Quick update for anyone who's interested. Picked up a brand new KIA Cerato LX a couple of weeks ago. Very impressed so far by what is essentially a cheap car presumably built down to a price.
Principal rivals in the market here are the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, and Mitsi Lancer - all 4-door saloon variants. KIA is significantly cheaper, better equipped (alloys, 6 airbags,...), more powerful (2-litre v. 1.8), and IMHO better looking. What's not to like?!
If KIA are this competitive in the UK then I predict that sales will grow and grow. Yes I guess I'd rather have a Golf, but a 1.6 Golf is 50% more expensive!
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Totally agree, Nick, I find my Kia Ceed SW (estate) an excellent car. Kia's are becoming more common in the UK but many Brits can't see beyond a badge. For example many would not dream of driving a Skoda although it is a thinly disguised VW.
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As someone said Kia/Hyundai are today's Lada/FSO ~ cheap n' cheerful, ya gets what ya pays for.
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See what I mean ? My last car was a Mk2 Focus Ghia, I prefer the Ceed. Most Brits don't realise that Hyundai / Kia are one of the biggest manufacturers in the world.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 20 Jul 10 at 09:45
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They are the fourth biggest car maker now (globally), I believe.
Glad to hear the Cerato is doing you fine.
The Cerato seems to be a car that Kia are not really marketing well.
I have no idea why ?
When you ask people about Kia's they think of Kia Soul and Kia Cee'd
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Will be looking for a new car in the next year for SWMBO and Kia's will be on the list. She is already mentioning the Kia Soul and when it comes time for the Passat to go I will be looking at the Ceed.
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I think Kia just need to get rid of some of the duffer models in their range to try and help their reputation. It dosn't help that Hyundais and Kias range are duplicated too. The I10 is an improved and much better Piccanto but because of that the old Piccanto and Rio models linger on and they are cars from the old Kia.
I do quite like the Rio as a bargain basement car though.
You can't compare Kia to the FSO/Lada. Ladas sold for nearly half the price of a Fiesta Popular Plus Kia are only a little bit cheaper than the mainstream brands. There is simply no market for the modern day Lada in the UK. Even FIAT don't sell the base spec Pandas in this country because they fear there is no market.
I am a bit more cynical about the long warranties though because it is something you have to pay for in the list price.
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Most Brits don't realise that Hyundai / Kia are one of the biggest
manufacturers in the world.
What does that prove? McDonalds are the largest restaurant chain in the world but wouldn't touch their products either
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Great to hear that the Cerato is going well, did you work out whether the Golf would cost 50% more over the lifetime of your ownership or are you referring to purchase cost ?
In the UK (by my calculations) a Skoda Octavia (for example) costs about the same as its Golf cousin over 3 years - it's just that the purchase and sale prices are lower, the delta is pretty much the same.
I'm not sure about Kias and Hyundais in the UK but I suspect that they do work out cheaper than a Golf but possibly by less than their owners imagine?
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My experience of Hyundai/Kia has been positive and more so over the last couple of years as they have refreshed their ranges.
It may be that over a three or five year period a Golf is similar value, but some people do not have the capital to invest in a Golf and want the new car feel/warranty.
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>> It may be that over a three or five year period a Golf is similar
>> value, but some people do not have the capital to invest in a Golf and
>> want the new car feel/warranty.
I would wish to be clear - my comments pertain to cost and not value, I'm sure you'll appreciate that they're different.
I do not perceive the value of a Kia/Hyundai to be as high as a Golf at the moment (the economic law of relative utility) - others might think otherwise and that's fine by me.
So, if faced by a cost saving over (say) 3 years which is less than my perception of the increased value I get from a Golf then this would inform my decision. As to capital, I accept a Golf costs more but possibly not by an amount so significant as to prevent purchase by those who are capable of saving up (say) £12K to burn on a car? Anyhow I had formed the impression that many people habitually finance their lifestyles - hence the UK debt crisis but that's another topic.
I'm glad people are finding Kias/Hyundais to be good cars, I accept that they're improving (like the Japanese in the 1970s/1980s) and may probably one day run one, but probably not because I think it's cheaper.
