Wow, I was wondering how both Hyundai and Kia which were relatively small automakers before suddenly had the engineering to drastically increase their fuel economy in recent years. Now there is news that really haven't. Below are some articles from the Wall Street Journal, NY times and LA times on this.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204712904578094412515725112.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/b...stating-the-gas-mileage-of-vehicles.html?_r=0
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-mo-hyundai-kia-mpg-claims-20121102,0,6756011.story
To summarize, the US EPA mileage on some of their vehicles were high by as much as 6mpg in some instances! The Kia Soul Eco for example was listed as 29/36 but is actually 26/31. Each country has their own testing protocol and the US has several different tests to come up with the "official" numbers which you see on window stickers. Each manufacturer has testing facilities which do the exact same standard tests and the results are confirmed by the US EPA on a small percentage of the vehicles.
Apparently the US EPA tests confirmed a big discrepancy, Hyundai and Kia have acknowleged an error in testing procedures and will now offer debit cards which they will continually fund the difference in the stated vs actual fuel economy based on the regional fuel cost.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204712904578094412515725112.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/b...stating-the-gas-mileage-of-vehicles.html?_r=0
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-mo-hyundai-kia-mpg-claims-20121102,0,6756011.story
To summarize, the US EPA mileage on some of their vehicles were high by as much as 6mpg in some instances! The Kia Soul Eco for example was listed as 29/36 but is actually 26/31. Each country has their own testing protocol and the US has several different tests to come up with the "official" numbers which you see on window stickers. Each manufacturer has testing facilities which do the exact same standard tests and the results are confirmed by the US EPA on a small percentage of the vehicles.
Apparently the US EPA tests confirmed a big discrepancy, Hyundai and Kia have acknowleged an error in testing procedures and will now offer debit cards which they will continually fund the difference in the stated vs actual fuel economy based on the regional fuel cost.