7th Apr 2007, 08:53
You sound like you're very hard on your car. Sliding in turns, spinning the tires, going 90mph, listening to the music so loud it's causing rattles? Geez, take it easy! If these are the only problems you've had with the car, it's holding up well to your abuse. Don't plan on it lasting too long though. The Kumho tires are crappy though, I agree.
15th Apr 2007, 23:47
Well I totally agree with the reviewer. the tires spin on wet roads like it has a big V8 under the hood. Overall, it's a quiet car, has adequate power even with a 4 cylinder. One bad thing about this car is its front seats. I get a backache within 15 minutes of driving. Other than that it is a wonderful car.
16th Apr 2007, 04:25
About the resale value of these cars - you are right on here. I'm not saying that all KIAs are bad, but they really churned out some real junk some years back and this is why resale value is bad. Also this brand has an image problem which hurts resale value. But KIA deserves better even if these cars have some issues. We are quite happy Optima and Sedona owners. I mean even Camry owners have some issues with their cars so you have to be balanced when things go wrong on any car.
We have a five year plan for these cars and we will not trade in before that. If you are owning your car for a long time it's OK to buy KIA other vise stay away if you are swapping cars often.
8th Jun 2007, 08:42
OP here : In response to Mar 26 question. Yes the throttle/tranny response does create a problem @ times in stop and go traffic. It feels as if the throttle computer and tranny aren't timed right. I hope a TSB on that issue comes soon. The air con performance is very good even in 101 deg weather. In response to Apr 7th. I do not abuse my vehicle. I don't drive like grandmother or grandpop blocking the left lane @ 55 either. The speaker vibrated when played at 15 out of 35 (fixed under warranty by installing dampers on parcel shelf). Driving @ 80 to 90 is just every day life on I-95. The stock Kumho *were* the problem that caused all the sliding in the corners and tire spinning when wet. That has now been taken care via Pirelli. All maintenance requirements have been performed on schedule. I do take very good care of my vehicles keep them all till 130 to 150K/miles. I also drive 30+ k miles per annum. Haven't had a ticket since 6/2002! I still recommend this car to others and receive compliments about it. Overall I'm satisfied.
10th Jan 2008, 21:18
OP here. So far I can give a good long term assessment of this car. Current miles are around 53000. The car has so far held up very well. No major service issues thus far. The brakes make noise at times though. Inspection found that all pads were in spec. Will upgrade at replacement. All owners manual maintenance performed. Good decision after all.
11th May 2008, 15:45
I agree with the resale issues with these cars - they are driven low because America still doesn't believe they are quality...WRONG! Kia and Hyundai are still offering huge discounts at model year end, so it's better to buy a leftover and take advantage of the savings, because the new models don't pay much more at trade-in. Case in point: I bought a 2006 5-speed manual LX leftover for 12,700 out the door. I put BBS style wheels on it, drove it for 46K miles in under a year and half, and still got 9500.00 for a trade in. Not bad - just over 3K depreciation - the car practically paid for itself. Shop at the end of the year, enjoy a well-made reliable car, and laugh at all of the Honda and Toyota folks who paid through the teeth for a vehicle that is no better in build quality.
26th Mar 2007, 06:57
Re: Your experience thus far- since your Kia is slow to downshift, does that create a problem in stop-start traffic when the car does not slow down quickly enough?
How about the air-con, do you find it works well and if so upto what ambient temperatures?