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However, if you want a wide array of terrific features, which I described in my previous post, and enjoy driving this fabulous car for so many reasons, you'll be a much happier person. It's no secret that I love my RIO SX 5 door as I don't allow my disappointment with city only mileage to ruin an incredibly fun experience when I'm behind the wheel of my nimble SX.
I choose to concentrate on that long list of features which makes this is such a fabulous car for the money. I learned that lesson a long time ago, don't dwell on the negatives in your life, concentrate on all of the positives and you will feel so much better.
And best of all guys, I'm always afraid to say this, but I haven't had one single problem with my RIO SX in 13 months. My girlfriend's KIA Forte SX had one minor trim related issue in two years. Wow! That's what I'm talking about!
Here's a partial listing of the great features on the SX:
LED lighting on the front, rear, and side mirrors
Sleek, aerodynamic look and check out those nifty wheels
UVO, Jukebox, backup camera, folding outside mirrors
Lots of room for a car in this class and excellent comfort on long trips
It's not a sports car but it has tight, nimble handling plus brisk acceleration
A long list of safety features packaged with the best warranty in the industry
Outstanding workmanship and reliability
Phill1 wrote the following about me, "if your not a (paid) shill for Kia, you should be."
I'm really tired of his personal insults and inability to debate the issues around KIA RIOs and avoid personal attacks. If Phill1 cannot stay on the subject of KIA RIOs, may I suggest he go to another forum where he can insult somebody else.
I love my RIO for the reasons cited in previous posts and couldn't care less what Phill1 thinks. Please read what I wrote earlier and decide for yourself what is important when making a decision to buy a new car. I think focusing solely on mpg is very short sighted and narrow minded, but that's my point of view.
If you understand how much you get for your money with the RIO SX, you might decide to give it a test drive. See if you like it as much as I do, as well as everyone who rides in it. Everyone who rides in my car showers it with praise. I can't say that about my old 2002 Ford Focus which was very dependable but way short on features and functionality.
Please note that I have a 2012 RIO SX model which I've mentioned a million times. I have no opinion whatsoever on the EX model because I have no experience with it. Everything I say is based solely on my car.
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Overall FE was 38.1 mpg, which broke down as follows: 38.5 mpg highway to destination (AC on half the time, but rain half the time), then two days of a little in-town driving in rush hours, which brought FE down to 36.4. Then averaged 39.6 mpg on the return trip (AC on all the time). I think the return trip had more downhill than the outbound leg. It also had a few slowdowns for construction.
So I'm happy with these early results. I suspect that when the engine has more miles on it, I'll be able to get a bit better numbers. FWIW, before the trip I was averaging 33 mpg on all in-town driving, short trips, with mix of city and urban freeway driving. Also not too bad for a new engine I think.
Also, I found the car to be pleasant on the highway... fairly quiet for a small car (low revs help there), and a pretty smooth ride over some pretty beat up highway pavement. Tracks well. AC works well. Enjoyed Sirius. Wouldn't mind having cruise, but I got the car knowing I wouldn't be taking it on too many long trips.
PS I really don`t miss the Cruise Control since I hardly have a chance to use it even on the highways here due to constant traffic. I (did) miss not having the Armrest with Storage Console though. I had to purchase all the separate parts individually since Kia does`nt sell a complete Unit. It would have cost a fortune if I bought them at the Dealer but I got them on Ebay from a Seller in Korea for a very low cost and they were all genuine OEM Kia Components.
I have a 2012 RIO 5 SX and it's a fantastic vehicle. It is sleek, aerodynamic, comfortable, handles well, and the engine is silky smooth on the Interstate. On numerous occasions, I was doing 80 MPH on the Interstate, and because the engine is so smooth, I didn't even realize it. I'm assuming you have the same 1.6L engine in your LX model.
Good to see your excellent fuel economy numbers, but always remember, that's only one component out of many when analyzing an automobile. Here's one I think you'll like. My 2012 SX has almost 15,000 miles in slightly less than 20 months and I haven't had a single mechanical problem. I have one minor issue inside the cabin, but other than that, I think this is a very impressive record on the part of KIA.
