Sat in a Sportage in the local dealership this weekend and really liked it.

Really comfy, I thought the interior looked good, it seemed to be good quality and it looked good on the outside as well, though I know I always think cars look good in a showroom.

To sell my trusty Octavia and get a Kia, is this a wise move?

Martin

http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/carreviews/review.aspx?model_id=1351

Gets a good write up

Chris

A kia?!

Well to me the brand image isnt up to much and not sure on the styling.

However the main negative has to be the depreciation, cant imagine a 2nd hand kia selling well when you can pick up a brand new one so cheaply.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/carreviews/review.aspx?model_id=1351

Gets a good write up

Chris

Good site that, thanks

Well to me the brand image isnt up to much and not sure on the styling.

*cough* Skoda *cough*

Chris

To quote Nike: Just Do It. Goodbye. :rotz:

Umm not sure about comparing kia and skoda! Sure skoda still has a stigma attached to it but people in the know realise they are basically a good value VW.

The style, Ive never seen a good looking kia eg sedona, rio, carens :eek:!?!! Im sure a lot more people think Skodas have stlye, Kia?!?

Well i cant see the appeal and im sure you lose more money than with skoda.

*cough* Skoda *cough*

Chris

Am I the only one who likes that Skoda are uncool?

Martin, having driven a Sportage & a Sorento they are both nice vehicles, I would also suggest a Hyundai, they do 3, 4x4's now & are introducing a new one in about November {according to Mr Dealer} my wife has the Santa Fe which is a nice car, the Tucsan is the Sportage equiv, & the Terracan is the Sorento eqiv, it may be worth looking at these as a decent dealer can get the Hyundai {which have 5 years warrenty} direct from Hyundai used with low mileage for alot cheaper than new, also Kia is owned by Hyundai. {since 1998 afaik}

Hope this helps.

A kia?!

Well to me the brand image isnt up to much and not sure on the styling.

However the main negative has to be the depreciation' date=' cant imagine a 2nd hand kia selling well when you can pick up a brand new one so cheaply.[/quote']

A bit like Skoda's then!!

To be honest, Kia seem to have had a damn good kicking and appear to be making some excellent cars. The Picanto is one for sure. Doesn't look amazing but gets so many write-ups and thumbs up from drivers. Plus they are well specced and have free insurance.

I'd consider them and investigate for sure.

the Sorrento has an awfull crash rateing of about 2 stars thats bad.....read about it on ncap and well didnt sound safe watsoever...i thought it loooked nice, but then its just 20k+ for a kia errr no...dont do it!

The factory direct cars office near to me has a Sportage in silver which looks quite good, has to be a black one if I was ordering though.

err my skoda hasnt lost much value at all thanks!

They seem really good value to me. Also sat in one and really liked it. Not on a par for quality with Skoda but then Skoda don't do a similar vehicle.

My mate is a builder/plumber and his Mentor gets a right kicking but never ever goes wrong. Even bought his wife a Shuma which he can't fault for reliability but something falls off every other day. Shuma not a patch on the Mentor.

Kias are as hard as nails but don't expect refinement or real quality either. It's a cheap route into 4x4 territory though.

I think for the money / type of vehicle you get it is very good value for money. It looks like the bulk of the money was spent where it matters most, and that it has had the usual trimmings reduction thing done to it (sounds like a Skoda trick, heheee).

As for the brand - are the dealers good? If so, the brand REALLY does not matter IMHO. If you have a great brand and rubbish dealers you'll loose your customers in the long run. Great dealers can make you put up with stuff and you wouldn't even mind as you know they'd sort anything.

Devaluation - hmm that one is more tricky. But let's face it - most of the cost will be in the first 2..3 years as far as that's concerned, depending on miles on the clock. If you intend to keep it for say 5+ years, it really makes no difference how much it is worth other than that it is reliable to you(r family). If you're gonna get shot of it in 2 years from now, devaluation becomes a very large part of the picture, in which case you may want to look elsewhere.

