[Gezza]

Hi
I am looking at Soul tempest 1.6 CRDi Auto could anyone give a update on MPG ,motorway driving wind noise etc.
as i been looking the forum its seems that is MPG is poorer the advertised some wind noise at speed.

I just want to put my mind at ease.

Cheers

 

[tempest]

My car is the manual version so not entirely comparable. Very carefully driven it returned 40mpg from new. This has improved to 51 mpg at 11,000 miles. The mpg plummets on the motorway when i do 75mph or above. Wind noise can be heard but is not much of a problem, its tyre noise that is the issue for me. and this intrudes at 70mph upwards. On some motorway road surfaces it can drown out the radio totally. The 65mpg quoted in some figures is pure fallacy in such a blunt and heavy vehicle.

 

[Dave R]

Hi,Tempest is right it's not to good or not as good as Kia would have you believe.I do not drive slow with mine and it's got better,I am getting 45-48mpg with 8.5k on the clock.If you put the aircon on it takes it down a little but I suspect that if you are going to take it easy then 50mpg will be about the average.Don't have a problem with noise though tyre noise is present but I have Kankook tyres and I think these are slightly less noisey than some makes that Kia use.My car is the manual box with the diesel engine and even though I am having great problems getting it away from my wife I love the car.It's a car that seems to be more than just a car,you become very attached to it,it's great.I cannot recommend you to hit a brick with the 18" black wheels,I did that yesterday going round a roundabout ,someone had droppeda brickon the road.I have scuffed the edge of the wheel and the tyre,don't know if I have to replace the tyre yet but I hope not as I have just found out that it's rather expensive to replace.

 

[tempest]

The Tempest is a very distinctive car and it does have character....in a relaxed but "look at me" way!. I have had quite a few issues with my particular car...and they are gradually getting sorted....but i still really like it and want to keep it for as long as i can. At the end of the day, its a roomy but not overly large vehicle, sensible sized engine, nice to drive, quite simple mechanically and should last a long time if carefully maintained.

 

[tempest]

Perhaps the biggest drawback is the rear visability for parking. The reversing camera helps a little bit in daylight.....but its mainly down to guess work and having a look round the back of the car before getting in it and reversing.

 

[Nat]

My Shaker diesel is now achieving 51 mpg with the air-con on. it is getting better with each tank of fuel as it loosens ups. Don't go over 80 on the motorway and you will get decent returns. Also be aware that the diesel has a quirk built into the throttle pedal. It works as normal until about an inch from the floor, then a resistance is met.This is to assist drivers in driving the car in the most economical rev range. You can still use the last 1 inch of pedal travel by pushing down harder and the power comes in fine. Great for overtaking, car moves quite swiftly 20 - 40 mph in second gear.

Wind noise is not a problem, and the road noise from the low profile tyres is no more than I have experienced with my previous cars with similar sizes tyres. With the stereo that the Tempest has fitted you won't worry about road noise anyway!

 

[Dave R]

Hi Nat. I agree noise is not a problem what make of tyre do you have on it. I can't stop driving it hard but if it settles at 50mpg then I will not grumble.I find the reverse camera also very good even at night though my wife does not trust it.Assessing distance can be a problem until you get used to it,the pedal is also a good idea with the last bit of travel almost like a switch.

 

[colin]

Alright there Gezzer, mines the 1.6 diesel auto, does mid 40s if you take it steady,a lot less if the wife drives it,at the moment its only done just under 6000 so hopefully will get better as it gets run in a bit.Colin

 

[eggobako]

bit of an update on mpg if you are considering a soul mine has returned varying mpg s the first 1000 or so miles were 43, to about 47 miles per gallon, just filled it up after 233 miles and it took 18.09litres(4.0gallons) i worked it out to 58.2 mpg !! to be honest i was quite suprised as it had been 40.1 the fortnite before!the driving was a little varied that is 65 mph and no more on mainly a roads and m ways but some (well 25% was local commute) so if it attainable i know how to get it. but i have in my drive another car that has 95k on the clock is a diesel i cane everywhere its just dipped below 1/2 a tank and has 421 miles on the trip meter!! if i drove that the way i have driven the soul the last 250 miles i know i could get 58 -60 easy! i have my suspicions that fuel is a a mssive variable i am not going to name names but some fuel gives shocking returns and can throw your calcs to the wind p.s the other car i had gave me 53 mpg from the first fill up and is to within a mile per gallon or so of that now !