My girlfriend and another male friend both have KIA Fortes for 2 1/2 years and neither one's had any mechanical issues in all that time.
No wonder you can't get over 33 mpg. In constant traffic, I'm sure I wouldn't get 38 mpg.
If Kia wants to buy my Rio back from me for twice what I paid for it, I'm all for that. But I doubt they will. If they did, they wouldn't find anything special about it. It's all about how/where/when the car is driven. "YMMV".
"A daytime running lamp (DRL, also daylight running lamp or daytime running light) is an automotive lighting device on the front of a road going motor vehicle, installed in pairs, AUTOMATICALLY switched on when the vehicle is moving forward...."
I have LED lights on the front and rear of my vehicle but they do not come on automatically, I have to manually turn them on. Therefore they do not meet the Wiki definition of DRLs.
Thanks for the explanation.
During the day, my car was parked in complete shade, the engine was running, and I manually turned the lights on and off. When the lights were off there was absolutely nothing lit up on the front of my car. Who knows? Maybe the computer knows when the car is stationary versus in motion?
I'm going to check again after dark. But even if lights automatically come on at night, I don't think that would legitimately be classified as daylight running lights.
1. I double checked the lights last night in the dark, and just as I reported previously, there are no lights on in the front of my car unless I manually turn them on.
2. This is not an issue for me because if and when I do need the LED running lights, a flick of the switch on my steering wheel lever turns them on. I have no desire nor need for them while driving in sunny weather, so I'm happy. In fact, I prefer it this way.
Mystery Resolved
I checked the owner's manual and instead of manually turning on the LED lights as I always do, there's an AUTO option on the steering wheel lever which will automatically turn on the LED and headlights, but only in low light (per the manual).
I'm glad you did post, cuz I found out that one of my favourite bulbs is still used for park and directional lighting...the infamous 1157. And in a brand new car. I'm impressed with Kia for doing this. There was never a valid reason to replace that great little bulb with the slip in type except to make them more money when replacement becomes necessary. I abhor change for the sake of change and light bulbs are always on the hit list with mfgrs.
they have been used on Canadian vehicles since 1991
The only lights which came on were the dashboard lights for the speedometer and tachometer.
This is not a complaint because I actually prefer manual control with the flick of a switch on the steering wheel lever. So I must report with my American Model SX, the so called DRLs do not work as advertised.
The "Auto" switch, which is on the Sonata also, controls the regular headlights, and turns them on/off as lighting dictates. So when the Sonata is in our garage, dark with no windows, and I start the car with the "Auto" switch engaged, the headlights come on. Back out into daylight, and the headlights go off. I find however that they don't come on every time I'd like them on, e.g. it's pretty cloudy but they still don't come on even though I'd prefer to have the lights on.
If your Rio's headlights didn't come on in a very dark parking space with "Auto" headlights engaged, and you left the engine running when you got out to check them, you should have that checked by the dealer because they don't seem to be operating correctly.
I in turn checked the owner's manual and found no references to DRLs so I knew I was right. However, I did learn that the Auto switch is the closest thing to a DRL on my SX. But yes you are correct, that is not the same thing as a DRL, my little story was nothing more than a simple experiment.
The fact that the Auto Switch apparently doesn't work properly on my car is a non issue because I never use that feature. As stated above, I only did it this time as a very basic learning experience.
I definitely prefer manual control of my lights. And believe me, it couldn't be any easier. All I have to do is is turn a switch on a lever attached to the steering wheel a fraction of an inch. That takes virtually no effort whatsoever.
Keep the focus here on MPG - thanks!
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I lived in a mid-Atlantic state in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains and made 2 long, round trip drives to south Florida. It seemed pretty logical to me that once I got to FL my fuel economy would go up because the state is flat as a board, no more hills. Well guess what, that didn't happen as fuel economy actually went down.
