These are the cars I've driven on the same hills I do now that coasted better:

2001 Hyundai Elantra - odd that another Hyundai coasted better
1990 Honda Accord
200? Mistsubishi Eclipse (friend's car I got to drive a few times when he visited)

The Accord was the best, then the Elantra, then the Eclipse. I think the main reason I notice is that I live on a big ridge right off a state highway and if you coast well enough you can go 3.4 miles before needing to use any power. It goes up and down a bit, so if your car doesn't coast well enough you can't make it. The Accord coasted so well that I needed to brake to keep the speed safe in the initial downhill stretch.

Most manuals sold in the US are geared more for performance than economy.

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the explanation as the discrepancy was hurting my brain!

Oh yeah, that's for sure. My VW runs 3000rpm at 70mph, but has plenty of torque for half the rpm. I'm in high gear at 25-30mph and grabbing for another gear but there isn't one.

Driving in the highest gear possible was one of the big habit changes I learned when I started looking into fuel efficient driving. Before that I always kept it between 2,000 and 2,500. It was how my mother taught me when I first learned.

i know its a different generation, but my '04 accent manual coasts wonderfully. maybe a dragging brake caliper?

I sure hope so. It's gotten pretty warm the last couple days (40s), so maybe I'll try and take a look. My mechanic's pretty cool, so he'd probably be willing to take a gander as well. I'll get back to you. I need to write down everyone's suggestions so I don't forget any.

Hey,

I too have a 2008 Accent and it coasts like crap over 80 km/h (50 Mph). Once below that it will go quite a long way.
It has to be aero, do they say at what speed the drag was calculated at?

I have a Focus ZXW and it coasts forever and a day.

A belly pan is a great idae, I'll see if I can't find one or get one made.

I am getting 38-40 MPG right now, yourself?

Eyeteaguy

Finally another data point! Is yours a manual? It's gotten cold here again, and I've been too wimpy to jack the car up in the snow to check things out. Take a gander at my gas log. It'll give you a better answer than I can.

i really dont pay much attention to the ratings. i know they're wrong for my accent, i get around 30mpg city and even up to 40 highway. more than enough for me;)