Kia Sportage: 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 kilometers (miles) you can get from a liter (gallon) of fuel. To operate your vehicle as economically as possible, use the following driving suggestions to help save money in both fuel and repairs:

• Drive smoothly. Accelerate at a moderate rate. Don't make "jackrabbit" starts or full-throttle shifts and maintain 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 unnecessarily.

  Avoid heavy traffic whenever possible.

  Always maintain a safe distance from other vehicles so you can avoid unnecessary braking. This also reduces brake wear.

• 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.
• Take care of your tires. Keep them inflated to the recommended pressure.

  Incorrect inflation, either too much or too little, results in unnecessary tire wear. Check the tire pressures at least once a month.

• 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.
• Keep your vehicle in good condition.

  For better fuel economy and reduced maintenance costs, maintain your vehicle in accordance with the maintenance schedule in "Scheduled maintenance service". If you drive your vehicle in severe conditions, more frequent maintenance is required (Refer to "Maintenance under severe usage conditions"

• Travel lightly. Don't carry unnecessary weight in your vehicle. Weight reduces fuel economy.
• 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.
• 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 recommended speeds.

• Open windows at high speeds can reduce fuel economy.
• 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 the function checked by an authorized Kia dealer.

WARNING

Engine off during motion

Never turn the engine off to coast down hills or anytime the vehicle is in motion.

The power steering and power brakes will not function properly without the engine running. In addition, turning off the ignition while driving could engage the steering wheel lock resulting in loss of vehicle steering. Keep the engine on and downshift to an appropriate gear for engine braking effect.

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