People do not expect cars to be perfect (though most Toyota owners statistically get something damn close). People do however expect reasonable build quality and the manufacturer to actually give a toss when things go wrong. They do not expect cars to still be built with a leaky door design 6 years later (for instance). I don't see much slagging of actual Skoda cars, just the complacent responses from SUK that often follows a lack of fault resolution and blatant lying and denial that known faults exist. E.g. Believe it or not, SUK claim that there is no known fault with doors leaking on Fabia's - I have that in writing. With that level of BS people get angry. Resolve that issue, and the Skoda experience would be a wonderful thing and live up to the hype. In the meantime, ex-owners are walking away. Yes, cars like the Fabia vRS are very good machines, especially for the money where they are probably incomparable in terms of cost for power and spec. However, when you (like me) have had to make 20 vists to the dealer in 2 years, then that kind of wears off. If you are fortunate enough to have a reliable example, then lucky you.

There is nothing wrong with the Korean stuff - just puzzles me why on a skoda site people are keen to dish the make this site is promoting. In some cases justified (no car manufacturer is 100% perfect) but it just seems a bandwaggon is rolling. Skoda's aren't perfect - but is any car...

Why would people need to promote Skoda? After all, people wouldn't be driving them or on here if they'd never experienced them.... I think there's a big difference between being objective about cars and offering an (out of date/narrow minded/stereotypical) opinion of them

Chris

How hard is it exactly not design a bus. The only requirements for the car is that you are not sat up the nose of the person behind you and there are enough cup holders to keep the kids entertained.

So what they made a diesel engine that doesn't pull like a fat man in a night club - hardly a challenge in this day and age of TDI engine design.

They don't look good imho, they are as bland as magnolia paint.

Besides, people carriers are only bought by people who have given up on life.

The inlaws have a Sedona which we took down to Cornwall a couple of years ago from Yorkshire. I drove back as Father in law was a bit poorly. It was absolutely brilliant. It has a 2.9 litre turbo diesel engine made by Mercedes Benz which throws the behemoth forward at a vast rate of knotts. The seating arrangement is perfect for a 7 seater and the seats very comfortable. I got out of the Sedona after 7 hours feeling refreshed and no back pain which I definitely wouldn't have been able to say after 7 hours in the Octy vRS.

It's very smooth to drive, and if I was in the market for a seven seater, then the Sedona would be at the top of my list.

I say well done Kia and I really like thier plucky brand strategy. The C'eed gets some really good write ups and I look forward to seeing more of them on the road.

ten years ago, I would never have bought a Skoda. They beavered away at the brand image and values and came up with a very saleable poduct and a bit of kudos. Come on Kia, you can do that!

The Getz was a 1.3 Gsi 3dr (would have been a 54 plate). Looked at it when the delivery on my Fabia went wrong.

In the end the dealer got me a 1.2 12v ambiente

So how exactly could you not live with the Getz? The 1.2's a significant step down in performance and if we're being honest it's a noisy, torqueless lump that needs so much cog-swapping it's unbelievable!

The Getz is the nicer car to drive and has the better engine and gearbox (IMHO the smoothest, most accurate 5 speeder I've ever used). I'm tired of the badge snobbery that accompanies Korean cars because they are better than a lot of European ones!

The 5yrs warranty, 3 yrs servicing, bulletproof reliability and decent dealers also make them a pleasure to own.

I saw the Cee'd advert on TV today , I have to say it looks a pretty decent effort by KIA , they should sell as many as they can bring in , because most people who own a car only want something to get from a to b with no fuss , 'petrolheads' like us lot are a tiny minority of car owners!

Perhaps. But when you compare the resale values of the fabia to the Rio. Fabia being the third least depreciating car, in comparisson to the Rio which you could swap for a bacon sandwich in value terms.

Shifty - who would be using my account :P

How about the residual values of the felicia and the Rapid.... worthless in 3 years

get real and get over your badge snobbery I mean you do drive a Skoda FFS.

Would seriously consider the new Hyundi that are coming out, however not yet Kia. Nothing particuarly wrong with the cars, although they are rather too plasticy and poorly detailed inside for my liking, but more down to the engines. Do not like the ones i drove at all, far too rough, as is the current VW 2.0 tdi for instance.

However they are aiming at the lower market and offering a reasonable product at a good price, 7 year warranty is fine, however look at the stats for engine, gearbox failure and not many cars will have them in this period, the old bell curve.

I can not see at any time though these companies producing cars that can compete with slighlty more upmarket brands, the higher power engines in vw's, audis etc are suberp.