Hey Folks,

Just picked up a 2011 Accent. Its wine red, with beige interior, automatic and premium equipment package.

I came from a 2010 Kia Rio5, with a 5 speed. It's rpms were so high it was annoying. Over 20,000 miles, that car averaged about 31.5 mpg. I'm hoping the Accent will do better. I'm a manual transmission guy, but I switched to an automatic. The mpg was rated better for both the Rio and the Accent (same powertrain), and in both cases the automatic was rated higher than the manual. Which I thought was b.s. until I rode in a friends Accent rental car. The rpm in the Accent automatic was MUCH lower. Which is the reason for the lower mpg rating. So I went with an auto.

Let me tell you, the rpms are indeed MUCH lower.


2010 Rio5 5 speed (top gear):

60 mph = 3,000 rpm
65 mph = 3,250 rpm
70 mph = 3,500 rpm
75 mph = 3,750 rpm
80 mph = 4,000 rpm


2011 Accent auto (top gear locked):

60 mph = 2,450 rpm
65 mph = 2,700 rpm
70 mph = 2,875 rpm
75 mph = 3,050 rpm
80 mph = 3,500 rpm (I think I have an rpm error at 80 mph, I'll check that again tonight, and correct it tomorrow).

Anyway, I just wanted to contribute a little, FWIW.

I also wanted to see if there were any undocumented features or secrets about the Accent that I may not be aware of.

Thanks.


JyRO

 

I concur on the manual tranny and revs. Unfortunately for me, I need a vehicle that can be towed behind a motorhome, so that immediately disqualified the automatic. In my case anyway, I tend to keep to a max speed of 55 mph on the higway, so the revs to stay south of that 3,000 rpm mark. It's still an adjustment coming from a truck that loped along at 2,000 rpm on the highway at 55.