When the car was pushed hard on the highway, it returned a fuel efficiency of 12-13 km/l.
BHPian Nikhil0812 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
16 Months – 3,300 Km update
It has been 16 months to the day since Sonet came home! The running has been pretty low owing mostly to working from home. It has been out mainly on the weekends. I’ve put together a few highlights to summarize the 16-month ownership:
- I’ve managed to do a few highway runs. Only one long-ish trip of 381km was accomplished in a single day. This was to and from Thirukovilur in July 2022. For about 90% of the journey, the indicated efficiency was between 18.5 – 18.9 kmpl. This was with speeds ranging from 75 - 100 kmph, with cruise control mostly set between 80 – 90 kmph, and 3 occupants. It dropped to 17.7kmpl by the time we reached home as we encountered quite heavy traffic when entering Chennai. No fatigue throughout and after the drive. No complaints either from the other occupants about seating comfort, ride quality, and AC performance. In fact, the AC was set to 24 degrees throughout, and it didn’t break a sweat (pun intended).
- The DTE reading was spot on! It read 692 km at the start of the journey and 322 km when we parked it at home.
- On different occasions, while out on the highway, I had a chance to really push the car. I did a max of 155kmph, and the car was absolutely stable and felt planted. The engine is a hoot and showed no signs of power tapering out! The pull was relentless in third gear till 140kmph. The roar from the engine also sounded good. The steering, although did weigh up, had no feel or feedback at those speeds. Overtaking, for the most part, is effortless and doesn’t really require planning ahead. The efficiency even when pushed hard was around 12 – 13 kmpl.
- The efficiency in the city though is abysmal. Single-digit figures are common in heavy traffic. The car just does not like to idle or creep around. In light to moderate traffic, I get around 10 – 12 kmpl. Maybe the 7 speeds of the DCT is more efficient than the 6 speeds of the iMT? Stop/Start would have helped things. Hyundai/Kia should really consider offering it.
- The fuel efficiency is very sensitive to the throttle position. If the throttle is depressed by about 10%, it's fine. The instantaneous efficiency reads around 20kmpl (depending on speed and gear). If I depress it about 20% - 30%, the efficiency just tanks (<10kmpl instantaneous).
- XP95 does not seem to make much of a difference, both in terms of efficiency and power delivery. Getting XP95 in Chennai has been more of a miss than a hit. Most IOCL bunks who advertise availability rarely have it! I mostly find myself having to go out of my way to those one or two larger bunks that are more likely to be carrying it.
- Brakes are good. It does have a bit of nosedive when braking heavily from higher speeds. Having discs at the rear would have made things better. I guess Sonet is the only Kia car in India to not get rear discs even in the highest variant.
- Also got the chance to take some corners at fairly high speeds. Sonet is a no corner-carver, but it's not that bad. There is a bit of body roll, but the stiff suspension and wide tires help maintain composure.
- The engine is extremely refined and silent. On a couple of occasions when starting the car, I could hear it cranking but had to verify with the tachometer if the engine was actually running.
- Wireless Android Auto works perfectly for now. Sound quality from the stock setup is adequate for my use case.
- All electronics have been working fine. No real complaints up until this point.
- The first annual service was done almost exactly a year after delivery. The car had done just over 2,000km. The SA had to confirm if it was actually a paid annual service instead of the first free service! Nevertheless, a complete oil change was performed with the recommended fully synthetic 0W-30.
- The only niggle faced till now was that the boot lamp was not turning on when the boot was opened, and the MID did not display the ‘boot open’ graphic. This was brought up during the annual service. It was attributed to a faulty boot latch and was replaced under warranty. It’s been working fine since.
A fun milestone captured a few days ago!
I’m planning a few longer highway trips. Hope they come to fruition. Overall, I’ve been enjoying driving the car and am looking forward to many more miles!
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