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Kia Rondo Real World MPG

csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
in Kia
Have an Optima, not a Rondo-- but would look at one if my Malibu Maxx bit the big one. What kind of mileage are you all getting?
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Comments

  • mrj4mrj4 Member Posts: 1
    My wife and I have had our's for a couple of week's.It has the 4-cyl. EX.loaded.we got 20.6 mpg on first tank mostly in town. Haven't checked highway mileage yet.We love the car.As a bonus, just found out our ins. pem.will run about 200.00 dollars a year less than our 3-year old Focus wagon was costing us!
  • bobw3bobw3 Member Posts: 2,989
    i can get better than that in my Freestyle
  • viamedeviamede Member Posts: 26
    Not in town I bet.

    Not on your first tank of gas I bet.

    Finally...so what?

    I hope you like your Freetyle um er Tarurus X (will they give you new badges at the dealer so your's doesn't look too dated???). This discussion is about the Rondo...if you want to compare start another thread.

    I du
  • rondoniumrondonium Member Posts: 22
    I'll admit I also had a defensive reaction at first to bobw3's post, but I think it's helpful for folks who are cross-shopping with the Freestyle/TaurusX as I was. The Rondo and Freebie have same EPA ratings on V6 versions.

    I went with the Rondo because I just found it more likeable, not because I had great expectations of fuel efficiency. :D

    That said, I'll report with some suprise that my first tank of 89 octane yielded 30mpg on the highway w/ EX V6.
  • viamedeviamede Member Posts: 26
    Yes I was a bit snarky. I have looked at the Freestyle as well. I don't mind comparisons but I would like some detail. I will be very surprised if the Freestyle V6 gets equal mileage to a V6 Rondo (similarly broken in and similar conditions of course).

    The Freestyle is bigger vehicle. It is rated 20-27 for a two wheel drive. I see the average user (9 reports)gets 22.3 MPG. Rondo is 21-29. Not a huge difference. Curb weight is 4112 for Freestyle and 3443 for Rondo. If they match their EPA you would have to say that the Freestyle gets the nod for what it does for its size. Then you can look at looks, practicality, reliability and cost. The last is significant as in Canada your Limited Freestyle 2wd starts at $38,899.00. Your top of the line Rondo (closest comparisons in my view) is $25,995.00. You are never going make up that difference on any gas savings, reliability is questionable on either at this point (though Kia has a better warranty) so comparing these two vehicles is pointless just on cost alone. They will probably both depreciate at a similar rate (muis rapido) but you will be depreciating much more off the top in dollar for dollar terms on the Freestyle. Frankly neither vehicle is that good a choice new unless you are going to keep it a long time.

    I don't think it will be as comparable to the 4 cyl Rondo for EPA all said and done.
  • bobw3bobw3 Member Posts: 2,989
    I guess my comment was because I paid $24K for my Freestyle, so I couldn't see paying in the low $20sK for the Rondo that's so much smaller inside.
  • newkiaownernewkiaowner Member Posts: 3
    After 3 fillups, I am averaging 26mpg. This is the 4cyl EX.
  • arumagearumage Member Posts: 922
    That's because nobody is buying Freestyles Bob. If no one liked the Rondo, I'm sure you could get one cheaper. You can get a fully loaded '07 Rondo V6 for $22k invoice. Invoice on a '07 Freestyle with the same options is $28k.
  • sfosssfoss Member Posts: 3
    :lemon: I get 16 mpg. Dealer and KIA both say it is my fault. :mad:

    I drive mostly highway. V6 is rated 20/27.

    Service at dealership says nothing is wrong.
    I say 16 mpg is "something wrong".

    Kia Consumer affairs says "dealer says you drive in city"
    I say I drive mostly highway.

    I show service manager all my gas receipts (Most from highways around city) since I bought car. [The math works out: all-miles/all-gallons=mpg.]
    After that, Service manager tells Kia Consumer Affairs that I need to document my milage.
    I tell Kia that Service Manager lied to them about documentation, since I showed rects to svc mgr.

