Our 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid's Fuel Economy Stinks

We're not even close to hitting the EPA's fuel economy estimate

2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy AWD Rear 3/4
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  • We added a Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid to our year-long test fleet.
  • The EPA estimates it should get 34 mpg combined.
  • We, uh, have not gotten anywhere close to that.

Hyundai loaned us a top-of-the-line Santa Fe Hybrid with all-wheel drive for us to put through our One-Year Road Test program. By and large, we've enjoyed our time in the Santa Fe — it's a competent three-row SUV with lots of desirable features. 

But the fuel economy has been dreadful. The EPA estimates the all-wheel-drive Santa Fe Hybrid should get 34 mpg in combined driving. We've put more than 8,000 miles on the Santa Fe so far and it's returned just 26.6 mpg.

Is that good?

No! It is not good. The non-hybrid all-wheel-drive version of the Santa Fe gets an EPA-estimated 23 mpg, which we're barely beating with our hybrid. If there's good news, it's that adding the hybrid powertrain only costs an additional $1,000. 

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Have you come close to the EPA number?

We have not. Our best tank took us 484.5 miles and returned 29.9 mpg. That's … fine. It's fine. But it's well below what we expected when we added the Santa Fe to our year-long test fleet. Perhaps more importantly, it pales in comparison to competitors like the Toyota Grand Highlander, a larger vehicle that exceeded the EPA's estimate in our testing. 

Maybe you're the problem?

We're usually sympathetic to this argument. Automotive journalists are not known for conservative driving (we're known for our incredible looks and just generally being a good hang). But if accelerating too much or driving too fast on the highway can tank a vehicle's fuel economy this much … we're inclined to think it's a car problem.

We'll let you know if things improve over the next several thousand miles.

2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy AWD Front 3/4
Jake Sundstromby

Jake Sundstrom has worked in the automotive industry since 2017. He has written hundreds of car-related articles. Jake is currently an Editor for CarMax and has also contributed to National Hot Rod Association publications. When he's not driving cars, he's eating takeout inside of them (probably burgers, burritos or pizza).

Steven Ewingedited by

Steven Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. In that time, he's written thousands of articles and tested just as many vehicles. Steven is Edmunds' director of editorial content and has previously been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET, and was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. Steven has also contributed to Automobile magazine, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, Porsche Panorama, and dozens of other publications. In his spare time, Steven loves to play the drums, cook, and drive his 2000 BMW M Roadster.

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