In the Carolinas I was getting between 37-38 mpg on the Interstate in a vehicle packed with luggage and household items. However, when I reached southern GA and entered FL my fuel economy consistently went to down to about 36-36.5 mpg. And it stayed that way for the next 400 miles. Admittedly, there was a lot of road construction on I-95 but there were also long stretches where I hardly stopped. And I also realize we're not talking about a huge drop but it certainly is significant, especially since I thought mpg would rise.
Let's eliminate a problem with the car as the cause because when I drove home, as I left FL and got further north, my fuel economy went back up to the aforementioned numbers. And this wasn't a one time event because on my 2nd round trip two weeks later, again with a full car, the same thing happened with fuel economy.
Maybe the road surfaces are different on FL highway? Maybe the hot weather and hot road surfaces combined reduce mpg? I don't know, do any forum members have a logical explanation?
Admittedly, there was a lot of road construction on I-95...
Some people have no idea what effect even a few slowdowns for traffic can have on highway FE. I've seen that myself on highway trips with different cars. One thing you should do is check your average speed before entering FL, then check it again leaving FL. I'll bet you'll see a significant drop.
Another factor could be the hotter weather in FL, if you tend to run your AC more there than in the Carolinas. Also, when you fill up at home, do you buy oxygenated gas or pure gas? If you buy pure gas at home then fill up with oxygenated gas in FL, that will affect FE negatively also.
And when you reach your destination in FL, do you do any driving off the freeway, or just turn around and head back home? I'll bet you drive around town for awhile... and that will cut into your average.
BTW... a drop from 37 to 36 mpg is a 2.7% reduction. Not really that big, IMO. And easily explained by circumstances such as I've described.
* It's hot in the Carolinas so the A/C is always on
* In town stop and go driving mpg is down in FL. On the other hand, if you miss a green light in FL, you wind up sitting at an intersection for 3-4 minutes (at least it feels that way). In the Carolinas I rarely have to wait more than one minute at a red light.
Finally, I realize it's not a huge drop in mpg but the reason I started this topic is I expected fuel economy to go up, not down in FL, because the roads are flat.
That alone could easily explain a 2.7% drop in FE.
As for flat roads... I find FE tends to even out pretty much on hills, if you're going downhill as much as uphill. But here's something to consider: What's your starting elevation, and what's the elevation in FL? In general, driving to FL, I'll bet you are going downhill more than uphill. So that should aid FE driving to FL. But you also said you see your FE increase after you leave FL. So that leads me to the construction zones and longer waits at lights in FL as the main culprits.
I was thinking they possibly use a different type of gasoline in FL, maybe a slightly different type of road surface, and finally the intense heat coming off the roadway as the possible culprits. I'm not ruling any of them out, but you came up with something brand new and that's why I posted this question.
Maybe the lower elevation of FL impacts fuel economy in a negative manner?
It sounds just as plausible as the other possibilities mentioned above.
As an aside, during the aforementioned FL trips, because I spent so much time on the Interstate, I decided to experiment with going slower. I normally travel between 70-75 mph on the Interstate, occasionaly going up to 80 mph without realizing it.
However, when I made a conscious effort to slow down to the speed limit, 65 mph, I noticed fuel economy improved approximately 1 to 1.5 mpg. Unfortunately I couldn't maintain that slower speed for very long .
I doubt it, unless it has something to do with slightly denser air at a lower elevation.
But that was not my point. My point was, if you start off at, say, 1000 feet, and get to FL and the elevation is 50 feet, you've been going downhill (on average) during that trip.
Then there's the construction zones, and waiting more at traffic lights. All those little things combined are enough IMO to cause a 2.7% drop in FE.
The real solution to your dilemma is: stay the heck out of FL!!!
You had me LOL with that dilemma comment about FL.
Worst 21.29 mpg
Best 40.79 mpg
I switched Android phones in September, so these averages are for 10 months. Mileage entered under previous phone was roughly the same, although this represents the best and worst tanks. Lots of hot weather running. MPG gauge about three mpg high.