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>> So, if faced by a cost saving over (say) 3 years >>
I may be a pensioner, but I don't give a stuff which car costs a few pounds more or less over its ownership, I buy what is suitable for my use and is comfortable, safe, adequately powerful, and reasonably economical.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 20 Jul 10 at 15:56
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>> I may be a pensioner, but I don't give a stuff which car costs a
>> few pounds more or less over its ownership, I buy what is suitable for my
>> use and is comfortable, safe, adequately powerful, and reasonably economical.
>>
Precisely - you buy what you want and for your own reasons as do I.
I also suspect that you (and many of the target customers for Kia/Hyundai) could afford the extra purchase cost of a Golf should you wish, instead such buyers seek other elements of 'value'.
Last edited by: idle_chatterer on Tue 20 Jul 10 at 16:10
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The Golf sounds ridiculously expensive in New Zealand.
Here in Germany there is around 2,400 Euros difference in the list price between a basic 1.4 petrol Golf (16,800 Euros) and a basic 1.4 petrol Kia Ceed (14,400 Euros). Add in air con which the Golf has and the Kia doesn't and the price difference drops to 1,400 Euros. VW dealers are notorious discounters here as well, so realistically there probably won't be a big difference in the actual customer price.
So then it's down to personal choice - 7 year warranty for the Kia against 3 years for the Golf + nicer driving experience (no badge snobbery either way - VW is anything but a prestige Marque in Germany).
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>> VW is anything but a prestige Marque in Germany).
Neither is it in the UK. If it were, they'd never sell any Audis.
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>> Neither is it in the UK. If it were, they'd never sell any Audis.
>>
Although to be fair VW is a lot more prestigious in the UK market than either Kia or Hyundai at the moment, but like the Japanese car manufacturers in the 1980s this may change.
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Glad it's going well NINZ, 'ows about some normal use fuel consumption figures perleese, be interesting to see how a modern reasonable size petrol is doing on the old liquid gold.
Imperial MPG if poss, none of that l/100km tat.;)
IF i replace the ageing MB (depends on my commute) then Ceed/i30 will be high on my list, assuming the i30 doesn't have the dreaded DPF/DMF as per navy's Ceed.
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"against 3 years for the Golf" - You're lucky, 2 years for most of Europe
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>> "against 3 years for the Golf" - You're lucky, 2 years for most of Europe
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Isn't that what the EU mandates - hence the '2+1' arrangement in the UK with year 3 being dealer backed ?
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Car pricing in NZ is pretty insane. European cars don't sell in huge numbers, so they are pitched as "premium" and priced accordingly. NZ$25000 for the new KIA versus NZ$40,000 for a new Golf!
I set out to spend maximum NZ$24k on a used car. For that budget I shortlisted a couple of 4 year old Golfs, a 4-year old BMW 116, a few 2 or 3-year old Focus 2.0's, and plenty of Honda Civics. I never expected to buy new, but the allure was irresistible. What 4 year old car won't turn up some kind of middle-aged costly surprise within the next 2 years?
Too early to judge fuel consumption, I've just stuck in 2 late night top-ups coming back from airport runs. The bottom half of the fuel gauge seems to go down twice as quickly as the top half, and I have a 50-mile long hilly stretch with few or no filling stations on my way home, so I don't feel like playing roulette! Manufacturers figures are 7.8 litres per 100km - isn't that 35mpg??!! Not expecting much more for a 2-litre with a 4-speed auto tranny?
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Today, I received as requested brochures for the Kia C'eed and Hyundai i30 and even looking at their top spec. cars they seems to be about £4k cheaper than my Golf MK6, almost 12 months old now. Admittedly my Golf is specified with a sunroof and one or two other options which may not be quite as sophisticated on the C'eed or i30.
As yet, of course, I haven't sat in or driven these two possible future alternatives to my Golf but it will be interesting when the time comes - by then of course, there will be updated models available in these three makes.
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KIA - 2 weeks & 600 miles with new KIA - Old Navy
