A/T and the trip button

ok had to go for a long drive tonight from friends house so I tested this. I have 2.4 5 speed A/T. Here is what I found.

In eco mode at a dead stop no light.

In eco mode driving "normally" by 50mph I was in 5th. If you floor it from here the eco light goes off but the car feels VERY sluggish. Also If you floor it at any point in the shifting the light goes off and car is sluggish.

Driving aggressive (3/4 throttle) from dead stop the light never comes on until you let off and the car settles down. shift point looked to be at 4.5k rpm.

pedal to the medal from dead stop car went well into redline with no light to be seen until I let off and car settled down.

eco mode off seemed really close to what I stated for eco mode on but the car seemed to respond a little faster and better with random full throttle depressions.

There is a HUGE difference in torque and rpm range if you go to manual though. You are able to hold the car above 4.5 which seems to me where It likes to run and show its power.

I guess after this first test I would have to assume that the eco mode tries to keep the car shifts under 4k rpm under normal driving conditions. For safety reasons I would have to assume also that the car automatically jumps out of eco mode if you floor it. Maybe it assumes that you are getting on freeway and need extra power to get into flow of traffic safely.

I can tell you for sure without a doubt, If you flip it over to manual mode It will hit the full range of rpm before it shifts. don't worry about revving too high it will shift automatically when you hit the max rpms. You also dont have to worry about shifting too low when already moving it wont let you do that either. Yet another safety feature that may or may not be annoying at this point.

Thanks for the info PharaohKoup. I have found that in Manual mode it performs the way I like it. Revs are around 3500-4000 and it moves like a raped ape. I would be willing to bet that I could get better gas mileage in this car driving it manually than using the ECO light. I drove a manual transmission Toyota Echo for 3 years and was averaging 46mpg highway. Using that ECO light it shifts too soon and just because the RPM is lower, does not mean you are using less gas. You will use more gas if you are running at 1500k and are accelerating than you will if you are at 2500k and accelerating. I just wish that Kia would have done like Toyota did with their transmissions where they learn the driver's driving habits and shift accordingly (My 07 Yaris auto). I think their shift points are too low.

Still love the car though! I love the look when people ask me what kind of car it is and I tell them it's a Kia. Kia still has a tarnished name for some reason, but I truly believe that they could become one of the top car companies.