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Kia Sportage - anyone got one?
cjwood23 - 31/10/13 at 10:45 AM

Guys,
Looking to replace my unreliable 3 year old Mondeo estate.
Have looked at the Kia Sportage and seems to have a big enough boot for what I want.

The Mrs. want the all singing all dancing '3 Satnav' with ICE, Satnav and all leather - I'm more tempted to go for the 'KX2' as I think 4WD and half leather is a better option.

Has anyone got one?
What are they like to live with?

INDY BIRD - 31/10/13 at 10:54 AM

I thought Mondeos where reliable ? Mines done over 200k and has been a reliable great car

Was looking at getting anOther Mondeo titanium x bu the Kia is a good car

britishtrident - 31/10/13 at 11:03 AM

I have friends with one they are over the moon with it.
Recent Kia &Hyundai models are very good, they are both reliable and good to drive.

Jon Ison - 31/10/13 at 11:14 AM

Not the same car but SWIMBO had a Sorrento, cracking car ubber reliable though a tad more thirsty than I expected, she now as a Qashqia I can honestly say the best (road car of its type) I have ever driven absolute pleasure to drive, full of all the gadgets you speak of, ultra economical its just a great car.

owelly - 31/10/13 at 11:21 AM

I look after a couple of Sorrentos and had no worries recommending one for the FIL. However his has been a pita! It jammed between third and fourth gear and needed avrecon gearbox. The recon box was fitted with the 'modified parts' although Kia say there are no known issues. The car has always had a vibration over 40mph. Kia said it was because of tyre wear so four new tyres were fitted. It still vibrates unless you pull the abs fuse. And the dual mass flywheel has just crapped itself. Aparently Kia think 30,000 miles is about right for a new clutch!
In other news: I look after two tdci Mondeos. One has had a minimal amount of service items and not much else. The other has had every fault in the DTC list along with every bush and joint changed.
I doubt that my post has helped!

Slimy38 - 31/10/13 at 11:26 AM

I drove one as a hire car last week. It was quite comfortable, but horrible at motorway speeds with very little lane stability. The engine was super smooth and powerful though, really did haul the big weight along. It must have been a decently large engine though, the immense power was matched by an immense thirst. The interior was comfortable, but I didn't like the leather, it felt very cheap. Like Ford leather rather than VW leather, if that makes sense?

I'm surprised you say it's a big boot, I thought it was tiny compared to an average hatchback. I even lifted the boot floor to see if there was more space, but there was just the spare tyre in there and no more room.

Personally I would give a thumbs up to Kia (I love the cars), but a thumbs down to the Sportage. A Cee'd SW would be so much more useful. I want to buy SWMBO a Cee'd, but unfortunately because they're good they also seem to be holding their value.

cjwood23 - 31/10/13 at 11:42 AM

I thought Ford's were reliable - all the other one's I had have been.

This one has had:
Dual Mass Flywheel & clutch (warranty + £170 for clutch.....)
New Driver Seat (warranty - after complaining!)
Drive shaft support bearings (warranty)
Drive belt pulleys/bearings (twice!) (warranty - although payed for belts on second one....)
Fuel injection return pipes & seals (4 weeks out of warranty - wanted £300 - complained and got for £178)

Oh, and I've had the tracking done 3 times, and had 4 new tyres July 2012 and need to replace the fronts this weekend (12000 miles....).

My 20 year old TVR was more reliable!!

Lightning - 31/10/13 at 11:50 AM

My son has a new Kia , great car but the dealer at Exeter is awful. They are rude and have no interest in customer care at all.

Benzine - 31/10/13 at 11:54 AM

Tazzzzman1 - 31/10/13 at 11:59 AM

quote:
Originally posted by owelly
I look after a couple of Sorrentos and had no worries recommending one for the FIL. However his has been a pita! It jammed between third and fourth gear and needed avrecon gearbox. The recon box was fitted with the 'modified parts' although Kia say there are no known issues. The car has always had a vibration over 40mph. Kia said it was because of tyre wear so four new tyres were fitted. It still vibrates unless you pull the abs fuse. And the dual mass flywheel has just crapped itself. Aparently Kia think 30,000 miles is about right for a new clutch!
In other news: I look after two tdci Mondeos. One has had a minimal amount of service items and not much else. The other has had every fault in the DTC list along with every bush and joint changed.
I doubt that my post has helped!


Funny that I had a major issue with a Sorrento I had from new a few years ago. Ended up with them exhanging the Old car after 18 months with the new facelift 08 model for £500.
I had a number of issues ranging from Sat Nav issues, Excessive wheel vibration over 50mph, and cracked transfer case (noticed the steering knocking when on full lock at low speed). After months of investigations, many many trips to the dealers, Kia UK engineering having my car for a week, issue was still not resolved. It transpired that they fitted 11 complete sets of wheels/ tyres, 6 Sat navs and 2 transfer cases during a 6 month period. I rejected the vehicle when the 2nd transfer case broke. Kia never did get to the bottom of the issue, they thought it a tyre (20" alloys)/ wheel combination was the problem....I guess after 11 sets, not!

To be fair to Kia they were great. And to get a new car after 20K miles and 18 months for £500 is just not heard of. The replacement Sorento was fantastic, absoultely no issue's and cracking build quality. I'd have no issue recommending Kia, despite the issues I had with the 1st one

mikeb - 31/10/13 at 03:07 PM

my in law was due a new car, has had toyotos for the last 3.
But fancied a change, walked into the Kia showroom after 20 minutes of none of the sales staff looking at all interest and too busy texting and other stuff he walked out down the road to the toyota garage and picked up his brand new yaris the next day.
Think the cars are ok, customer service seems lacking

AndyW - 31/10/13 at 03:15 PM

bit late in my reply, I got the new sportage last July and done 50k in it so far. If you want any further info please u2u me

Other than the rear washer jet leaking (outside of vehicle) cant fault it, great for long journeys and I also drive in central London so lots of defensive driving. Been a good car so far. Another work mate has one, just a month or two older than mine (both 12 plates) and his has done 75k again no issues, just routine servicing.

Just a side note on one of the other comments, customer service I found has been excellent, in the dealer more than helpful. And I compare this to the service levels I used to get, previous cars were Audi and BMW who do look after you well. Kia are on par with customer service.

Ta

Andy

cjwood23 - 31/10/13 at 05:21 PM

Thanks for the replies chaps!

coops222 - 31/10/13 at 07:39 PM

we have one....... a bit tame for me but the wife loves it...........

cjwood23 - 1/11/13 at 09:34 PM

Thanks guys - some positive comment for Kia!

Off to check out the Sportage and the Nissan Qashqai & Qashqai+2 tomorrow.

Jon Ison - 1/11/13 at 09:50 PM

We had it down to those two, the n-tec Qashqai won through.

Jon Ison - 5/11/13 at 09:50 AM

Any update ? Be interested to hear your thoughts.

Matt159888 - 5/11/13 at 10:51 AM

Sister has the top spec sportage and its awsome i have the older model santa fe and its been good the sportage for me the one to go for just a lot of money for the top spec for a kia but that is only snobbery i guess lol!