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Kia Optima fuel mileage on long trip.

8K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  bash57 
#1 ·
I plan on taking a 1,000 mile trip in the near future. Just wondered what I could expect for fuel mileage with our 2019 Kia Optima LX with 2.4 engine? I should average 70 mph because the road is near empty of traffic, and 70 mph will be a good speed to enjoy the scenery. The manual on the Kia says 33 mpg with a 18.5 gallon fuel tank. Is that accurate?

My other option is driving our 2012 Ford F250 pickup that has a 38 gallon diesel fuel tank, so I would not need to fuel up for over 600 miles.
Both vehicles are very comfortable.
We have another vehicle, but because I had a supercharger installed, the front bumper has a one inch clearance above the road. Any object, like a 2x4, tire tread pieces etc. would take out the front bumper, and any night driving would be hard to see debris in the road.
So,,, Kia or pickup.
Since I will be driving out in the middle of nowhere, it is important to plan for fuel stops.
 
#5 · (Edited)
It's possible to get high-20s / low-30s mpg out of the 2.0 without babying it too much--I've gotten as high as 33 mpg on mostly-highway driving between fillups, and regularly around 28-29 mpg under similar circumstances. In mostly city driving I can regularly achieve anywhere from 23-26 mpg.

To be fair--if I were to drive mostly in Normal mode and/or regularly drive 10+ mph over the limit I reckon my fuel economy numbers would be a bit lower than what I reported.

Disclosure--my reported numbers are based on manually calculating the fuel economy (i.e., not taken from the trip computer) after a fillup.
 
#6 ·
mooney201--it would depend on what you plan to do during your trip and/or at your destination--i.e., how you plan to use your vehicle; I'll offer an example to show what I mean--

Later this summer I need to drive my daughter to college, a 450 mile trip (one way); my vehicle choices are my 2018 SXL rated at 31 mpg HWY and my 2004 Yukon Denali XL (31 gallon fuel tank) rated at 16 mpg HWY (however its PCM has been tuned such that I can get 17-18 mpg if I'm good). On paper the driving range for both vehicles is similar, assuming I can drive at or near the rated HWY fuel economy; obviously the fuel costs will be much lower if I choose the Optima--however, in the end I will be driving the Yukon cuz I will be hauling my daughter's stuff (she will be living in a dorm).
 
#10 ·
Our 2012 F250 6.7 diesel Ford pickup gets 22 mpg at 70 mph on level ground with no wind. I ordered it with 2 wd and at 70 mph, the tach is at 1400 rpm. I have almost 20,000 miles on it now, and have attained 22 mpg many times. My brothers 2011 Ford 6.7 psd is a 4x4 and he gets much worse mileage than I do.
The route I am taking is from Northern California through Oregon to Idaho, then back through Nevada and then back to California. Not much traffic. Range is important because of long distances between gas stations.
Our 2014 Jeep Rubicon gets horrible mileage (17) on a good day, so the range is not that great.
We have a supercharged Corvette that gets 29 mpg at 70 mph in sixth gear, but it is so low to the ground, it would be a hazard driving at night and not seeing debris on the road, with only one inch clearance, it would not be wise to take it.
 

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#11 ·
Back to the OPs original question, drive whichever vehicle is going to provide you and the family the most comfort on the trip. If the overall cost of fuel for the trip is not an issue, I wouldn't worry about MPGs. Any of your vehicles is going to get at least 500 miles per tank and I can't think of many places in the lower 48 where that would be an issue. Just make sure you fill up prior to hitting the area where you think finding gas will be an issue.
 
#13 ·
So far as comfort, the pickup and Kia are about the same. Very comfortable. Although I have not driven the Kia very far, so I don't really know how comfortable it will be on a long trip. The truck is very comfortable on long trips. I think you guys are right in that if I did get into some adverse weather, the pickup would probably be a better choice. It would be nice to know how the Kia's comfort on a long trip is. In fact, the only time I drove it was home from the dealership. It is the wife's car, so she has been driving it. Decisions, decisions.
 
#16 ·
On my 17 2.4l I got between 31 and 50 mpg on trips depending on if the wind was at my back. The 50 was a fluke everything in my favor that trip. Usually high 30s and a 40 here or there.

I traded it for a 19 stinger 2.0t and man I am hating these new mpg numbers .
 
#17 ·
500 miles (actual) on a tank of gas (on a non-hybrid Optima) is still a pretty decent achievement; I could get 500+ miles on a tank of gas on my 2.0T but given that I typically do not allow my gas tank (or at least the fuel gauge) to go below 1/4 full, realistically I probably can't hit the 500-mile mark unless I drive real conservatively (i.e., drive the speed limit). The most I've driven between fillups (in my Optima) is 413 miles; I could have gotten more miles out of it but I try to plan my fuel stops such that I can fill up at Costco right around the moment my fuel gauge gets to ~1/4 full...and yes, it just happens to work out that there are Costcos located conveniently along my long-distance route.
 
#21 ·
Ok folks, riddle me this--how much gas would you guess would still be left in the 18.5-gallon fuel tank if the trip computer shows remaining fuel range of 6 miles (yes I actually drove my car down to low single-digit distance remaining, and no that wasn't very smart of me but that's for a different discussion) and average MPG of ~27 since last refill (full tank), low fuel light is ON, and fuel gauge needle is below (technically, it's to the left of) the E(mpty) mark?

If you were to guess less than 1 gallon--well I can tell you that you'd be wrong; turns out that even under such conditions I was able to pump a hair under 16 gallons (before the pump nozzle clicked off)--meaning that there were still ~2.5 gallons of gas left in the tank. According to my own calculations I got ~26 MPG, meaning that theoretically I could have driven another ~60 miles before running out of gas in spite of the trip computer telling me I could drive only another 6 miles before embarassing myself. Apparently it's a good thing that Kia gives you this much fudge room when it comes to fuel/distance remaining, IMHO.
 
#24 ·
Just returned from a 3,500+ mile journey from Orlando Fl. to Des Moines Iowa in my 2017 Optima LX 2.4L engine with 44,500 miles. While in Iowa drove around the state to see different sights. Did a complete oil change service just before leaving and did the same when I returned. Mileage on the trip was average about 35-37 mpg all the way there and back! Going on average 70-80 on the highways. The one thing I held off on doing before leaving to on this trip was the KSDS upgrade. I know they seemed to fix the early problems but I felt better waiting till I got back home to do it.
 
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