Just before Christmas, we bought a 2014 Kia Rondo with 55k km (a bit less than 35k miles.) So far, we love it. Ask us how we feel about heated seats in Canada in January.
There is something to ask about: once in a while, usually stopped at a light, it gives a little shudder as though it missed one cylinder one time. No CEL ever. This is a 2.0L GDI I4 with a 6-speed auto.
Do GDI engines have special needs? Hive comments/suggestions gratefully received.
Thanks, Ian. The donuts idea is a nice touch!
Does it have a sport mode or similar on the transmission? Can you manually select gears? See if that changes the behaviour.
With the ever increasing fuel economy requirements manufacturers are making some changes to various shift strategies. The one I see the most complaints on are coming to a stop. Sometimes its a noise, sometimes its a vibration that can feel like the engine.
If you watch the tach close you may see it dip down below idle and then come back up (sometimes you have to watch it on a scan tool to see it happen) when stopping. That may be a sign the trans is going in and out of neutral as a way to gain .0001 mpgs. If you put it in sport or manual mode and you don't have the same issue then its a strategy and it is normal operation.
Does this engine ever see the high end of the tach? With direct injection engines not spraying the intake valves clean, eventually you will need to remove the intake and clean the valves. In my opinion, that can be delayed with occasional high rpm driving. I've seen it first hand in many of the Lexus 2.5 V6's...in fact, the factory reccomeded way to knock some of the carbon loose to duplicate a misfire was to hold a 4k rpm idle for 30seconds, then immediately jab the throttle to redline and release.
Well this all sounds like the potential for a lot of fun in a good cause. I presume this procedure will eventually be called the "Korean tuneup." Yes it does have a manual mode in the transmission, but in routine commuting I haven't had much need for it. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I've just stuck the thing in "Eco" and left there most of the time, resulting in gas consumption of 10L/100 km even on winter gas and with the defroster running constantly. As it happens, I have to hit the highway tomorrow morning at 4:30, so a bit of high-rpm driving may be in order. Cool.
Take it out of Eco and see if it changes.
The wife's Elantra, while not a GDI, has a very similar issue. Occasionally, while stopped at a light it will give a good shudder, sometimes it clears right up and sometimes it'll idle a little rough throughout that light. Once underway it's fine and it doesn't do it again at the next light. Never a CEL but it's done it since new. Had them check it out when it went in for a recall and they could not reproduce.
Italian tuneup
Its a lost cause... Time to swap the evo motor in 
CRC, the company that makes every automotive chemical known to man, offers a spray-type intake valve cleaner. Folks on Hyundai forums swear by it.
http://crcindustries.com/auto/intake-valve-cleaner.php
Thanks, I'll check it out.
BTW, keeping it out of Eco was the right call dark & early this morning. Before 5:00 am, those boys are serious about covering ground. The universal speed was 130 km/h on a 100 km/h "limit," with perfect spacing and excellent lane discipline. Too bad we can't get some of that good driving in daylight around here.
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