KIA - Would you buy one?

[lra]

Ford fans and KIA detractors seem to forget that the Ford Festiva was a KIA. It sold 1 or 2 during its time here. Yes, early KIAs were rubbish, but with Euro designers and engineers, along advice from Aus as to how to make them durable, they have improved a tad.

My son had a Sportage from new, during the 5 years and 110kms he had it, the damn thing wore out a set of tyres. Should have complained to Consumer Affairs about the rubbish OEM tyres.
He has now just traded it on a 3 year old Sorento. I haven’t seen it, but I am sure that I will be able to spot faults like stone chips, dirt in the carpet, and bugs in the radiator fins.

I haven’t even sat in a Stinger, because I am not looking for a new car, but I would be more likely to park my butt in one rather than something new with a Ford badge, or that other now defunct Australian brand.
It is not always about the time elapsed between traffic lights, and carving that mythical twisty deserted road.

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by lra

Ford fans and KIA detractors seem to forget that the Ford Festiva was a KIA. It sold 1 or 2 during its time here. Yes, early KIAs were rubbish, but with Euro designers and engineers, along advice from Aus as to how to make them durable, they have improved a tad.

Kia as we knew it went bankrupt in the late 90s & the pieces were gradually picked up by Hyundai.

The Kias of today are simply built on Hyundai platforms with different panel & badges.

Kia's "improvement" in quality has more to do with Hyundai's ownership than anything else.

Dr Terry

[lra]

Originally Posted by Dr Terry

Kia's "improvement" in quality has more to do with Hyundai's ownership than anything else. Dr Terry

So if Hyundai didn't own KIA, they would still be 1990s rubbish ?

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by lra

So if Hyundai didn't own KIA, they would still be 1990s rubbish ?

Yes, this. The early kias (Ford festivas) were built on Mazda underpinnings, so while the bodies dissolved in the sun, engines were reliable.
My experience with an 01 rio (the one Kia did on their own) was rubbish, so bad I only lasted 1 year with it, it couldn’t be fixed to run properly.
My second was a ‘13 rio now owned by hyundai, it was excellent.
My third just this week is a new sportage company car, it is also excellent. Our QLD reps have had sportages for 3yrs, some up to 200k, and have done nothing other than services, brakes, tyres.
Ignore them at your peril.

[Hawkeye84]

Originally Posted by Dr Terry

Kia as we knew it went bankrupt in the late 90s & the pieces were gradually picked up by Hyundai.

The Kias of today are simply built on Hyundai platforms with different panel & badges.

Kia's "improvement" in quality has more to do with Hyundai's ownership than anything else.

Dr Terry

To an extent, yes Hyundai did rescue Kia from Bankruptcy, but what really saved them was the hiring of Peter Schreyer in 2007. He guided the design team and R&D (the later shared by both Hyundai and Kia) to benchmark the best of the Europeans in quality design and safety.
He was so successful that Hyundai wanted him as well - making him the first non Korean Executive President of the company - working across both brands.

Yes, Hyundai did save Kia, but Kia also made Hyundai better.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by lra

Ford fans and KIA detractors seem to forget that the Ford Festiva was a KIA.

No, the Ford Festiva was a re-badged Mazda, build under licence by Kia.

Korean cars, when they first arrived, were rubbish.
In the case of Daewoo, just utter junk on wheels.
Fortunately they, like the Japanese before them, have improved over time.

If you consider that many "Japanese" models are now built in Thailand, the reality is that Korean build quality is equal to, or maybe even better.

From what I have seen, their engines don't age well. But that's from the Australian perspective of expecting our engines to do 300kk without missing a beat. For your average person, doing 10~15kk a year, they're fine.
They're also NOT that well suited to "Stralian Conditions", but if you consider the overall improvement in our roads, such conditions exist only in legend, and in the genuine outback.

We used a Kia Grand Carnival as the family bus for a while, and I was unimpressed with it as a CAR. But as a people mover, it did the job admirably, with plenty of space.

One thing to remember is that for some of the models, the Kia is a down-specced or obsolete Hyundai, and I have noticed that as a consequence the interiors particular are not as good.

[Hawkeye84]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

One thing to remember is that for some of the models, the Kia is a down-specced or obsolete Hyundai, and I have noticed that as a consequence the interiors particular are not as good.

Looking from a global perspective, yes.
There a things that Kia can't get access to (N Division and Genesis parts and drive trains). But if you are looking from a local perspective. There are some Kias that are way better specced than Hyundai - at better value too.

With regards to being obsolete - not true.
It depends on platform lifecycles. In some segments kia have the most update tech and platform and in others Hyundai are more updated.

With regards to interior, I guess it's subjective. But a lot of people I know prefer the design and quality of the Kia interior over Hyundai. If you read journo comparisons, most of the time they prefer Kia. Reason for this I believe is because the Kia designers had worked with Schreyer longer than the Hyundai ones. And his philosophies are better engrained