 

[Dave R]

Hi , a few names--ASDA, Morrisons, Tesco. never use branded fuel in my soul only supermarket fuel,what makes a lot of difference is how the pumps are set up,are they set to max minus or max plus that is allowed on the measurements,what temp is the fuel when it is pumped. The fuel is sold by volume and the volume increases when temp increases therefore the calorific value in the fuel at a higher temp is less therefore less energy per measurement of volume.Couple this with the pump that is set at the lowest setting allowed on throughput and you have a substantial difference in the amount of actual energy you are putting in your tank.Fuel expands just like water does when the temp increases,only way to measure it to be 100% acurate is by weight. It does not matter what the temp or increase in volume the weight stays constant and the calorific value is constant.I have found that most of the supermarkets are more likely to be checked and are set more generous , I have seen the road tankers queing to fill up all from the same storage tanks ,only the additives they put in are different.

 

[soul2soul]

Well, we have the CRDi Auto and so far, in less than a week from driving it out of the showroom, it is turning about 45mpg on the trip computer. Apart from that, it is turning heads, the neighbours are green with envy and one is off to the Kia dealership this week, to look at their range. We have yet to take it on a "run", as in motorways etc, that is for tomorrows outing. Buy it, you will love it, you know you want one, it has that appeal in bucket loads.
The ride can be choppy on the side roads, but, considering that most of the minor roads in the UK are like medieval tracks, that is no great surprise, pop onto the main roads and you waft along, cocooned in not inconsiderable comfort, with more air bags than I can count, a stereo to blow out the windows, camera, bluetooth that talks to you and listens to you and an engine that will pull all day long.........

 

[tempest]

so you quite like it then?.......enjoy. Go read the latest autoexpress too, they just put the Soul at the top of its class.

 

[soul2soul]

well, just a tad

Today was our first motorway drive, was a breeze and almost had to be held back, as the diesel felt like it was just ticking over at 70mph. Despite traffic hold ups and some country lane, stop, start, driving, we managed 42mpg, which is almost double our last vehicle. Had a fit though, when we went down a road covered in cow muck.................

The buckets of water had to come out immediately we arrived home, will have to jet wash it, it smells real bad. Cannot have any muck on it.

 

[TempesTony]

Oh no, you mentioned cow-pooh, that will get Tempest back on his soapbox, excuse the pun.....

 

[soul2soul]

oh dear, jet wash first thing, to make sure it is all gone.

 

[tempest]

....jet wash.......kia paint........go careful........

 

[soul2soul]

It was a gentle one, as in not one that takes two people to stop it throwing you against the wall. Will be careful though and only use the local one, as it is a gentle pressure. It was the wheel arches, alloys and tyres that were like a midden cart. The smell was with us, wherever we went, happy to say, that has gone. Anyone else used the waterless car wash, with the microfibre cloths? Tried it the other day, on a small area and it seemed ok.

 

[tempest]

not tried it....dont trust anybody to touch my car......how sad is that!!!

 

[soul2soul]

quite agree, would not let someone else valet it, not that it needs it, at less than a week old. We can primp and preen, with loving care. I even dusted the engine area the other day. I am sad, but I don't like dust.

 

[tempest]

The engine bay does get very dusty!!!....my previous car was pretty much sealed off with a full undertray etc.... so this came as a shock (yes i like a shiny engine bay too)