Been caught out a few times on hills where I've expected the handbrake to fully engage as soon as I pull the switch and the car has rolled back a little.
As is often the case, the language used to describe various parts on cars can be confusing. The KIA name for what many of us remember as the 'Handbrake' is actually 'EPB', which should be self-explanatory.
Cars equipped with EPB are usually further equipped with the 'Autohold' feature which is one of the best (in my opinion) pieces of technology ever fitted to a car. I don't know if it exists with manual transmission but married to the DCT system, it provides a very relaxed and simple method of driving without the aggravation of all the left leg exercise and hand repeatedly switching from steering wheel to gearstick.
From previous posts in other threads, I gather that there are still people who choose not to activate the Autohold feature and pull on the EPB switch when required, then pull even harder because the car can be felt to move as if the brake hadn't applied fully. We then read of people complaining that the EPB switch has broken, claiming for example that the part is constructed from inferior material and it is somehow KIA's fault and not driver abuse.
Going off at a tangent, I have read similar questions with regard to the air conditioning feature we have nowadays on most family cars. It seems that some people choose to only activate the system occasionally, deciding for themselves when it is appropriate. Those of us who have been around from a time when a heater was an optional extra in some private cars have long been accustomed to leaving the a/c permanently switched on because the general consensus among the specialists is that that is better for the preservation and lifespan of the seals than the alternative which leads to premature ageing of those parts through drying out.
Any impact on mpg from using a/c is easily offset by driving sensibly, conserving the expensive stuff we put in the fuel tank. In my case, the a/c or 'Automatic Climate Control' as KIA describe the system in my Optima, has only ever been switched off a few times to check that the button actually works. Other than that, it has remained switched on ever since I collected it when it was unloaded from the transporter.
With regard to the OP's question, I would respectfully suggest that it might be more productive to utilise the appropriate sub-forum of the ProCeed forum, where other owners of that model have information on the actual model. I say that because not all those who look in on the forum actually read all the posts. Many only concern themselves with posts that relate to their particular model.
