Kia K5 2021 Owner's Manual page 320

Driving your vehicle
Toggle the DRIVE MODE button to
select SMART mode. When
SMART mode is selected, the indi-
cator illuminates on the instru-
ment cluster.
SMART mode automatically con-
trols the vehicle driving, such as
gear shifting patterns and engine
torque, in accordance with the
driver's driving habits.
NOTICE
When you mildly drive the vehicle
in SMART mode, the driving mode
changes to ECO mode to improve
fuel efficiency. However, the
actual fuel efficiency may differ in
accordance with your driving situ-
ations (i.e., upward/downward
slope, vehicle deceleration/accel-
eration).
When you dynamically drive the
vehicle in SMART mode by
abruptly decelerating or sharply
turning the driving mode changes
to SPORT mode. However, it may
adversely affect fuel economy.
Various driving situations, which
you may encounter in SMART mode
The driving mode automatically
changes to ECO mode after a cer-
tain period of time, when you
gently depress the accelerator
pedal. (Your driving is categorized
to be economic.)
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Drive mode integrated control system
The driving mode automatically
changes from SMART ECO mode
to SMART NORMAL mode after a
certain period of time, when you
sharply or repetitively depress the
accelerator pedal.
The driving mode automatically
changes to SMART NORMAL mode
with the same driving patterns,
when the vehicle starts to drive
on an upward slope of a certain
angle. The driving mode automat-
ically returns to SMART ECO
mode, when the vehicle enters a
leveled road.
The driving mode automatically
changes to SMART SPORT, when
you abruptly accelerate the vehi-
cle or repetitively operate the
steering wheel. (Your driving is
categorized to be sporty.) In this
mode, your vehicle drives in a
lower gear for abrupt accelerat-
ing/decelerating and increases the
engine brake performance.
You may still sense the engine
braking performance, even when
you release the accelerator pedal
in SMART SPORT mode. It is
because your vehicle remains in
lower gear over a certain period
of time for next acceleration.
Thus, it is a normal driving situa-
tion, not indicating any malfunc-
tion.
The driving mode automatically
changes to SMART SPORT mode
only in harsh driving situations. In