    Kia won't return my calls (11 days so far).
  • atjazzatjazz Member Posts: 2
    Wow, that is very surprising. Either something is wrong with the vehicle, or you floor it every time you step on the gas. I got a Rondo LX with the 4-cylinder last week. On my first full tank, I got 25.9 (mostly highway).
  • crewzincrewzin Member Posts: 76
    Just did our first MPG check. The EX V6 only has 360 miles on it so possibly isn't broken in yet. It's city/rural driving as we live between cities and 95% of the trips are to those cities with highest speed limit being 55. Anyway, first try at just letting the pump stop by itself when first filled it and just now to test the MPG. 20mpg is what it's coming out to.
  • skiingyacskiingyac Member Posts: 18
    I have a 4cyl LX, I got 20-21 mpg on my first one and 3/4 tanks, mostly taking short drives in traffic, but a few 20 minute highway drives so I won't be thrilled if I continue getting 20mpg like that. Then, I drove from Gap, PA to Gettysburg (and back) on route 30, averaged about 55mph, and got 29.5 mpg. So I guess 29-30 mpg is possible, hopefully those first two tanks were just breaking things in and mileage will be better from now on.
  • kinptownkinptown Member Posts: 1
    Has it been resolved yet because I thought that I was going crazy because I am getting about 14mpg on city driving. I only got about 280mi out of my last full tank. I live where it is very cold so I chalked it up to running the heat and city driving but after seeing your post I am not so sure anymore. I bought my Rondo the third week in January before many had been sold in the states so I was unsure about the reality of my car. I was prepared for that but it is still hard to spend 32.00 every week on gas and get nowhere. :confuse:
  • sfosssfoss Member Posts: 3
    It is not resolved.
    Two weeks ago another Kia Rep called and asked me some more questions, but has not called back, yet.
    My mpg has creeped up to about 19 (combined city/hwy). Still not 20-27 for V6.
    Does anyone know if the Rondo comes with one of those computers that learns how you drive?
    The service mgr says NO. Kia Rep #2 didn't know.
    I did drive it hard the first 600 miles since the manual said to keep rpm >2000.
    I now have over 2K miles on it.
  • rondoniumrondonium Member Posts: 22
    I've been tracking my gas mileage pretty regularly. With almost 2K miles on the odo, I'm a bit above 20 MPG on average with 89 octane fuel. Lowest has been a bit under 15mpg in cold-start stop&go city driving; highest was a glorious one-time 30mpg on the highway with my first tank.

    I'm OK with this. The revised EPA numbers for the Rondo are 18/25 or 20 combined. The numbers are being revised because they are currently based on a series of tests that do not reflect real-world driving conditions.

    Take a look:
    fueleconomy.gov
  • sfosssfoss Member Posts: 3
    My former vehicle was a '98 Dodge Caravan 3.0 V6. Very beat up. I averaged a combined 23-25 mpg.
    The '98 Dodge is rated 19/26:21 old style, rated 17/24:19 new style. Apparently, I do not have a lead foot.

    Silly me thought, "almost same weight, almost same size engine, new technology. I ought to get at least the same milage."

    I could've been driving a big old SUV.
  • crewzincrewzin Member Posts: 76
    Just did our second mileage test. Same conditions as the first with rural/city driving. Rondo's beginning to break in now as we jumped up to 22mpg on this last tank full. :D
  • ramblinmoramblinmo Member Posts: 38
    EX 4 cyl, 5 seat

    One 1/2 day trip consisting of 3 bodies and 2 lane highways. Plus two trips back and forth to work that consists of 14 miles of interstate (60 mph) and 4 miles of low traffic expressway(50 mph). Tank filled on level ground to pump shut off.

    Very little stop and go. Easy acceleration and no stomping on the gas. Average speed for tank estimated 55-60 mph. Temps in the 60's to upper 70's. AC was run for 20 minutes during this tank.

    This is really the second tank as the car was driven about 280 miles from a dealer to my dealers lot. No idea what MPG they got on the first tank.

    I'm pretty pleased. The 04 Sedona would have gotten 19 MPG.

    Since the higher gas prices have hit, I have made a point to reduce my highway speed to 60-65 mph. So this is pretty common driving pattern for me. Will see more AC usage in the next 5 months.
  • bargainseekerbargainseeker Member Posts: 18
    We have a new Rondo LX with the 4 cylinder engine and third row seat. On the first full tank of gas that I put in myself (after the dealer tank), we got 28.0 miles per gallon. Driving during that tankful consisted of 20% city driving and 80% highway driving. The highway driving was at 65-75 mph with three people on board. The air conditioner was on for about 10% of the tankful. I didn't use any gas conservation techniques (slow acceleration, slower cruising, etc.).
  • ramblinmoramblinmo Member Posts: 38
    My tank was measured from the dealer fill. When I filled it up, I think it was higher above the "F" mark than the dealer fill.

