?!" There seems to be a common mindset that HEV = PHEV = BEV = FCEV = EV. I explained that the engine charges the battery and powers the car for short periods of time with a gas engine, and then the engine turns off and the battery powers the car. And when you step on the brake, the energy of motion is used to recharge the battery instead of heating the brake rotors. I'd explain to them that electric cars won't be practical where we live for another 30 or 40 years because there are only a handful of plugs within 20 miles of home or work. So you get a hybrid that uses gas as its primary fuel and electricity to capture energy and reuse it. It doesn't always get through. I figure next week, I will again be asked where I plugged it in.

 

I just point to the fuel door and tell them I have a very long extension cord.
Doing my part to educate the unwashed public.

 

My wife says I need a bath, often when I don’t think I do.

 

Warmer weather is finally here, and the Elantra Hybrid loves heavy traffic.

Mid last week, 86.2 average indicated:

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A little warmer and slower traffic offers over 90mpg.

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And just tonight (5/10/23) - riding along in my sister's 2022 Sonata Hybrid Limited, driven by my sister who learned to drive by watching Smokey and the Bandit, the Hyundai hybrid drivetrain still pummels the EPA (45/51 47 combined) in a mix of suburban traffic, showing 66.4mpg.

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Pretty darn impressive for vehicles of their size.

 

Great results !