Kia Cars - Any Good ?

[DRD]

South Korean tech has improved massively in recent years - LG, Samsung, Hyundai etc

I have owned German cars for decades. But build quality has collapsed in the past 20 years and the reliability tables make unhappy reading for audi, vw, porsche merc etc

2023 What Car? Reliability Survey: Britain's most and least reliable cars

In our annual Reliability Survey, we ask readers to rate the dependability of cars aged up to five years old. Here are the latest results based on the experiences of nearly 22,000 owners

www.whatcar.com

Kia gives a 7 yr warranty on its cars. A mechanic mate has warned me that spare parts availability can be problematic. This may be the result of covid etc

Has anyone had a Kia ? Happy with it ? Is the warranty for real ? Have you got bits OK ?

Thanks

 

[M4carp]

bro in law has a garage and mentioned issues with parts, but he is grumpy these days.

Toyota give 10 years 100k mile now even if you buy a used one 8 years old and under 100k miles, just need to get it serviced with them, my RAV4 service was £165 with them.

Don't know about Kia but Toyota‘s are very good and servicing is not expensive to keep that warranty.

 

[Sako-TRG]

Yes, bought my Mrs a Kia Optima and has been great.
My 5 series in for EGR recall at 8k
Then BMW want to charge me for a new EGR valve..

 

[Colywobbles]

After deciding to go full EV I bought a Kia EV6 and I'm blown away by it daily. It has a 7yr warranty and 100.000 on the batterys and no issues 6mth on and 8400mi.
I demoed all the usual suspects in my 45k budget inc Tesla, VW, Skoda, Hyundai and a few others that were un inspiring. I almost went for the Hyundai Ionic 5 but somone pointed me to the Kia which uses the same running gear and after a test drive bought it then and there.
The Ionic 5 would have probably managed to carry a pin but the styling of the Kia sealed it for me regardless of the fact pins were a no go. I would by the same car again today if the wife drove away with the buff plumber who I always seem to catch fixing something under our sink when I arrive home unexpected.

 

[Rob zombie]

I've always had BMW's and Audi's and for the most part they've been very reliable indeed. I was going to get a Mercedes E Class estate next but ended up buying a 7 seater Skoda Kodiaq instead... and I've got to say, I absolutely love it. How the heck did they get a 1.4 large SUV to drive like that?

 

[HomerRamone]

My better 1/2 has a Kia C'eed estate. 1.4 (turbo diesel). We bought it around 4 years ago. with just over 40k on the clock. Its now at 69k and its been spot on. Think the only thing we have had done to it is a new front spring (but then we dont really have speed bumps in the street - more like speed mountains).

My dad has one too and has had no issues at all (that said, his is 4 years old too - and its only got 4k miles on it )

 

[Monkeyboypaul]

No issues with Kia here, but like nearly all car brands; your dealership experiences may vary.

I am quietly impressed with its quirky looks and humbleness, but it exceeds my expectations every single day - at least for our personal use case scenarios. Boot could be bigger maybe, the lane keep assist gets turned off EVERY SINGLE trip, people find the little start & stop jingle a bit pointless (and it is) but it just goes when I need it.

6yrs warranty remaining.
10,000 miles this past year, including 2 long distance holidays, £0 spent on petrol/diesel, and about £40 on public charging - the rest either free or at home.

I’m also late to the heated seats & steering wheel party, but I love them both dearly.

Worth noting this particular car is a ~5yr old design retrofitted with electric. As such is has some ‘old’ tech inside it, which I like, and for those Tesla lovers/haters it has an impressive 70+ buttons to choose from inside (‘member them - buttons?!). Imagine if Stern replaced physical flipper buttons with the touch sensitive capacitative jobbies, or the screens like very new cars, PINSIDE WOULD MELT… as such the car feels very ‘normal’ and a far cry from Buck Rogers driving Knight Rider.

 

[Paul]

Imagine if Stern replaced physical flipper buttons with the touch sensitive capacitative jobbies

Now there's an idea... @stumblor

 

[Jagspete]

Check out manufacturers reliability guide online seem to remember it’s in the top dozen, beating all the German makes. The model spec makes a difference as cheaper models can appear ‘plasticy’

 

[Sven Normansson]

Had a Kia Soul, mainly as I could get a pin in it. Mechanically brilliant. Best diesel engine I have ever experienced. Let down by the constant trim rattling that got so bad I got rid.

 

[HomerRamone]

Oh yeah forgot about that. Can fit my cosmic gunfight in the ceed with the head detached