    26-28 mpg would be outstanding, but AC in the summer and cold winter will bring the overall average down.
  • rondoniumrondonium Member Posts: 22
    My best mileage by far was first tank - before I discovered the tires where inflated to 45psi off the lot. Running them now at 34psi.

    Wondering if anyone else has discovered way high tire pressure after bringing the Rondo home.
  • crewzincrewzin Member Posts: 76
    Yes, I did too. Forget exact amount, but somewhere in the 40's. I'm running the same as you now, 34psi, 2 pounds over the door sticker.
  • southernhivesouthernhive Member Posts: 15
    I always run my tire pressure about 5 pounds over suggested for better MPG, but I have not check the pressure on my new Kia yet.

    I have just over 3,000 miles on my 4 cyl Kia Rondo and so far my MPG has ranged from 24 - 30 MPG with mostly hwy driving. The lower MPG was due to a fully loaded car (2 adults, 3 kids and a travel bag on the luggage rack) and going 70 - 80 MPH.

    My first tank I got 27.5 MPG and my most recent fillup was 30.075 using 89 octane.
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    Were these Hankook or Kumhos?

    Didn't notice the high psi on the Michelins on my Optima. I suspect the high poundage is to keep the tires round during shipping from Korea.
  • crewzincrewzin Member Posts: 76
    Ours came with MICHELIN ENERGY MXV4
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    Had Energies on my 01 Elantra. One of the worst-value OEM tires ever made IMHO. Mine went @ 30K and they were horrible in the rain. Replaced 'em with Tiger Paw H's that cost about half as much. They lasted about 45K and were much better.

    My feeling is that the manufacturers must pay $5 a piece for 'em. If one gets torn up or if you just automatically buy the same tire Michelin comes out OK.
  • crewzincrewzin Member Posts: 76
    I guess we'll find out. They ride pretty nice. Only have about 900 miles on the Rondo and hasn't rained since we bought it so can't agree or disagree yet.
  • mrswissmrswiss Member Posts: 6
    Hey there; I've got the EX and mine has the MICHELIN Energy MXV4 too. Checked the pressure after I got home with my stick gage and yes it had around 42 or so psi in them. Dropped them down to around 34/35psi and just back from a 1000 mile trip I averaged on the highway about 28.4 mpg this was with A/C off and about 70 to 75 mph on the interstate. Not too bad! Maybe after the first oil change at 3000 on the odometer replacing the factory oil with synthetic the MPG will increase? Anybody else have any MPG numbers? :D
  • southernhivesouthernhive Member Posts: 15
    I got a TPMS msg on the dashboard last week, so I checked the tire pressure on all four tires and they were 37 psi. Checking to tire pressure must have reset the TPMS msg :confuse:

    I have Optimo tires.

    Filled up today and MPG was 26.89 still driving 62-65 mph. Very little city driving.
  • conwelpicconwelpic Member Posts: 600
    Some of you may find this interesting regarding gas mileage. Quite a few years ago (but still relevant today), I worked for an automotive dealership and someone decided we should do our own internal gas mileage test.

    A large fuel bottle was mounted on the hood of the vehicle to measure the precise use of gas so there would be no guess work. Then, using the same vehicle, each person at the dealership took turns driving the car over the same route (town and country but not too long a distance due to the limited capacity of the gauge bottle), the only variation that could occur was traffic (a light area of town) and if you got caught at a traffic light. The results was amazing, from the lowest to the highest mpg there was over a 10mpg spread – food for thought!
  • bprendersonbprenderson Member Posts: 99
    What type of gas does Kia recommend for the Rondo? Thanks.......

