@ChrisD46 Nice comment on your observations. However, most of what your post observed is anecdotal at best without a UOA to back it up.
Noise, color and smell; by themselves, simply isn’t enough quality data to state a recommendation conclusively. It may mean something or it may mean nothing; and everything in between.
EDIT: I forgot to give you credit for the amount of soot noted. That piece can be very helpful. And, for that specific vehicle, 5000 miles would likely be a good limit given history of Hyundai engines and oil consumption; even if running VRP.
Still, I’d like to see a UOA of said example to see what things look like at 5,000 miles to begin to attempt to unpack all of that.
I give you fuel dilution is a big concern for modern TGDI engines, but then that would affect recommendations for all oils in use *IF* we can confirm how much fuel is present. To your point. there may be better oils for extending the interval than VRP.
If I change the oil immediately after a cold start with the engine only warm; as an example, there may be more of a fuel smell than draining full hot. Smell alone doesn’t tell us the actual % of presence.
So, to be accurate and thorough in our conclusions, a sample needs to be obtained and results would help confirm the suggestion.
That said, I think there is a point to limiting the intervals during cleanup phases or in oil consumption prone applications; whether preventing or resolving a condition.
.02
