Kia cars - any experience?

WeeGord

Well-known member
I'm looking at purchasing a hybrid electric / PHEV vehicle and I'm stuck with 2 or 3 different choices. Historically I've always been a saloon driver and after driving only Saab's for many, many years moved on to BMW then Mercedes after Saab went bust.

As a replacement and with my budget I'm looking at around a 2016/2017 year car and have pretty much narrowed it down to a BMW 330e or a Kia Optima. Ordinarily I would have gone straight for the BMW but in the same price range with the Kia I am getting better specced cars with lower miles and the balance of a 7 year warranty. With the BMW there would be no manufacturer warranty.

The Kia still looks quite nice IMHO but I'm obviously aware that the build quality may not be the same as a BMW, but the better overall spec and mileage for the same budget is giving me quite a dilemma. Does anyone have any experience with Kia at all? My mam had an i30 a few years ago which was pleasant enough and didn't have any issues for her at all in the 3 years she had it, but it was a little 'plasticcy' inside for want of a better way of putting it.

Another option, though largely discounted, is a Hyundai Ioniq as I don't really like it's looks though I understand they're reasonably highly rated in the hybrid / PHEV arena.

Any experiences with theese vehicles that you can share would be very much apprecaited. Cheers folks.
 
Every time I have looked at a Kia either for myself or for other I have been struck by how expensive they are in comparison to the other run of the mill marks.

ive test drove the sportage and the sorrento and found them ok to drive but didn’t light any fires... I also found the interior and trim levels basic in comparison to others.

I like Hyundai and love the Tucson... to the point it has come runner up twice in my last two car purchases... only losing out due to the value of the deal on offer.

my mum was awarded disability recently and I spent ages going through all the garages test driving stuff with her.. she literally had a pick of about 40+ cars.

She has picked the Hybrid Hyundai Kona and loves it and to be honest I do too.
 
Had a Kia Sportage for about 8 years, have done 20k+ year until COVID hit for about 4 years no. Only issue was gear box exploded but repaired under warranty. No issues with that.

gets me up and down a reliable so far. Got about 140k on clock and still going strong. Spacious and good for family trips.

had a BMW and hated it, loads of issues , most warranty, but never really sorted. Was told at every turn it was a prestigious high end car.
 
Saw a Kia Stinger GT yesterday and was very impressed with how it looked....will have to try one.
 
Kia are pretty good for build quality from what Ive heard. My concern would be losing money on it if you want to sell on in a few years time - BMW will hold more value, hence your looking at an older one compared to the Kia

And obviously, its not gonna drive like a BMW
 
I had a Kia Niro hybrid car for 3 years and was very impressed. We leased it because it was in budget at a time we were skint ($250 dollars a month) but we were pleasantly surprised by the quality and reliability. We also got 500 miles of driving from one tank of gas ($25 a tank!!).
 
I have an Ioniq EV mate. I'm all about the comfort rather than the looks but if you have any questions then let me know.

I really like it and the only thing I can find that's bad about it after 6 months is that there's no rear windscreen wiper
 
I had a Kia Pro-Ceed for just under the 7 year warranty. Up to March last year. It was a nice little car. Nothing much went wrong with it in that time.
 
Thanks for all of your help folks, thinking I might go for the Kia Optima though as the balance of the 7 year warranty will give me peace of mind. Thank you again.
I think that's the way to go. I've been doing research on what to buy when I move back and everything I read says to make sure there's plenty of warranty left as they're really expensive if something goes wrong.
 
I've had two, a Spectra (I don't think it was available in thee UK) and a Sorrento, both while living in the States.

No trouble at all with either, very reliable, nice to drive and I'd have no qualms about buying another. Did about 100,000 miles in the Spectra, a lot less in the Sorrento.
 
I don't have any experience of Kia cars but they offer the longest warranties in the car business. They wouldn't do that if it wasn't economically viable. So you've got to assume they have excellent build quality because they are prepared to back it up
 
I had a Soul. I did 165,000 miles in it. Same exhaust and same battery! Bonkers-looking thing but comfortable. I loved it. Replaced it with another Kia 4 months ago. So far so good.
 
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