[colgate]

Just picked up my new 2011 i30 CRDi Manual on Friday and loving the car so far. Seems to be a tremendously popular car, it's very hard to find anything but praise for it both on the internet and from people I know who own one (two of my colleagues also have the CRDi manual).

I've come from a lifetime of driving petrol engines and I love the lazy torque the diesel engine has to offer, but driving it takes some getting used to. It's really a totally different feel from petrol, and all the queues like engine noise and power output I had subconsciously picked up driving petrol & used when determining when to change gear no longer apply. I've only been driving the car for two days so I'm sure I'll adapt but at the moment I'm still trying to find the optimal way of driving a diesel manual. Some questions that maybe you more experienced with this car could might be able to answer:

* First gear feels really short. When accelerating from a red light it feels like I've used up the gear by half way across the intersection. A mate who used to drive diesel vans swore he would always drive off in second gear unless making a hill start. Should I be doing the same in the i30?

* What rev range can I safely accelerate from? The engine seems happy enough pulling away from about 1500RPM but any less and it feels laboured. I try not to rev beyond 3000 but this can sometimes mean I drop slightly below 1500 when changing gears, with the result that I'm hunting around the ratios a lot more than with my previous car

* Is 5th gear only really appropriate for 70K+ use? with previous cars I've generally changed into 5th on extended flat 60KPH sections for economy, but with the CRDi this drops the revs to around 1200RPM and I'm not really comfortable in this range as I fear I may be labouring the engine.

Other than adjusting to the new world of driving diesels I have absolutely no complaints with this car, easily the best car I've owned going on 3 days driving experience. I've had sporty high reving petrols before, but for a real fun engine with practical power characteristics that you can enjoy in urban areas without being an idiot or losing your license, nothing beats a diesel!

[Dazzler]

Hi Colgate.. very appropriate name as I am sure you are spending a lot of time with a cheesy grin now you have the CRDi manual..You have pretty much answered all your own questions in that excellent introductory post 

We did nearly 70,000Km in our first i30 before trading it on another vehicle..As you say try to keep the revs between 1500 and 3000 (as you are already doing..) The little diesel will pull away in 2nd but I had no issues with changing gears mid intersection .. taking off in 2nd may shorten the life of the clutch..

[Myowni30]

Hi Colgate,

Welcome to the i30 Owners Club 

[rustynutz]

Welcome Colgate.....

You're definitely labouring it if you're in 5th doing 1200rpm's....I'd even class 1500rpm as labouring it.  This is a definite no no, especially with a new engine, best to keep the revs where the torque is: ie between 1900 & 2800 until she's loosened up.....

Btw, If you think you're impressed with the little diesel now, just wait until you come across a nice long hill out in the sticks.......You'll have a grin from ear to ear as you blast past other cars leaving them in your wake....

[eye30]

Welcome colgate,

I've had my crdi for 3.5 years and I found it by far one of the best cars I've driven.

I've found that when starting off just to let the car do the "talking".  It will tell you when you need to change gear.

I always start in 1st. But saying that I did start in 2nd during the really bad snow and ice we had here in the UK as this gave better traction, no wheel spin!!!

I've found that I can't go into 5th unless I'm doing 41 mph (66 kph).

Within a short period of time you'll get to know your car and you won't need to think when to change gear it will be 2nd nature.

Many k's of carefree motoring

There is a certain irony about the diesel. While it appears to have extraordinary power low down, low down really means above 1,500, and only when the turbo has had some spin up.

Try to chug at low revs before any turbo action and you are dead in the water. Keep the turbo spinning and you are in heaven. 

The two lower gears will multiply the relatively poor torque allowing you to trundle without any turbo action but the higher gears (and revs) will pick you up... and go.

It takes a while to grasp this, but if you are in a hurry keep the revs above 2,000 RPM... but really, don't bother stretching it out unless you really can't fit the up change in because it won't go much quicker once you pass 3,000 RPM.

There is no value (or satisfying sound) that implores you to ring it out. Enjoy the power between 2 and 3k with 4k as a practical limit.

[Dazzler]

You mentioned engine noise/tone.. We have a 2.0 Petrol CW after having previously had a CRDi and at highway speeds (110KPH) I was surprised to find the engine noise in the CW is a lot louder than the diesel.. (which was a very quiet hum.. )

[bumpkin]

Welcome to the club 

[2i30s]

welcome aboard colgate. 

[colgate]

Hi All,

Thanks for such a warm welcome, and for the advice. Having had another day with the car in different conditions I'm now starting to settle into the feel of it and loving it more by the minute. Driving back home over the Bolte Bridge today I had my first feel for how this amazing diesel engine performs at highway speeds on a bit of an uphill incline, and phowa what a feeling  having torque on tap is unreal. Acceleration is effortless! In my opinion newton meters beats kilowatts any day of the week.

I'm really looking forward to getting an opportunity to drive this car on country roads. Also starting to get the knack for the gearbox. I think it's as much about adjusting to the different ratios compared with my old Yaris as it is about getting used to driving diesel. eye30, as you suggest I'm just feeling the car now and it seems that by doing this I naturally end up somewhere between 1900 and 2800 RPM which is I think about right.

[SRT Metro]

Hi colgate,
Welcome to the club! 

[babis_xo]

Welcome colgate! Excellent choice, as i read from others that is