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5
5
Driving your vehicle Economical operation
Economical operation
Your vehicle's fuel economy depends
mainly on your style of driving, where
you drive and when you drive.
Each of these factors affects how many
miles (kilometers) you can get from a
gallon (liter) of fuel. To operate your
vehicle as economically as possible, use
the following driving suggestions to help
save money in both fuel and repairs:
僅 Drive smoothly. Accelerate at a mod
-
erate rate. Don't make "jackrabbit"
starts or full-throttle shifts and main
-
tain a steady cruising speed. Don't
race between stoplights. Try to adjust
your speed to the traffic so you don't
have to change speeds unnecessar
-
ily. Avoid heavy traffic whenever pos
-
sible.
Always maintain a safe distance from
other vehicles so you can avoid
unnecessary braking. This also
reduces brake wear.
僅 Drive at a moderate speed. The faster
you drive, the more fuel your vehicle
uses. Driving at a moderate speed,
especially on the highway, is one of
the most effective ways to reduce fuel
consumption.
僅 Take care of your tires. Keep them
inflated to the recommended pres
-
sure. Incorrect inflation, either too
much or too little, results in unneces
-
sary tire wear. Check the tire pres
-
sures at least once a month.
僅 Be sure that the wheels are aligned
correctly. Improper alignment can
result from hitting curbs or driving too
fast over irregular surfaces. Poor
alignment causes faster tire wear and
may also result in other problems as
well as greater fuel consumption.
僅 Keep your car in good condition. For
better fuel economy and reduced
maintenance costs, maintain your car
in accordance with the maintenance
schedule in "Scheduled maintenance
service" on page 8-9. If you drive your
car in severe conditions, more fre
-
quent maintenance is required (Refer
to "Maintenance Under Severe Usage
Conditions - Turbo Models" on page
8-14 for details).
僅 Travel lightly. Don't carry unnecessary
weight in your car. Weight reduces
fuel economy.
僅 Don't let the engine idle longer than
necessary. If you are waiting (and not
in traffic), turn off your engine and
restart only when you're ready to go.
僅 Don't "lug" or "over-rev" the engine.
Lugging is driving too slowly in too
high a gear resulting in the engine
bucking. If this happens, shift to a
lower gear. Over-revving is racing the
engine beyond its safe limit. This can
be avoided by shifting at the recom
-
mended speeds.
僅 Open windows at high speeds can
reduce fuel economy.
僅 Fuel economy is less in crosswinds
and headwinds. To help offset some
of this loss, slow down when driving in
these conditions.
Keeping a vehicle in good operating
condition is important both for economy
and safety.
Therefore, have an authorized Kia dealer
perform scheduled inspections and
maintenance.