ptjones

Found this NIRO on Fuelly: http://www.fuelly.com/car/kia/niro/2016/arska/534123 NIRO only averaging 45.5 mpg. and From a performance stand point NIRO isn't that close. The more I read about the KIA NIRO the more it sounds like a Prius V with less space. Add to that it only has a 30 hp electric motor, 139 total hp and 0-60mph in over 10sec. , sounds like a Prius V. It will be interesting to see what people think when comparing the CMAX with two electric motors for 60 hp, 188 hp total and 0-60 in 8 sec. and with Grill Covers you can get similar MPG's. We have many Prius owners that traded in for CMAX's. You would have thought KIA would have come out with a NIRO more sportier than Prius V and It's still only 4mpg better than Prius V. IMO :) Paul

Just fill it up to gross vehicle weight, that will soften the ride. :) Paul

I had a Camber bracket replaced in the back too. I think two things are important, one is crisscross rotate your tires and second use 50psi in tires to help wearing out the edges of the tires. This also cuts down on the tire noise. :) Paul

Today it was 25*F going to work, the roads were icy so I drove carefully and got 52 mpg for the 7 mile trip. :shift: I usually get 44-47mpg for the uphill trip with warmer temps. Remember you lose 2mpg for every 10*F drop it temp., so for 45*F drop you lose 9 mpg. I started out with the garage at 54*F and I had the oil pan and block heaters on for 3 hrs. WT was 114*F( 60*F is the max increase in temp.) and SOC was 44%. When I got to the shop WT was 177*F and SOC was 37% with 5-10 mph head wind. It is important to note that I have top, center and lower grills covered to minimize heat loss. So this time of year with temps so low all the grills need to be covered. :) Paul

Driving a RAV 4 Hybrid is like driving a Prius unless you floor it. It has no EV power, didn't like it. :drop: It's wider but not longer IIRC. Paul

It's strange that we haven't seen any pics of proposed Model E yet. :sad: Paul

Interesting I haven't noticed these problems, what tire pressure are you using? I run 50 psi and w/144k mi. I know my pretty well so I try to not get stupid and it's done a good job for me. No complains. :) Paul

Me too! :) Paul

To me it looks like the Model E is going to replace it. :sad: Paul

Saw this on FOX NEWS: http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5269219053001/?#sp=show-clips Looked like it is for EV vehicles and self driving. :headscratch: Paul

You are right about the oil change, but as I have discovered it is totally unnecessary. I have been doing Blackstone Labs oil testing and on my last oil change about 30K Odometer miles(14K ICE miles and one years time) my report was the best one so far. :) Paul

Actually I think the main reason is gas prices. If gas was $4 a gallon they would be worth a lot more. I will keep mine until something major goes wrong. With 144K miles now I have definitely got my moneys worth. :) Paul

NIRO is smaller all the way around although it looks like it might have more storage space. Not sure how that works. And it weighs 400 lbs less, that's surprising :) Paul

Did anyone say what the max speed in EV is? What size tires and wheels are and Car has to be smaller to weight less. :headscratch: Interesting to see the accelerating times to 60mph. :) Paul

Does that mean they aren't being built in US? :sad: Does that also mean the KIA NIRO wasn't a USA Certified car that broke the record and is there going to be a difference? The KIA Plant is about 25 miles from my house. Paul

Dealers in Atlanta area aren't sure when they are going get them. :headscratch: Paul

SnowStrom "Interesting how they described manually bleeding off charge as you get to the top of a hill so you can recharge going down. That is an (admittedly small) pet peeve of mine - no manual control of SOC." You can kind of do this in Empower Display Mode as get to the top of the hill you can let off the gas and go into EV Mode, just keep the blue bar below the blue power available line. You should be able to get down to 38-33% SOC. You can also use EV to get up to speed going down hill so the ICE doesn't charge up HVB. :) I also believe he uses Coasting witch is more efficient. :headscratch: :shift: Paul

raadsel, on 18 Dec 2016 - 10:16 AM, said: Kia announced this week that they set a Guinness World Record for the lowest fuel consumption, driving coast-to-coast, averaging 76.6 mpg over 3,715.4 miles, using 48.5 gallons of gas (just over 4 tanks). The EPA ratings for the model used to set the record is 46 city/51 highway/49 combined. The Niro was driven by Wayne Gerdes and he is in the process of posting his experience driving the Niro cross country here. It is also worth noting he didn't drive the most fuel efficient Niro, which is the Niro FE, and is EPA rated at 52 city/49 highway/50 combined, and also that he made the drive in November (with the cold weather likely stealing an mpg or two of efficiency). This is the same guy that trashed our CMAX's in 2013. :rant: I did a estimate taking 7 days(Dec 4-Dec 11+ 2 drivers) at 16hrs a day, 530 miles= 33 mph. If this is the case I believe my CMAX could do that! :yahoo: Paul

Radio and GPS, not sure what else. :) Paul

My 12v battery died at 4yrs too. It was around $100/exchange at FORD and replaced it myself by using a jumper battery under the hood while I removed the 12v batt. so I didn't lose any memory settings. :) Paul

I would be interested to see his route and average speed. I would expect that Technology is improving. I noticed it has 1.6 L ICE and down 42 HP which would improve FE. :) I've gotten 68 mpg twice and think 73 mpg is possible, it comes down to average speed. Paul

Ouch! Hate when that happens when you work so hard to get it up. :drop: Paul

Mine's on all the time. :) Paul

You could always take in to FORD Dealer and check things out. Both times for me the ICE was fully warmed up and had slammed on the brakes and then accelerated hard. :) Paul

NO! Just curious to see what happens, like how long does it take for the HVB to warm up and start acting normal. Does it drive like an ICE car when the HVB is to cold? I don't remember anyone commenting on this problem. :) Well I made my 90 miles round trip up I-85/I-285 and back with temps at 44-45*F yesterday and got 56.2 mpg up and 50.6 mpg coming back. So my average is up to 54.4 mpg now with 420 miles on this tank. I got lucky going up I caught a Semi going 65-50 mph and maybe slight tail wind to get 56.2 mpg. Coming back not as lucky with speeds 75-65 mph and not drafting much getting 50.6 mpg. But overall I got 3-4 mpg better than I thought I would. :) Paul