Thinking About A Kia

[Jonj1]

Hi,

Looking for a reliable car for my son and have come across a car that is within our price range and just wondered what peoples thoughts are on them, if they are reliable, anything to look out for etc.

Its a 2013 Kia Rio 1.1 diesel with 83,000 and a new mot

Thanks

[clockworks]

I bought my first Kia (Picanto GT-Line S) about 16 months ago, replacing a Skoda Citigo. Very pleased with it, and the main dealer.

When I was thinking of changing my Superb 280 for something a little smaller and more sensible, I looked at getting another Kia. Settled on a 2017 Sportage 2 lite GT-Line S from the same Kia dealer. Only had it for 2 days, but nothing to dislike.

My sister has had a Hyundai iX35 for a couple of years, 2011 model. It's pretty much the same car as the previous model Kia Sportage. No problems with it at all, and my sister doesn't really look after cars.

Kias are perfectly decent middle of the market cars - not cutting-edge like a lot of German stuff, not obviously built to a price like some of the French and Italian cars. Plenty of kit at a fair price, and mostly using proven tech and running gear.
Kia and Hyundai score well on reliability surveys. I feel that not being cutting-edge helps here. They have the confidence to offer very good warranties (7 years for Kia, 5 for Hyundai).

Think of Kia as being similar to Ford, but with Japanese levels of reliability, and Fiat prices.

I'm pretty sure I'll be going back to Kia for my next car

[Ben Lowden]

I think you've hit the nail on the head there clockworks. How are you finding the pretty big drop in power going from the Superb to the Sportage?

Couldn't be happier with my wife's 2016 Sportage 4. Would like a bit more power but as our main family car, it's got a ridiculous amount of toys, is well built and she loves it. Heck, I've even been looking at other cars in their range too as a daily for myself.

Back to the Rio in question – the likelihood is that it'll have full Kia service history to maintain the 7-year warranty that it has just dropped out of. Don't have any experience with them personally, but we'll definitely be buying another Kia again in the future so can recommend the brand from our one year of experience so far.

[clockworks]

Ben Lowden said:

I think you've hit the nail on the head there clockworks. How are you finding the pretty big drop in power going from the Superb to the Sportage?

Couldn't be happier with my wife's 2016 Sportage 4. Would like a bit more power but as our main family car, it's got a ridiculous amount of toys, is well built and she loves it. Heck, I've even been looking at other cars in their range too as a daily for myself.

Back to the Rio in question – the likelihood is that it'll have full Kia service history to maintain the 7-year warranty that it has just dropped out of. Don't have any experience with them personally, but we'll definitely be buying another Kia again in the future so can recommend the brand from our one year of experience so far.

Although on paper it's a large drop in power - 280 down to 182 - it really isn't noticeable in normal driving. The Sportage is a 2-litre diesel auto (proper torque convertor 'box), plenty of torque for normal driving and a bit of overtaking. Sport button livens it up, and the flappy paddles means instant change down rather than mashing the pedal and waiting for kickdown.

The Superb 280 is obviously faster at high revs though. If anything, the Superb had more power than I could safely use on the roads where I live. It was just too tempting to give it some welly and run out of talent, or end up with some points.

It's a shame that Kia seem to have dropped the 2 litre diesel from the Sportage. I guess the newer, smaller, engines are more environmentally friendly. I've only done a couple of hundred miles so far, but 40mpg seems easy enough to get, and I'm happy with that.

[Ben Lowden]

Ah I'd assumed you had the 1.7 diesel we have with a whopping 115bhp. Doesn't sound like too much of an adjustment then and I'm sure will be more cost effective to run compared to the Skoda.

The 1.7 will manage low 40s on a run but will see low 30s on short trips so I guess I'm a little disappointed that it's not better on fuel – can't get anywhere near 50, let alone the 61 combined they claim. Maybe we should have gone for the 2.0 after all!