Rio Hatch 5Dr 1.1CRDi EcoDynamics

Fuel economy 30-40% below that claimed by KIA UK

This is a small car with a decent sized interior, better than the Ford Fiesta. The 1.1 Diesel engine is fine around town, but it struggles outside of town, especially where hills are concerned. The model is well specced for the price.
Our main gripe is that this car is marketed on its exceptionally low fuel consumption and Co2 output, which are not born out in reality. We now have 9K on the clock, but we have only managed to achieve 56-58 mpg on mixed economy driving of about 34 miles per day. The main KIA UK website claim our 1.1CRDi EcoDynamics model should do 74mpg on a combined cycle. Oddly enough, the KIA UK website for business user/fleet cars web site (for same model) cites the mpg as 56.5!!! (http://www.kia.co.uk/kia-business-fleet-cars/ecodynamics.aspx website accessed 18th August 2013). Is this an error, or are KIA worried they might get sued by big fleet buyers for making unrealistic fuel economy claims?
We asked Kia to test-drive our car to check the fuel consumption -the 'test' involved a 50 mile drive, with most of it spent doing 60mph in sixth gear on a quiet dual carriageway- hardly a realistic test of mixed economy driving!
We traded in a Fiat 500 1.3D that did 64mpg average. Our daughter who lives close by and does the same commute gets 64mpg average in her Clio 1.4D. Both out perform the Kia Rio.

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