New Spectra 5...Mileage question???

[Fredster08]

Hi All, I'm new to this KIA forum. I bought a new '08 Spectra 5 a little less than two weeks ago. I topped the tank off at lunch today and was kind of dissappointed to find that I had been getting less than 20mpg.

The car has just 600 miles on it and I realize it is new, but nonetheless I really was expecting to do a little better than that.
I'd appreciate any sharing by other owners in respect to the initial mpg's they experienced.
Other than that, I really do enjoy driving it, and at the price I got it at,
I feel it is an excellent value.

Thanks in advance,

[Desert86Roc]

Until you check the mileage over the use of a couple full tanks of fuel, you will not see an accurate picture of your mileage. By "topping it off" what did you mean? Were you only a quarter tank low or just a few gallons? Depending on your driving style, passenger load, traffic... youre mileage is going to vary. Your mileage wont be as good on the first part of your tank of fuel as the last quarter tank (weight of the fuel in the tank is less), so checking your mileage after 50 or 60 miles isnt going to show an accurate picture. My first couple tanks of fuel, in a 50/50 mix of street/freeway and slow-n-go traffic yielded a 28.6, another tank, after only using 1/3 of the capacity was only 20.5.

Differences in how you fill up can also skew your mileage calc. Some fuel pumps will shut off earlier than others, etc.

[TEXKIATECH]

the way you are supposed to check milage is by
driving til empty
fill up- noting how many gallons used
drive til empty again
go back to the same gas station and same pump used before
and fil up exact amount as you noted before
then drive til empty again
calculate you milge and gallons used
then you have a somewhat accurate mpg estimate

[Fredster08]

Thanks for the replies, and the good tips for checking my gas mileage!

[LAMRONH]

MPG= miles driven divided by gallons to fill.

Not sure what driving to empty will do, but filling at the same pump over several half-tanks and doing the math will give you your actual MPG.

For instance, I filled my new car (full tank) after 270 miles.
It showed just under half. But the gas gauge is not the way to calculate MPG.
It took 7.4 gallons; 270/7.4 = 36.6 MPG.

[dmhoo29]

Would running the tank empty hurt the fuel pump? I was always told by my mechanic to never let it run out unless you just have no choice.

[LAMRONH]

Originally Posted by dmhoo29

Would running the tank empty hurt the fuel pump? I was always told by my mechanic to never let it run out unless you just have no choice.

The fuel supposedly functions to keep the pump cool.

Don't ask me why.

If I were designing it, I'd never put a pump OR a filter in a damned fuel tank. Call me crazy.

[golfjunkie8808]

hmmm i see...i get like 27/28 mpg but then agian i'm a teenager and i have a heavy foot...

[JLeather]

My first tank so far I averaged 31. The car already has 11,000 miles, though, so it's broke in. That was a lot of stop&go traffic too.

[Sam_96]

Owner of 08 Spectra Automatic. So far, so good.

After owning it 5 weeks, my MPG is 32. Last fill up i got 379.5 on 11.825 gallons of fuel.. so approx 32.

This was in city traffic as well (Austin TX), and air conditioner when needed.

Hope this helps!