[rickai]

Hey guys, new here. Just got a 2012 i30 active (diesel auto)  last week. Having driving it for about a week in some heavy urban driving, its hitting the 9.6L/100km mark. I just wonder whether it has to do with my driving habbits (i only floored it for about 3 times). Anyway, it only has gotten 130km so I'll give it some more time on different roads and see if its any different. That said, my main question for this thread is whether the "Eco-Active" is actually useful, I haven't really seen any difference in performance yet, but I assume the fuel economy is better when it's on and the performance is better when it's off? Has anyone drove their i30 gd long enough to notice the difference with or without this feature? 

[Doggie 1]

Welcome to the forum.
I can't answer your question specifically but I wouldn't be worrying about the fuel economy on the first tankful. Monitor it from the second completely full tank when you know the car hasn't been idling for long periods, on and off trucks, etc.
It will improve, I'm sure.

[Stikman]

Have not turned it on yet, wanted to get a few tanks in different conditions first and then do a comparison. Did you reset it when you picked it up? I did and have not seen anything over a full tank that high, first tank was 6.5L/100km and each tank is dropping. On a 150km trip today on mainly motorway it was 5.4L, climbing back to 5.7L with another 40km of mixed driving. This is without Eco on. These are all purely off the dash readings. The salesman told me the Eco feature changes both motor and gearbox settings in the GD but this is all I know on it. Will try to report back on any findings once I do switch it on.

[AlanHo]

My experience is that using the engine auto stop feature makes very little difference to overall economy. It is really only effective in the city in lots of traffic - and even then only when you actually come to a stop often and are stationary for more than 30 seconds each time. I see it as a ploy by manufacturers to get the best government economy figures in the test lab.

I can detect no difference whatsoever in the performance of the car whether the eco setting is on or off. Initially I thought that the car felt more lively with it off - and I resorted to some carrying out some comparative acceleration tests to prove the point - and found there was no difference.

I now leave mine switched off. I reckon that the minute fuel saving I might get is not worth the extra load on the engine/starter motor imposed by the stops and starts.

[Phil №❶]

Hey guys, new here. Just got a 2012 i30 active (diesel auto)  last week. Having driving it for about a week in some heavy urban driving, its hitting the 9.6L/100km mark. I just wonder whether it has to do with my driving habbits (i only floored it for about 3 times). Anyway, it only has gotten 130km so I'll give it some more time on different roads and see if its any different. That said, my main question for this thread is whether the "Eco-Active" is actually useful, I haven't really seen any difference in performance yet, but I assume the fuel economy is better when it's on and the performance is better when it's off? Has anyone drove their i30 gd long enough to notice the difference with or without this feature? 

Sorry, but "flooring" an engine 3 times with 130kms on the clock is NOT good driving practice. If that's how you treat a new motor that can take up to 10K to loosen up, then forget looking at fuel economy at all, IMHO of course. 

[Dazzler]

Sorry, but "flooring" an engine 3 times with 130kms on the clock is NOT good driving practice. If that's how you treat a new motor that can take up to 10K to loosen up, then forget looking at fuel economy at all, IMHO of course. 

  Don't hold back Phil...Mind you quite a valid comment all said and done.. 

[rickai]

Thanks for the reply guys. I know its bad to floor it, but I was curious what a diesel feels like (previously drove camry petrol). I did it once on a high way just to see if it really can go 9s in 1-100km/h, but the other two times was going uphill. Wasn't accelerating as much so i floored it, stayed under 4000RPM though.

So I did what Stikman said, I reset it after I read his post and now its going 7.9 or 8 L/km. I also turned off eco-active feature. I'm not too sure whether the feature Alan mentioned is the same one we have in Australia, but it does sound similar. After the reset, I didn't go beyond 2500RPM and I always slow down and tries to reduce stop times before a red light. Tank's quarter gone, so I'm going to wait and see how it goes after 1 tank. I think diesel was the wrong choice to drive in Sydney, with all that traffic... Only bought it cos I'll be moving to a quiet area soon and there'll be 30 min or so of empty highway driving.

[Stikman]

The stop start driving does use significantly more, my figures are 60km round trip to work each day, about 30-40 of that being 80-100kmh, then into traffic. On a highway only run sitting at 100-110kmh it returns low 5s.

If you plan a distance cruise at any time reset it again and see what it averages, should be significantly lower 👍

[Doggie 1]

Thanks for the reply guys. I know its bad to floor it, but I was curious what a diesel feels like (previously drove camry petrol). I did it once on a high way just to see if it really can go 9s in 1-100km/h, but the other two times was going uphill. Wasn't accelerating as much so i floored it, stayed under 4000RPM though.

So I did what Stikman said, I reset it after I read his post and now its going 7.9 or 8 L/km. I also turned off eco-active feature. I'm not too sure whether the feature Alan mentioned is the same one we have in Australia, but it does sound similar. After the reset, I didn't go beyond 2500RPM and I always slow down and tries to reduce stop times before a red light. Tank's quarter gone, so I'm going to wait and see how it goes after 1 tank. I think diesel was the wrong choice to drive in Sydney, with all that traffic... Only bought it cos I'll be moving to a quiet area soon and there'll be 30 min or so of empty highway driving.

I don't think it was the wrong choice for Sydney traffic and would have thought it would have reveled in that environment.
Give it time. 

[Phil №❶]

Definitely NOT the wrong choice.

Let me explain something to you.

Idling in a petrol engine is much more inefficient than a diesel. This is because the fuel is ignited by a spark plug and travels across combustion chamber which is not very efficient. In a diesel, the air fuel mix is compressed until enough heat to ignite the fuel is achieved. The important thing here is that the heat generated occurs equally throughout the whole combustion chamber, so all the fuel ignites rapidly. This is why at idle, diesels knock a bit. You car's ECU only allows enough fuel to keep the motor running at idle, which is a lot less than a petrol engine.

So next time you're waiting at the lights, remember to smile. 

[Doggie 1]

I always smile when I drive my diesel. 
And I might be a bit different (don't answer that) but I actually like the sound of a diesel engine.

[Phil №❶]

me 2

[Dazzler]

M3