    Bubba
  • crewzincrewzin Member Posts: 76
    I don't believe KIA makes a vehicle (for the public) that takes Premium gas.
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    http://www.toptiergas.com/

    Although Kia isn't a sponsor, I think there's some value in Top Tier gases. If there's a Mobil station on one side of the street and a QuikTrip on the other, I'll go to QuikTrip. Couldn't do any harm.
  • crewzincrewzin Member Posts: 76
    Well, we have 1300 miles on our Rondo. So far it's always been about the same 22-24 MPG around where we live. This coming Monday we're taking an 800 mile trip to Virginia to see my son and the grandkids. Oldest one is 6 on Tuesday, so I'll get to see what the Rondo will do on the open road. It's all highway driving with the speed limits (depending on the state) going from 55mph to 70mph. Hopefully, even at those speeds, we'll be averaging in the high 20's for gas mileage. With the other 4 cyl cars that we did the trips with, the higher speeds sucked up the gas at the high revs. Now with the Rondo's V6 maybe it won't be reving as high to keep up the speed.
  • rwm2rwm2 Member Posts: 11
    crewzin's comment about V6 revs made me curious....what are the RPMs of the I4 at 60mph, and the V6 at 60mph? When we drove the I4 the other day I forgot to look.
  • southernhivesouthernhive Member Posts: 15
    I4 is approximately 2200 rpm.
  • crewzincrewzin Member Posts: 76
    V6 between 2000-2100 (above 2k but needle still touching it).
  • rwm2rwm2 Member Posts: 11
    We took the LX V6 7 seater on a small vacation. It still has only about 2000 total miles on it. We get about 20mpg in mostly in-town driving, 28mpg in mostly highway. Overall on the the trip. 25-28mpg with two adults, 100+ lbs of luggage, 34 psi tires, A/C running, mostly highway but some stop and go city miles.
  • sqosqo Member Posts: 12
    The information in the posts on this forum were invaluable in helping make the decision to buy a Rondo in it's first year in this country. I went into the Kia dealership intending to get a Sportage, but on the Sportage forum there was a lot of dissatisfaction with the gas mileage. After test drives and evaluating the cargo space in the Sportage, I was resigned to getting a vehicle that was a few inches too short on cargo space and not great mileage performance in the face of rising gas prices, but otherwise okay for multi-purpose driving, because the price was right, great safety rating, a van was too big, wanted more gas efficiency than an SUV, and larger than the wagon being traded in. As I was getting ready to write the check for the Sportage, I saw the Rondo in the showroom, which looked like it would meet all these requirements.

    We put 1000 miles on the Rondo the first week and a half we had it - EX V6 leather with no third row seat. This will be typical of our summer driving with lots of weekend miles and driving to work weekdays. The first weekend trip with a fully-loaded cargo of 3 dogs in crates, cooler, pop-up, gear for dogs & people, about 80% freeway miles with the air conditioning running most of the time, we got almost 29 miles per gallon. Have not yet evaluated the in-city mileage, but we log an average of 500 miles on the weekend.

    Been very satisfied with the performance & features, other than noting some pretty bad wind flutter noise & draft driving with the back windows open, and a slowish accleration from a stop. Accleration when up to speed is fine, with plenty of passing power. And a small detail: all those bottle holders have proven very handy - we're using all of them.
  • 204meca204meca Member Posts: 369
    SQO, congrats on your new Rondo & thanks for the mileage report. Overall, one of the areas Kia seems to be weak in is it MPGs. It sounds like you are doing better than most, even beating the EPA & the engine is not even broken in! Are you calculating using gallons pumper at each fill up? What is your "pop-up - a pop up camper trailer? What kind of speeds are traveling on the highway? Keep us posted as time goes on as you sound like someone who is going to chock up miles quickly
  • sqosqo Member Posts: 12
    204meca - Yes, using odometer miles calculated at each fill-up - that initial read was from the first 2 tanks. Saw someone else here was getting 28 mpg, so figured we're in the ballpark. Highway speeds are from 65-80, both with and w/o cruise control. Looks like 21 mpg daily in-city driving - short runs with lots of stop and go.

    The pop-up referred to is not a tent trailer - but one of those easy-up type portable shade covers, stowed behind the front seats on the floor. Was very pleased everything fit -- similar load to car camping + a load of dogs. Will probably add a hard shell storage pod on the roof rack for longer trips. (We'll see how the drag effects the mileage...)

