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2010 Kia Forte SX: The Fuel Economy Review

October 22, 2009 in Consumer News, MPG, test drives by kristen | No comments

The Kia Forte sedan is zippier than you’d expect from a car that gets 31 mpg on the highway, and it did rate a 7 out of 10 on California’s Global Warming Score (higher is better). But calling it “green” would be a stretch.

The 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder engine and 5-speed automatic transmission go a long way toward making the Kia Forte a fuel sipper rather than a gas guzzler. There’s a green “eco” light that comes on to the right of the speedometer to indicate when your driving style is saving fuel. The problem with the light is that it can blink on and off as you slow for traffic then speed up for a green light. Catching it out of the corner of my eye, I kept thinking I’d left my right blinker on. It also wasn’t enough of a reward to encourage good driving habits.

If you have family or friends who need to trade in a gas hog of an SUV or pickup truck, and they’re not ready to go hippie-dippy hybrid, the Kia Forte would be a good transition car. It’s got lots of pep in the gas pedal — which doesn’t lend itself to green driving — but the engine size and transmission keep you from burning too much fuel, no matter how you drive.

In the end, after a week of driving, I got a combined 26 mpg, with about equal highway and street driving. It sounds odd to say, since that’s a perfectly respectable number, but I expected higher. For about the same price, a person could get a Honda Insight, which gets 43 mpg on the highway but lacks the quickness of the Kia.

2010 Kia Forte SX Info

  • 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine
  • EPA rated at 23 mpg city/31 mpg highway
  • Tons of safety equipment
  • MSRP as tested: $19,795

This car was provided for review by the manufacturer at no cost to the reviewer.

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: The Fuel Economy Test Drive

October 15, 2009 in Consumer News, Hybrids, MPG, test drives by kristen | 1 comment

Let’s start with what you want to know about the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: I drove it for one week on city streets and freeways, in traffic and on clear stretches, and got a combined 37 mpg.

There are two things I love about the Fusion Hybrid: the LCD instrument cluster and its car-like appearance. The instrument cluster is as addictive as a video game — even though its designers were asked to tone done the gamey-ness of it. A green box to the left of the speedometer pops up when driving to let you know when you’re using EV mode, and I was obsessed with driving under battery power alone as much as possible. Not just for the good of the environment, mind you. Eco-friendly driving earns you a bushel of leaves over on the right side of the LCD screen. I wanted leaves! More leaves!

The exterior styling might not strike some people as anything to write home about, which is exactly why I like it. Personally, I prefer a bit more adventuresome designs, but the Fusion Hybrid looks like a regular car, not a lunar lander. This is a four-door sedan my mom, or even my grandmother, would feel comfortable tooling around in. The change from electric to gas power and back again is seamless, as is the start/stop technology.

When you turn the car off, the LCD readouts slide behind the speedometer and a trip summary pops up so you can see the number of leaves you earned and get detailed numbers on your fuel consumption. I delighted in telling everyone things like, “I drove all the way here — 12.5 miles — and only used .2 gallons of gas.” Everyone I told this to suppressed an eye roll, which I appreciate.

2010 Ford Fusion Specs

  • 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine
  • CVT transmission (no gears)
  • Full hybrid with regenerative braking
  • EPA fuel economy: 41 mpg city, 36 mpg highway
  • My fuel economy: 37 mpg combined
  • MSRP as tested: $27,270

This car was provided for review by the manufacturer at no cost to the reviewer.

2009 Nissan Versa: The Fuel Economy Test Drive

April 1, 2009 in MPG, small cars, test drives by kristen | No comments

2009 Nissan Versa

The 2009 Nissan Versa 1.8 S hatchback I tested for a week was cute, bare-bones, fairly cheap — and it got fantastic gas mileage. Really. Here’s how my week went:

The car was a bright-blue hatchback, with bubbly corners and lights. The first thing I noticed was that I had to use the key to get in. No remote keyless entrey here. Seats were manual, windows were manual, locks were manual. It had a basic stereo with decent-enough speakers, and enough room for me but the knees of tall passengers were up against the glovebox. We didn’t try the rear seat.

Without a couple extras like the ABS package, this car could be had for $13,990. As tested, it cost $15,200, which seemed a tad spendy to me for such a Spartan little econobox.

Then, the night before the Versa was to leave my hands, I pulled into the gas station to top it off. I’d driven just over 100 miles almost entirely on surface streets, which used about a quarter tank’s worth of gas. I took my receipt, did the math, and came up with a whopping 32 mpg — on streets! No highway trips this week, no cruise control. With stops and starts and traffic included (though no serious snarls), I got the EPA’s upper estimate for the Versa.

This is the car for people who don’t care what they drive as long as it’s cheap, it’s safe, and it sips gas.

  • 2009 Nissan Versa 1.8 S HB
  • As tested: $15,200, including destination charge
  • 1.8L four-cylinder engine, EPA rated 24 mpg city, 32 mpg highway
  • 6.8 tons of carbon dioxide emitted annually

This car was provided for review by the manufacturer at no cost to the reviewer.

2009 Honda Fit: The Fuel Economy Test Drive

March 18, 2009 in MPG, small cars, test drives by kristen | 3 comments

2009 Honda Fit

The 2009 Honda Fit five-door sport is indeed go. I had a Revolution Orange number this week, and I tooled around town quite happily. There was enough punch for merging onto the highway, and it was as easy to park as a Mini Cooper. It was also impossible to park it in, though a UPS truck tried its hardest outside the coffee shop. Those short, rounded front corners can skirt just about anything.

The test car I had was fitted with a nav system that flipped open to reveal the slot for the CD player. Creature comforts were few, but it did have power windows and door locks. I’m not sure the little wing at the top of the hatchback kept the rear tires stuck to the road, but it added to the car’s sporty looks.

Surprisingly, the car didn’t live up to its EPA fuel economy estimates while it was in my hands. I’m not a crazed driver, but I also didn’t make an effort to drive in a fuel-friendly way (the Fit doesn’t have the eco-nanny feature that the new Insight has). There was an mpg minder in the dash, but it was small and I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to it.

Honda Fit Speedo and MPG

After a week of mostly in-town driving, I got 22.1 mpg. The EPA estimates the car a 27 mpg city, 33 highway. I fell far short of its combined rating of 30 mpg, probably thanks to the 30-minute traffic jam I ran into outside Adidas headquarters. All that idling wrecked my mileage.

  • 2009 Honda Fit Sport
  • As tested, $19,430, including destination charge
  • 1.5L gasoline engine rated 27 mpg city, 33 mpg highway
  • 6.1 tons of carbon dioxide emitted annually

Images by Kristen Hall-Geisler.

This car was provided for review by the manufacturer at no cost to the reviewer.