[AlanHo]

Too much information Phil..

@ Alan, thanks, so I stressed unnecessarily for several hours!

Now I will be stressed for several hours fretting that I caused you to stress for several hours and that we dragged poor sensitive Phil into it.................

To take my mind off things I have spent time creating a new Avatar showing the new car. Also created a desktop icon for my link to the KIA Forum.

[Just Rick]

Just catching up on posts,sad you have to get rid of your I30,but am happy you will stay with us,you are a very valued member,I for one would have missed your balanced,well explained sometimes comical stories and experiences 

[bumpkin]

All good Alan, glad you found a good deal!

Is it the EcoDynamics model?

You and your dear lady will find the reversing camera really useful, the built in sat nav is also much improved over the original, give the dealer a call and make sure they update to the latest firmware and map update before you pick her up, that way you can assess it's functionality against the Garmin and make an informed decision.

[AlanHo]

Yes it is the ecodynamics thingamajig. I take it that the fancy title means ISG which did not work during my road test because it was 3 degrees, pouring with rain and I had the A/C on full blast to clear the windscreen of condensation.

They will be giving the car its first 12 month service - a month early - before I pick it up as part of the deal. The salesman told me that sat nav firmware updates are loaded as part of each 12 month service - but map updates only by request because they are not free. I didn't bother to ask more because I am wedded to the Garmin where I get 3 free Europe map updates a year, the speed limit on most roads is displayed and speed camera warnings are given.

I don't use the Garmin Cyclops speed camera data base for which you have to pay a fee - I use Pocket GPS World which updates every 2 to 3 weeks and is now free to me for life (Given to me when registered customers were the first to report a new speed camera installation or deletion. They now give just 12 months free updates, but I maintain my lifetime status).

[bumpkin]

Yep, that is the Kia name for BlueDrive.

Fair point on the maps, they are not cheap

The system does speed limits, but not cameras.

[AlanHo]

I said goodbye to my i30 Tourer today and collected the Venga 3 1.6 sat nav petrol. It is 12 months old on 1st April and the dealer had given it its first 12 month service as part of the deal.

The dealership were very thorough and insisted in taking me through all the features of the car including the vehicle controls, cruise, speed limiter, heating system, safety items,  radio, sat nav, Bluetooth and voice control etc. It took at least 30 minutes.

During the demo of the sat nav I opened up the settings screen and checked the software version which was 7.1.2. I asked the salesman if the version shown on the sat nav screen was up to date and he replied that it must be because they check it at each annual service. I asked him to check with the service shop that they had done this and he toddled off to do it. He came back and confirmed that the latest version was 7.1.2 as installed on the Venga – so I showed him a print out I had taken today of the Navtec KIA download site which was for version 7.4.5. I told him that I would download the update myself and install it – but suggested that the service department needs to be more diligent. The dealership are thus aware, thanks to the KIA forum – that I know my stuff.

The other issue I reminded him about was the ISG not working when I took it for a test drive last Friday. He said that he had mentioned this to the service guys and they had checked it and it was working fine. It was cold and wet during the road test and I had the fan and A/C on to demist the windows, so that would probably explain why it didn’t work for me.

As expected, the car had been immaculately prepared and was complete with the owners manual, service logbook duly stamped with the first service and the locking wheel nut key. Also supplied was a spacesaver spare wheel, boot liner, rear bumper protection foil and G3 paint treatment the previous owner had paid a total of £688 for.

Oh. I forgot to mention the Owners Car Navigation System manual.  A book of 844 pages which is 4.5 cms thick and weighs 1.2 kilos (2.6 lbs for the benefit of any old farts reading this). It is divided into 12 sections each of approx. 70 pages to cover 12 European languages. Spanish is notable by its absence – possibly because Venga in Spanish means “to come”.  The first thing I did when I got home was to carefully cut the UK section from the book and chuck the other sections away.