    Am considering adding a trailer hitch to tow a small utility trailer (for light-duty hauling, trips to the dump, etc) The Rondo is only rated for 2000 lbs (with brakes) Is anyone out there doing any towing & can give any feedback? (Speaking of pop-up trailers and pushing the envelope...)
  • taximom5taximom5 Member Posts: 43
    I noticed that horrendous rear window flutter/wind noise, too. It disappears if I crack open the front two windows (in addition to opening the rear windows all the way).
  • medicinemanmedicineman Member Posts: 135
    I thought this article might be relevant: Get 50 mpg -- in your own car.

    With gas prices the way they are, I started implementing a lot of the techniques in the article--without realizing it, really, since many of those techniques are just common sense.

    The biggest change to the way I drive is that I try to notice red lights in advance and coast as much as possible to the red light. It makes little sense to keep my foot on the gas and rush to a red light. I'm sensible about it, though, if someone is close behind me (don't want to annoy people).
  • sqosqo Member Posts: 12
    Been driving the Rondo for almost 5 weeks and have logged 1900 miles.
    Have not repeated the first and second tanks of gas @ 28+ and 29 mpg respectively.
    Now with more mixed in-city and shorter weekend freeway road trips of about 275 miles, been getting in the range of 21-24 mpg, for an average of 22.

    (No, haven’t really applied any “smart mileage” tactics, though it was amusing to read some of the impractical ones posted in this forum. However, I now try to remember to park so you can pull straight forward and not waste gas backing up – This and other gas-saving tactics could become an obsession if you let it…)

    CARGO REPORT
    Discovered that this vehicle can haul a few 12’ long 2x10s with the back hatch closed.
    Don’t try to take any passengers along for the ride though.
  • medicinemanmedicineman Member Posts: 135
    sqo wrote:
    This and other gas-saving tactics could become an obsession if you let it...

    Yeah, tell me about it. It's kind of amazing how easily a guy can get caught up in it. For a while there, it seemed like saving gas was the only thing on my mind while I was driving. I had to tell myself to chill out and just drive, for my own peace of mind and because it was becoming a distraction.
  • sqosqo Member Posts: 12
    Yeah, relax and just drive.
    Who can coast to a red light when you’re in traffic and have 10 cars in front of you and 10 cars behind you?
    There’s too much road rage out there to risk being taken out by some angry moron because you’re attempting to save a few cents on your mpg!
  • sqosqo Member Posts: 12
    Sorry if this has already been posted somewhere in this forum. I vaguely remember these might already have been cited awhile back, but here they are again at the top level. We're getting to the point where we need an index!

    http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
    Interesting to see how Rondo shakes out and also compare with other vehicles.

    http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/driving.html
    Fuel efficient driving/miantenance tips - Mostly common sense - not the edgy stuff that Medicineman is hooked on...;-)
  • vegasrondovegasrondo Member Posts: 11
    I have a Rondo EX 5 passenger I4 engine. I live in Las Vegas, NV, and we are in the middle of our usual summer heat wave, one step away from being in he-l. My car has 850 miles on it. I took delivery on 6_15_07. On 6_16 I had the oil drained and Mobil 1 installed.

    My driving is 95% city stop and go. I am getting 16 MPG with the A/C running 100% of the time. This weekend I took a 63 mile highway trip just to see what my highway mileage would be like. After topping off the tank, I hit the highway and set the cruise control for 70. After the trip I topped off the tank (2.3 gallons) and that translated to 27.7 MPG with the A/C running 100 percent of the time. I am real pleased with the highway mileage and can only hope that the city mile improves as the engine breaks in some more. :blush:
  • exv6izmexv6izm Member Posts: 2
    I bought my exv6 2.7l back in feb. of '07 with 7 miles on it
    and it is a beautiful car. very smooth and nice acceleration but mpg is an area where there has been an issue with me. I get anywhere from 17.5 to 19.0 miles to the gallon and that is it. 19 is a very lucky day too.It's kinda disappointing the sales sticker had atleast 20 in the city. I live in the country so alot of my drive is without stops and starts. the vehicle now has 9000 miles on it and is a very nice vehicle as far as handling and braking but lacks about 6 miles to the gallon to have me completly satisfied with how compact it is. oh yeah i carry no weight weight (no hauling). thanks hope the report helps
  • kivokivo Member Posts: 64
    Try setting the cruise control to 60. Anything over 60 uses too much fuel. If you're worried about cars in back of you, stay in the right lane. You might hit 30 MPG!
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