New Spectra 5...Mileage question???

[TheNJDevil]

Got my 2008 Spectra a couple of weeks ago. Only have 190 miles on it and it's not quite at half a tank on the gas gauge. I basically only drive in town so i don't expect much over 30mpg. Maybe it will get some highway trips later this summer. I hope it gets close to what my 1999 escort was getting for highway (39ish).

[gammafrench]

Hello all,

I am a new Spectra5 owner (well, actually it's my wife's ride) and we look forward to the great mileage associated with a small car. We traded in a Sienna that got around 22 mpg, not bad for a heavy minivan, but the extra savings with our new Kia will be welcomed.

Gamma

[beans]

We own two 2005 spectras one's a spectra5, the other i guess is an EX... everything but the sunroof on both...

Miles/Gallons is the industry standard regardless of how 'full' your tank is, and I have noticed I get better MPG when i fill it up prior to getting to a half a tank... in fact we drove in from Houston through Austin into the Texas Hill Country where we live, and stopped to fill it up before we got home and the gas was better priced at the HEB grocery store... 4.5 gallons... 41.94 MPG... ok so let's call it 40 for arguments sake.

this is regular unleaded, as always.

it truly seems to vary based on how empty the tank is, the best i can figure out is evaporation.

This was on the plain old 4 door, the one i call the Spectra4... it has a bit more room for traveling... and at double the MPG of my Chevy Truck I'll be driving them a good deal more...
both kias have about 50K miles on them, and I added aftermarket cruise controls on both (they said to get factory cruise i had to get a sunroof, meh, and lose 4 inches of headroom... double meh), AT, A/C set on STUN.

[donnalittlemore]

I get about 425-475 km on a tank before I get nervous and fill it. Mine has about 5000km, a mix of highway and city.

[islanders]

On my first tank, I got 30 mpg on light mixed driving with the AC on. I go over a bridge, between 40 and 50 mph, some interstate 70 mph, some traffic lights, but not a real heavy crawl with 5 stop lights every mile.

At times I did accelerate onto a freeway and up a bridge. Mostly though, I try not to accelerate too quickly. My last truck had a huge V8 so I'm still much faster off the line.

Also, I suspect that some people are putting it in 3rd gear and not drive which is easy to do. Most car's gear shifter stops at Drive but the Spectra stops at 3rd when you pull it back out of park. The advantage is you can sift out of OD and into third without pushing a button. The downside is many people will put it in 3rd and not Drive.

I'm pleased with the mileage at 30 for normal mixed driving with AC on.

I love driving this car. My only gripe is the alignment that was pulling to the right when I bought it. I hope they can fix it next time. I'm really concerned because it is such a small dealership with a small service department.