In any case - it doesn't look like a bad car looking at the spec, it has had a good review, and its your choice

I like them .

Kia and Hyundai are all coming on big style with great cars and they are shifting a lot too.

Vauxhall and ford watch out. You two are becoming the serious has beens in the motoring world.These companies are catching up fast.

As for the depreciation.A vectra or Mondeo will probably be faring worse than skoda.

Why not buy a real bargain? JiangLing Landwind :RIP:

I have been looking very closely at the Hyundai Tucson - basically the same car and have been very impressed - not looked at the Kia yet .These are one of the favourites for the replacement for the vRS - especially having seen more details and the high price for the new vrs

Dont forget the Tucson has a 5 year warranty and the switchable 4x4 will be nice to have

Sat in a Sportage in the local dealership this weekend and really liked it.

You need to drive it.

Looked at a top-spec Shuma II at the same time I looked at the Skoda and to sit in it...well, it wasn't bad as such, had a certain flimsiness but did feel well screwed together. In terms of equipment a lot of boxes were ticked - leather seats, CD player, air con, reverse sensors, etc. - but everything felt like it was the cheapest available.

To drive...it was bloody awful. Agricultural gear change, noisy 1.8 engine that took ages to get up any speed...as a result, handling wasn't really an issue, as there was no risk whatsoever of going too fast to push the chassis.

Basically, it felt like a car designed on 10+ year old technology.

That said, Kia are a company with great ambitions - the Picanto looks like a great little package, the Sedona has won quite a few awards, and the 4x4s always get good reviews. I don't think that switching from Skoda to Kia would necessarily be a bad thing, I'd just make sure you're happy with the way it drives and the way it would protect you in an accident...

Rob.

I like them .

Kia and Hyundai are all coming on big style with great cars and they are shifting a lot too.

Vauxhall and ford watch out. You two are becoming the serious has beens in the motoring world.These companies are catching up fast.

As for the depreciation.A vectra or Mondeo will probably be faring worse than skoda.

I would never buy a Hyundai...cheap quality material inside, VERY cheap, even brand new..went to a showroom to enquire on one for a friend of mine, the Accent...my Lord....

KIA though...THAT is something I wouldn't mind having at all...good quality stuff, and great paint jobs too!

Martin' date=' having driven a Sportage & a Sorento they are both nice vehicles, I would also suggest a Hyundai, they do 3, 4x4's now & are introducing a new one in about November {according to Mr Dealer} my wife has the Santa Fe which is a nice car, the Tucsan is the Sportage equiv, & the Terracan is the Sorento eqiv, it may be worth looking at these as a decent dealer can get the Hyundai {which have 5 years warrenty} direct from Hyundai used with low mileage for alot cheaper than new, also Kia is owned by Hyundai. {since 1998 afaik}

Hope this helps.[/quote']

A work colleague of mine mentioned this Hyundai deal. Apparently they register a lot of Santa Fe's and Tucsan's as "staff cars" or demonstrators, and then sell them off at good prices. You may need to ask a few questions to get these deals, as I guess they will try to sell you a new one first. But the 5 year warranty sounds good, and makes it a safer bet.

I ran a Hyundai accent for a while. couldn't fault it on many things - reliability was fine although handling could have been better, fuel economy was good, cheap insurance etc etc.

sadly, couldn't find a hyundai equivalent of briskoda tho

Thanks for the input everyone.

I was just really surprised at how nice the interior of the Sportage was, and it was really comfy for my 6ft 4

I had an Accent mvi for a year or so and it was a good warm hatch. Nothing went wrong and it actually drove really well (though I agree the standard Accent is awful) - handled much better than the Furby.

Kia/Hyundai are essentially the same company - my missus has a Getz and it's a cracking car - 1.3 GSi - good spec, quicker than most 1400's and a decent low down gruntiness, 5yr warranty and 3yrs servicing all in. Got it with Alloys, Spoiler and foggers for 7K - can't touch that