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<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">About a year ago we purchased a new Hyundai Santa Fe AWD to use as a tow vehicle. After using it to haul our 1-ton camping trailer through Colorado to the west coast and then up into the Canadian Rockies I can comment on a few things Ron mentioned.</p>
<p style="-qt-paragraph-type:empty; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;"></p>
<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">Fuel economy: The latest version of the 3.5 V6 is rated at 275 bhp, but those are Clydesdales, not quarter horses. They need more oats. I didn't hesitate to let the engine spool up to 4500 rpm climbing 10,000 foot mountain passes in the Rockies -- at 65 mph, while pulling the trailer. Gas mileage suffered! :)</p>
<p style="-qt-paragraph-type:empty; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;"></p>
<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">For the whole trip we averaged about 17.5 while towing and anywhere from 18 - 22 when not. I have never owned a car that was as sensitive as this one to different brands of gasoline. Best mileage was in Canada, where they do NOT add ethanol to the petrol.</p>
<p style="-qt-paragraph-type:empty; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;"></p>
<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">The best widget I purchased for the trip was the Scan Guage II.</p>
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<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">http://www.scangauge.com/</p>
<p style="-qt-paragraph-type:empty; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;"></p>
<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">This plugs into the OBDI port under the dash and allows constant readout of nearly every variable the engine's computer is tracking. Displays any four. Especially useful for towing are the (near) instant fuel economy and water temp. The temp. gauge in this car is a joke. It looks like a regular temp gauge, but it really has only three positions: cold, normal, and overheated. It shows as "normal" anything from 157F to 223F, the highest I have seen so far.</p>
<p style="-qt-paragraph-type:empty; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;"></p>
<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">To put the fuel economy into some perspective, this V6 is producing more drive-wheel horsepower than many of the muscle cars of the late 60s with their hulking, ginormous V8s -- which got 12-15 mpg IF you only touched the gas pedal with a feather-light foot. Those four-barrel carbs were thirsty!</p>
<p style="-qt-paragraph-type:empty; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;"></p>
<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">The 2013 version of the car no longer comes with the V6 -- only a regular 4-banger and a turbo-four. Couldn't find anything on tow capacity, but I suspect it is now limited to one ton. The V6 is rated to tow up to 3500 lbs with trailer brakes.</p>
<p style="-qt-paragraph-type:empty; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;"></p>
<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">Bottom line: strong engines with lots of torque are thirsty. Those little turbocharged 4-bangers produce enough horsepower at high revs while sipping gas, but are gutless coming away from a stop, especially up hill with a load. We need the grunt factor, so we put up with the fuel mileage. If we didn't we'd have a much smaller car with a turbo-four and enjoy 40% - 50% better fuel economy.</p>
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<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">Sean</p>
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