[ashtonyate]

Soul is based on an all-new platform that will be used in modified form
in other future Kia models. It is powered by Kia's refined and
ultra-reliable 124 bhp 1.6-litre petrol and 126 bhp turbodiesel engines
(depending on model). Both deliver the kind of outstanding torque
levels vital to modern UK motoring, with excellent power for motorway
use, and superb fuel economy. Every model comfortably betters 50 mpg
and the diesel averages more than 60 mpg with the standard five-speed
manual gearbox. It is also available with the convenience of a
four-speed automatic.
This is kia's advert for MPG has anyone ever got near 50mpg on petrol I drive very steady not accelerating or braking hard I think I am getting 38mpg so I do not know how Kia are getting their figures

 

[eggobako]

oh dear me !! yet another poor soul struggling to achieve the fantasy like figures dreamed up by the manufacturers! i had a hyundai it never ever ever ever got the promised mpg ! i tried everything to eke out the fuel but to no avail ,i am convinced that were they to put the true man in the street everyday driving figures on the screen no one would buy them!lots of cars are the same tho and some bear no resemblence to the published mpgs being tens of miles to the gallon out of spec .the only cars i can personally vouch for are vw s my SPAM said 53 mpg and thats what you get no matter how you drive em!( had i driven the SPAM like i drove my accent i could have got over 600 miles to the tank as i could have easily got 61-62 mpg if i drove like a vicar!but it never went below 52 .

 

[murphwiz]

Wheres that advert? diesels have a 6 speed box....

 

[ashtonyate]

Go to the top of the page and click on model range then soul are you sure you haven't found reverse HA-HA all manual gearbox's are 5 gear.

 

[eggobako]

may i ask what is your driving style ?steady ..brisk?? also what model do you drive and also quite important what brand of fuel do you use

 

[ashtonyate]

I would say steady around 60mph on motorways and normal driving I would say without being big headed I read the road well. I living South Glos and most of the roads have a 40mph limit. living in the suburbs of Bristol the traffic is not to bad yet I seen to be going to get petrol more often. the car has done 38000 so it must be getting more free up by now.

 

[eggobako]

thanks for your info ,the reason im asking is it appears that driving styles, brand of fuel and also the type of vehicle factor in quite heavily when trying to get good mpg ,so am i right in saying that you have a soul, and you got much better mpg when on a steady long(ish) run at about 60 mph , strange because the only one time i got good mpg from my accent was on a run down to the coast some 400 miles away ,this was at approx 60 mph and i got really good mpg(for once) can i ask the type of brand of fuel you use as we can get some firm indicators on how to get better mileageas from our own souls once again ta for your time!!

 

[soul2]

you can forgetgood fuel figures in a heatwave as well

 

[tempest]

i am a very steady driver and my diesel is averaging 51mpg now......its ok......but i expected better in all honesty. Hopefully the economy will continue to improve. It started at 41mpg fresh out of the box.

 

[tempest]

Go to the top of the page and click on model range then soul are you sure you haven't found reverse HA-HA all manual gearbox's are 5 gear.

isnt the venga diesel a 6 speed?.......and if it has the stop start system, maybe it will acheive those figures?

 

[tempest]

i thought the soul platform was a modified Rio platform with hyundai i20 bits on it?

 

[Dave R]

Hi Tempest, I was of the impresion that the soul was a new platform recentlymade for a range of new products,I thought I saw this somewhere on the yank sites.
I don't hang about withthe Soul Tempest diesel (it will do 3 figures mph) , and I am averaging about 45-48 mpg with 7.5k on the clock though with the aircon on it takes 3-4mpg off.This is mixed motoring but inc some fast motorway work. I drive it to hard really and will have to take it easier,until recently I have always ,since 1973 , driven around 70-80k per year in all types of cars changed every 18 months.We still do a fair mileage between my wife and I,she has the Soul most of the time now, but I guess its only about 25-30k between us now.Cars never do what the manufacturer says it will do,the tests are not even run under any working conditions .



Dave

 

[tempest]

i think i must have a very slow one then.......done over 10k miles now and i usually run out of motorway before i reach 90mph!!!.....and anything over 75mph and fuel goes down really quickly.

 

[Dave R]

Hi , you have an automatic will this make any difference ? I do drive hard,it's a bad habit that comes from driving to much all over the UK and beyond ,I am getting to old now but until aboutsix years ago it was not unusual to leave home in South Yorkshire for a meeting at the office in Glasgowat 9.30am then after the meeting drive back to Halifax where I had another office to get all the reports typed up then drive back home that night. Now I am 63 I would find it difficult now but still have most of the bad habits I picked up.Still drive for business but only local the last couple of years.
My Soul really does go well with 80mph at about 2.6k revs it will cruise great and will top over 100 though I have not held it there for long as it's still a bit tight to push it to hard.(Just for the record it was all done on private roads !!!! )

 

[tempest]

its a manual.... i was coming home from leeds at the weekend and was coming up the m62 in blustery conditions and was struggling to top 70mph. I find that my tempests natural cruising speed is about 66mph (which is fine). When i push much over 70 the road tyre noise takes over (the m62 is very bad for this) and the economy plummets. Having said all that, i have run the car in very carefully - so it may well need more running in yet. My old fiat diesel always had plenty of acceleration left at 90mph.....the tempest has nothing left, even pushing past the indent produces minimal response. Will get the car checked out at the first service.

 

[Nat]

My Shaker Diesel is loosening up a bit now (3.5K). Last tank full returned 51mpg and all of it with the air con on! I still limit speed on the motorway to 80ish to compensate for the blunt front. Ihaven't tried mine in windy conditions on the motorway yet but I did push it up to 100 (allegedly) yesterday and it wasn't struggling.

 

[tempest]

thats really good Nat. Mine started at 40mpg up to about 5k and has now improved to 51mpg after 10k. But i drive very carefully and hardly use the air con.....maybe i need to drive it a bit harder......maybe i am pussy footing it too much.

 

[Dave R]

Hi Tempest , give it some stick mine seems to love it. I really do tend to drive it hard and I can only say that I am very impressed by how well it goes, you can't over rev a diesel so in theory you can not flog it to death. In all the cars I have driven,most of them well over 120k miles in under two years, I have never had problems apart from the good old days in the 70s and early 80s when cars were builtto the same standard as my mother in laws dinners.The worse cars I have had were supposed to be premuim products and one of the best I got when the income tax went up on company cars and I didd not fancy paying large sums to the tax people,it was an Hyundai Sonata.It never gave any problems and I did 156k in it in under two years and it still went like a train.

 

[tempest]

my previous Fiat diesel was a bigger car than the soul, had 25% less power, was more economical and went like stink straight out the wrapper.......maybe i got a good one with that and a poor one with the Soul......will see......first service coming up with the Soul.....so will have it checked out.

 

[tempest]

i was loaned a 5 year old Kia Cerato whilst my tempest was been resprayed. Not a car i would normally look twice at...and if i did - it would be down my nose. How wrong i was!!!....totally lacked the Souls funkiness inside and out, but a much nicer ride. Smooth absorbent suspension, tidy handling, low wind and road noise at motorway cruising and not one single rattle from the trim....i was very pleasantly suprised. Its good to know that Kia can get these things right...... wonder if i have got a duff soul.???.