This afternoon immediately after collecting the car we had cause to drive 32 miles there and 34 miles back to visit our grand-daughter who was discharged from hospital this morning after some surgery. The girl is doing fine but it is an excuse for granny to fret and fuss. The trip took us along the M42 and north on the M5 to Quinton so the car had a good run. At no time did the ISG operate, so upon getting home I put the battery on charge using my GMA friendly CTEK 3.8 Amp 7-stage battery charger. I will take it for a spin tomorrow to see whether that wakes up the ISG – if not it is back to the dealers.

So what are my first impressions :-

A nice roomy car with lots of luggage space and a surprising turn of speed for someone more used to the grunt of diesels. I zeroed the trip recorder when I collected the car and 76 miles later it is reading 40.4 mpg. 75% of this being on motorways so my hope for getting 36 mpg average long term looks reasonable.
The seats are comfortable, controls are ergonomic, everything works as it should – but after the car interior got hot an annoying creaking rattle started from the centre of the dash. The car is notably more stiffly sprung than the i30 and it crashes over pot holes. The Continental LRR tyres are quite noisy so I may decide to fit some different rubber. I will have a poke around tomorrow to try and pinpoint the cause of the dash creaks and rattles, but suspect it will end up a dealer job.

The sat nav has surprised me in being better than expected – but my wife dislikes the female voice instructions. She is used to a real man giving her orders and is not prepared to be bullied by a silky female voice. I imagine there is a way of downloading a male voice if I ever to decide to use the sat nav rather than my Garmin Nuvi.  The salesman told me that last week-end a young chap with a Venga came in to try out a Ceed and he was particularly interested to check whether his USB TV dongle worked as well in the Ceed as it did in his Venga. The salesman had never seen TV being played on the sat nav in real time – neither did I know it was possible. So if you happen to be in the Midlands and see a Venga or Ceed drifting all over the road – it will be chummy watching the footer as he drives along.

We got back home too late this evening for me to have much of a play with the car – that will fill my time tomorrow when I will install the Garmin sat nav and my front and rear crash video cameras.

More anon.


OK OK I KNOW......

[Shambles]

Nice one Mr Ho


I see you're making inroads on the UK Kia forum too

[Phil №❶]

Now we know what you got up to yesterday, Alan. 

[Shambles]

Don't you fancy moving this thread to the open forum, or are you too embarrassed ?

[eye30]

Great intro to the new car.

Hope you get the isg sorted tomorrow.

Re tv instant ban if caught with it on while driving as driver can see screen.

[Dazzler]

Enjoyed that Alan.. You are a "machine" (in a good way)

[AlanHo]

Don't you fancy moving this thread to the open forum, or are you too embarrassed ?

I had quite forgotten that it was in the VIP section - so here goes - I will move into the Jokes forum. You could do with a laugh you grumpy bugger....................

[AlanHo]

As I advised in my earlier post – I left the battery on charge overnight for 15 hours – the charger confirmed it was fully charged.

Later, I went out to visit a friend 28 miles away and the ISG was working perfectly – and continued to do so with the aircon on, the passenger seat heater on and the radio on. The only hiccup with it was twice during the journey the engine did not start automatically when I depressed the clutch and selected first gear – I had to use the key starter.

On the way back the petrol warning light came on with exactly 60 miles showing on the DTE trip. Not wishing to take any chances I refuelled at a garage near home.

Now for the fuelling saga and some conundrums for you guys to have a think about.

I filled with 95 unleaded at my local Murco station.  The DTE Trip was reading 53 miles.
The odometer was reading 5120 miles.
At the first click on the pump = 40.4 litres added
Second click                          = 42.6 litres
Third click                              = 45.8 litres
Fourth click                            = 46.4 litres
I then pulled the nozzle clear of the filler pipe and continued to fill very slowly.
After 3 or 4 minutes the pump read 52.03 litres and the petrol was static in the filler and almost about to spill over, so I stopped.
The fuel tank is specified at 48 litres and if the DTE of 53 miles is to be believed, there were possibly 7 or 8 litres in the tank before filling. Hence the car finished up with a total of almost 60 litres on board.  It must be one hell of a big filling pipe – or KIA rate the tank as 48 litres after the a reserve is ignored to allow a 60 mile DTE..

