Actually took two long trips from September 1st until the 10th. One from NJ to Ocean City, MD (we were there for the entire Ernesto storm with wind gusts as high as 90 MPH). Then home for about 2 days, and another trip to Richmond, VA. Being a first-time minivan owner, most of my raves about the vehicle involve the fact that we were able to put EVERYTHING in the back of this thing without any problems. Traveling with a 4.5 year-old and a 6-month old involves bringing just about the entire house, short of the kitchen sink. In my previous vehicles this involved strategic packing and loading. In the Entourage, all I had to do was make sure the load was secure. It was great. So, to compare the driving and quality of the vehicle to others I own and have owned, I have to say that (as expected) there are some good points and bad points. First, the engine makes WAY too much noise. At least it has some real power to move, but I think Hyundai needs to make an effort to reduce the engine noise in the passenger compartment. But that is only under acceleration...at cruising speeds it is fairly silent. Second, the Entourage tracks as good or better than anything I have ever owned. On the highway it is like you are riding on rails. The turns, however, are another story. But it is a minivan, so maybe I am expecting more of a car-like ride than I should. In just about 1000 miles of driving, we managed to average 24 MPG, which is just what the EPA highway rating is. On the trip to Ocean City and home I averaged 51 MPH, and the trip to Richmond and back averaged 68 MPH. I won't go in to detail too much, but we barely hit any traffic on either trip. The Ocean City trip ends in about 25 miles of nothing but lights and about a maximum of 35 MPH speed limit (except for a few small sections of 55 MPH). And the trip to Richmond involves traveling through the DC area, which can crawl, but was rather good this time. Overall we are getting just a hair over 17 MPG average in the 3800 miles we now have on the van. I was real happy to see $2.259 gas where were staying just northwest of Richmond, and I was told that $1.999 gas was only a few miles away in VA. Other than the above, the only real complaint I have is with the cup holders again (like my Sonata). These do seem to hold everything fine, but the problem is that on some highways with grooved or uneven pavement, aluminum cans and even some plastic bottles will rattle enough to give you a major headache. My wife spent a lot of time trying to find something to wedge in between the beverage and the side of the cup holder to kill the vibration. Everything else worked as designed with no complaints. Eric
