|
2017 Kia Forte5
I recently got a lightly-used 2017 Kia Forte5, as my trusty 2008 Kia Rondo had an impromptu meeting with Bambi that totaled the former and, well, the latter took one for the home team as well.
The Rondo was rated 19/22/26 in city/combined/highway mileage. I was regularly getting 22 mpg in combined driving until I started hypermiling, whereupon I reliably got 27-28 mpg in summer and 24-25 mpg in winter here in Ohio.
A LOT has changed in the automotive world since 2008. My base LX Rondo, if I recall correctly, only had a 4-speed transmission. The Forte 5 has a 6-speed transmission. It also has an overall as well as an instant fuel economy gauge.
The 2017 Forte5 base model (2.0L 4-cyl) is rated 25/28/34. So far, I'm beating the combined EPA rating, averaging about 33 mpg in combined driving (a mix of suburban, city and some highway driving). I've only had it for four weeks, and I'm averaging 20% better than the EPA combined rating.
Considering it's January in Ohio, I'm pleased...
...but I know it could be better. Heck, I KNOW it will get better once the weather warms up and the gas stations stop selling winter gas.
A few questions:
(1) I notice that the "instant" MPG gauge registers higher MPG during acceleration when the tach is <2,000 RPM. Am I still saving fuel because...if I accelerate ~2,500 RPM, I'll have lower fuel economy during acceleration, but a longer stretch of 6th-gear (higher FE) driving. Which one's better?
(2) Is it just me, or does having more gears hurt the ability to hypermile? On my old Rondo, there were many hills I could get up without downshifting. It's harder to do that with the Forte5. But could the extra gears be helping out on the lower-speed (acceleration) stretches?
(3) Anyone else have one o' these?
--Phil
__________________
|