After coughing up £66.55 for the fuel I zeroed all the trips before starting the engine. The first average mpg trip was already reading zero, the second average mpg trip was manually reset to zero as was trip A distance, Trip B distance and the elapsed time trip.
The DTE trip was reading 404 miles after the refuelling.

I then diverted to some shops before driving home 12 miles later.

When I reached home the odometer read 5132 (12 miles added since refuelling)
Trip A read 12.2 miles
Trip B read 12.0 miles
The first average mpg trip read        : 33.2 mpg (This sets to zero automatically upon refuelling)
The second average mpg trip read  : 34.4 mpg (I manually set this to zero on refuelling) 
The DTE was reading 396 miles.

So here is the conundrum –

1)   Why the difference between Trip A and Trip B distances – they were both set to zero at the same time whilst stationary.
2)   Why the difference between the two average mpg trip readings. They both started at zero.
3)   Note that the DTE was only 8 miles less over the 12 mile journey.

I can guess why the DTE is not consistent – the ECU must make regular adjustments related to the amount of fuel remaining and the type of driving etc. I will keep an eye on this as I pile on a few more miles. However – why the distance and average mpg trip readings differ - I have not a clue.

[eye30]

I have not a clue.

I know why. ................... The car in built brain has heard how you analyse all things to do with your car and is in direct competion to see who breaks first....




Ps
 Great update.

[diablo]

Don't you fancy moving this thread to the open forum, or are you too embarrassed ?

I had quite forgotten that it was in the VIP section - so here goes - I will move into the Jokes forum. You could do with a laugh you grumpy bugger....................

I was puzzled the other day when it was said that you wouldn't need the Hyundai workshop disks any more and did a search to see why. Nothing came up of course 'coz I can't see the VIP section.

I suppose the new car is a good compromise for your new needs.

[Asterix]

Alan, the age must be nagging you. 

Last time you changed car I also had to remind you to change your signature text...  

[Phil №❶]

  My questions first.

Why 2 trips A & B and why 2 averages 

[AlanHo]

So far as distance trips is concerned I find it useful.

I use Trip A to measure how far I have gone since I reset it to zero at brimming the tank. I use trip B when I want to measure a particular journey.

I s'pose now that I have a car with 2 average economy trips - I can do the same.

The other great feature is that the instant economy display is numeric and not the stupid bar graph they fit to the UK GD i30.


And another thing - the direction indicator sounder (clicker) on the Venga is much louder that on Hyundai cars. I can hear it and will not need to have a louder beeper fitted.

[Phil №❶]

Does the handbook make any reference to the AB trip meters. This sounds illogical, but they must source their information from different locations. Could 1 be GPS as opposed to actual road distance. It would seem that the mpg is possibly using different inputs too. 

[eye30]

The other great feature is that the instant economy display is numeric and not the stupid bar graph they fit to the UK GD i30.

Does it go higher than 50 mpg?

[Phil №❶]

Won't need to, it's petrol. 

[eye30]

Won't need to, it's petrol. 

Mine is petrol and hits the 50 mpg mark although my overall average is low 40's

[Phil №❶]

You've been coasting down hills in neutral again, haven't you. 

[AlanHo]

On the motorway today it was reading 79.9 mpg on a very slight decline when I was maintaining speed just to keep a lorry out of the boot.. On over-run it reads 99.9 mpg for a few seconds then just 3 plain bars until you use the throttle.

I guess if I coasted out of gear (which I never do) it would show petrol being consumed to maintain engine tick-over.

[bumpkin]

And another thing - the direction indicator sounder (clicker) on the Venga is much louder that on Hyundai cars. I can hear it and will not need to have a louder beeper fitted.

Check my ix20 thread, you will find it was exactly the same