Korean cars, will they ever get accepted by petrol heads?

[silverfoxcc]

When i was 'in the trade' the boss waqnted to increase the number of makes we sold, (already a Citroen dealer)
The presentation by Hyundi! was slick ans we were forceably told how great the reliability was with the 5yr warranty, runs forever etc etc
I then suffered a very swollen tongue through biting it ,when he then said to the parts guy, that ' your turnover will 'increase substantially'
I wanted to ask , if his cars were so good, who was buying all the spares?

Needed the job more than the answer

[KDIcarmad]

Would the same question have asked been made about Japanese cars in the 1970's/early 1980's?

Yes! We can answer that now with a yes.

Will Chinese car ever get accepted by petrol heads or Russian or South American?

All they need do is build a good fun car and if the designs right petrolhead will accept them!

[deltashad]

dowahdiddyman said:

Obviously a well informed response.

Nice, er... selection of Korean cars on your garage
How can you go from a Maserati 3200gt to a Hyundai coupe?

[odyssey2200]

RS133 said:

But... But... look at it!

TBH I never thought that rear was bad, always thought that the front was worse than the rear, but what else has 7 seats and still has luggage space, and for such a good price?

Loads of space, loads of kit, reliability and good build quality!

[crocodile tears]

my uncle who is suppose to be a petrol head has ordered one for commuting..

I was slightly disappointed in him but still (especially with the extended warranties) they are slowly winning people round

[dowahdiddyman]

deltashad said:

dowahdiddyman said:

Obviously a well informed response.

Nice, er... selection of Korean cars on your garage

Yeah i`ve got a couple,and they have been the most reliable i`ve owned,the coupe has needed a new clutch,new discs and pads, an exhaust center section and a window switch in nine years, the Sorento nothing in nearly four years.

[Alfanatic]

odyssey2200 said:

RS133 said:

But... But... look at it!

TBH I never thought that rear was bad, always thought that the front was worse than the rear, but what else has 7 seats and still has luggage space, and for such a good price?

Loads of space, loads of kit, reliability and good build quality!

I've heard rumours that it's RWD too

[odyssey2200]

Alfanatic said:

odyssey2200 said:

RS133 said:

But... But... look at it!

TBH I never thought that rear was bad, always thought that the front was worse than the rear, but what else has 7 seats and still has luggage space, and for such a good price?

Loads of space, loads of kit, reliability and good build quality!

I've heard rumours that it's RWD too

Not all but some.
The rest are RWD

[kambites]

The more open-minded end of the petrol-head spectrum already accept them.

I'd bet on a Kia against anything German in the reliability stakes. You can't really be a petrol-head without at least acknowledging that "white goods" cars have their place and IMO the Koreans do "white goods" better than anyone else these days.

Edited by kambites on Saturday 12th May 19:43

[Twincam16]

They nailed the quality and reliability straight from the off, but IMO they need to allow racing to improve the breed.

The I40 needs entering in the BTCC, siring an NGTC-inspired road version. They've had their forays in rallying, but they need a really concerted effort with the Veloster - or another modified model - with which they can wage war with the Impreza and Evo.

I also reckon Proton should let Lotus go to town on the Gen-2 and turn in a modern Lotus Cortina or Sunbeam with a screaming twin-cam.

[Lordglenmorangie]

My son has a hire car every three weeks for joining his ship, Eurocar have started supplying the Hyundai 130 he says it the best car they have ever supplied . Last leave he had a Golf which he said was the worst hire car he has ever had.

[AndyM31]

I have a soft spot for the Kia Sportage. Drove one as a hire car in the states and was well specced, the only issue I have is the quality and feel of the switch gear.

[ViperDave]

kambites said:

The more open-minded end of the petrol-head spectrum already accept them.

Well i tend to agree with you as i consider myself a bit of a petrol head. Just over a week ago our garage looked like

2009 Dodge Viper ACR
1997 Dodge Viper GTS
2002 C5 Corvette

Ok so they are merkins but between the three of them there was 28 pistons @ 22.1L generating 1400 BHP which is pretty high on the petrol head scores.

As of last week we added a Kia Sorento and am very happy with it. Wouldn't have considered it until after a 1 hour search of the lot to find a Kia Borrego was the ONLY 4x4 left at SFO National rentals for three weeks of skiing in Tahoe, the week they had 8ft of snow. Changed my opinion of them big time. I'd be buying shares in Kia if they were listed on the LSE.

And no i am not surrendering my PH account

[bill bob]

I have a Sorento and a Ceed; best cars I've ever had. They are the first cars I have ever had that I collected new from the show room and drove and drove, just adding fuel occaisionally, until it was time to take them back for a service after a year.
All the other new cars I've had have always had teething troubles, bits falling off, rattles, leaks, adjustments and a couple of factory recalls, but KIA certainly got the quality control right on my two.
I think it's only a matter of time before other petrol heads cotton on.

[Toaster Pilot]

Lordglenmorangie said:

My son has a hire car every three weeks for joining his ship, Eurocar have started supplying the Hyundai 130 he says it the best car they have ever supplied . Last leave he had a Golf which he said was the worst hire car he has ever had.

Only Golf I've ever had from Europcar was a 1.4 S (bottom of the range) whereas a Kia Cee'd tends to be a 1.6 '2' or '3' which is significantly better.

bill bob said:

I have a Sorento and a Ceed; best cars I've ever had. They are the first cars I have ever had that I collected new from the show room and drove and drove, just adding fuel occaisionally, until it was time to take them back for a service after a year.
All the other new cars I've had have always had teething troubles, bits falling off, rattles, leaks, adjustments and a couple of factory recalls, but KIA certainly got the quality control right on my two.
I think it's only a matter of time before other petrol heads cotton on.

Apart from having to have the front door seals replaced at 6 months, my Picanto is exactly like this too. (and there's no sign of the problem returning)

[Lordglenmorangie]

Toaster Pilot said:

Apart from having to have the front door seals replaced at 6 months, my Picanto is exactly like this too. (and there's no sign of the problem returning)

I do believe it was the 1.4 Golf, which he described as a gutless piece of st

[dvs_dave]

RS133 said:

This on the other hand!

Had one of those as a rental recently. Pretty cool car, look great, is comfy, decently made and with lots of gadgetry. The double clutch gearbox was reasonable although seemed a little ponderous at times, however the performance was very average. The chassis could easily handle double the power, and then at least it would have the go to match it's looks.

The Genesis R-spec (5.0 V8) I drove recently though was much more impressive, especially on the performance front. You'd need an M5 or E63 to give it a dusting. However if the rumors of a 5.5 supercharged version pushing 640bhp are to be believed, then it'll be the M5 and E63 eating dust!

Edited by dvs_dave on Sunday 13th May 00:05

[otolith]

Petrolheads will accept them as soon as they are good enough. Badge/nationality snobs won't.

[so called]

I think the Koreans are now turning out some great looking cars that are becoming more and more original as their confidence in their market share has grown.
Quality is also very good as said.

[Heathwood]

I think the new Kia Cee'd looks cracking.