Kia

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Kia Soul – Mint Green Paintjob Adds No Flavour to Small SUV…

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Striking looks, classy cabin – what’s not to like about the latest Kia Soul? Well, apart from the mint green paint job on our test car, this heavily updated version of the small SUV seems like great value for money.

Kia’s reputation for building reliable, well-sorted cars has grown rapidly in recent years and with every model backed by a 100,000-mile/7-year warranty, it’s a brand that’s dented sales of both Ford and Skoda alike.

Back to that mint green paintwork. Quite frankly, it’s dire. And it’s not just me. George,  the farm’s tractor driver, is always a good person to run car colours past. He has to drive a yellow JCB all day, so he really does know his onions.

Mint green is a no-no Kia- does anybody really pick that colour over a nice titanium grey, or even red for that matter? At least you can’t see the paint from the inside…

More tomorrow when I’ve been for a spin in sunglasses…

 

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Thursday – Versatile Family Mover

cropped-381531_k_2245.jpgSeems strange swapping a Kia for an Aston Martin but they’ve both been on the driveway at Car Couture today. Suffice to say that returning a creditable 39mpg during the week, the Sportage is slightly more economical.

And it’s also a very good family car, if you are in the market for a roomy estate with the added benefit of four-wheel drive. We found a large boot, with easy drop backseats meant the Kia was remarkably versatile.

In the rear, there is a generous amount of leg room, which compares well to rivals like the bug-eyed Nissan Qashqai and the popular Ford Kuga.

Some of the interior trim in the Kia is less than special but this is an awful lot of car for the money. Avoid the petrol versions and go for a 2.0-litre diesel – it has all the power you will need for everyday motoring.

 

 

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Wednesday – Kia Orange

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Probably not something my late father would want me to admit to but he was surely the first person in our town to own an orange car. A very vivid, orange Datsun that turned heads for all the wrong reasons.

And when I passed my test at 17, I ended up buying it from him and using the orange-mobile to get to college. It was very economical, had a radio-cassette (classy) and was probably the perfect car for a young driver.

Except I wanted something that turned heads for the right reason and swapped it for a rust bucket Alfa Romeo in red, naturally. I mention this story because Kia has somehow managed to  make orange cool again with our Sportage.

I know Clarkson had a rant recently about the ‘boring car colours’ offered by car manufacturers these days. The Kia SUV bucks that trend and might even persuade you to think orange again too.

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Monday – What Does It All Mean!?

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ESC, DBC, HAC, LCD…. The Sportage has the lot but what do they all mean? I think I’m going to let you Google them to find out, although it would be a lot more fun if Kia displayed each on the boot after the name badge.

The most useful, although certainly not the most frequently needed, is HAC or Hill-start Assist Control, with the additional bonus of a Roll-Over Sensor. Presumably it lets you know when the Kia is upside-down. Can’t you just look out the window?

These days, the LCD daytime running lights are probably going to be more of a selling point. Perhaps that says a lot more about why we buy SUVs in 2014 than any feature to do with off-roading.

DBC? That’s the electronic system that works with HAC to maintain a speed of 5pm when descending a steep slope.

So there you have it, everything you need to impress your petrolhead buddies at the Christmas party. TTFN.

 

 

 

 

 

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Saturday – SUV With Attitude

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Apparently, I’m young at heart. Well, according to Kia who designed the latest Sportage for people like me, who want to drive a compact SUV that looks that little bit different.

It has an understated ‘attitude’ which is urban-centric and aerodynamically pleasing to the eye. The Sportage is also the first Kia that I have actually wanted to drive, as well as launching a new design era for the brand.

If you can remember the nondescript former model, this one is light years ahead. It looks more sleek, athletic and is topped off at the front with the ‘tiger nose’ grille that is designer Peter Schreyer‘s trademark.

And it’s also good to be driving  a vehicle that isn’t a bland colour! The one parked outside today is sunburst orange. Normally I’d run a mile but on the Kia, it sort of works…

 

 

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Monday – Whippets on Board

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Jessica   This car is a winner, there are no frills and somehow it does not feel like a massive compromise and purely on aesthetic value this car stands up against the 4wD 7 seater competition. The comparison would be buying a coat in Primark which becomes a wardrobe staple and when you admit to admiring friends where you bought it they all express shock and stop to consider the vast amounts they have spent on lesser coats of their own. It does make you reflect on perceived  value and actual value.

That said the gear box is positively old school and there is some difficulty finding first gear at a junction.  The steering is a little loose and the dash board trim only just misses being tasteless with its wood look finish(although luckily in black).

The car was fully utilised this weekend with 6 people and a brace of whippets on a Bank Holiday outing to the nail biting last day of the Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials where the passengers reported the back seats have good leg room but the centre seats are better suited to smaller occupants ( should have put the whippets there!).  The Kia looked the part alongside other county vehicles in the vast rows of the car park and did not make us feel we had to slink away from it in embarrassment.  Overall it is a solid car with an outstanding warranty which the Badminton testers agreed would make a suitable family (with pets) car without breaking the bank or screaming we have a cheap car because we have to!

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Wednesday – Ask A Policeman

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Jeremy  The policeman at the end of my road has been nagging me for ages to get hold of the latest Sorento. He’s owned his for five years and has, frankly, been far more excited about CarCouture’s latest arrival than me.

Now the latest version has been sat on my driveway for 24 hours, I am starting to understand just what he is raving on about. The new Sorento may be slightly more expensive that the previous model but it is an awful lot of car for £27,000.

There aren’t many full-size, seven-seat off-roaders about for the price and with the latest Kia styling both inside and out, Sorento represents great value for money.

Sorento is built on the same platform as the Hyundai Santa Fe, which we tested last month. Apart from the same mechanics, the bodyshell design states these are two distinctly different cars.The Santa Fe has a more streamlined front end, thanks to the Sorento’s more prominent bumper and inset fog lights. Sorento has a prettier back end, while there is little to choose from a side profile.

The key thing is that the policeman is in love with our Sorento already. Let’s see what he thinks tomorrow after I take him out for a drive…