Very rare to get what the sticker says. If you read how they test the cars, you'll see it is not very realistic method compared to the way 99% of us drive. The '08 models will be closer to the truth in listings.
That said, 26 highway seems low for an Accent as on straight highway I can get that on my 6 cylinder Sonata.
That depends very much on the particular car and the way it's driven. My '04 Elantra 5-speed regularly exceeds it's EPA highway rating by 2-3 MPG @65 mph, which is not at all uncommon for that car. OTOH, the automatic equipped Elantras seem to struggle to meet their ratings.
It seems REALLY low for straight highway driving. He should be getting ~10 MPG more than that, but again it depends how he's driving. If he's doing 80+ and driving aggressively all the time, I would expect his mileage to be that low.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.