Comments on: Well, This Probably Won’t Help Kia Sales in the UK

By: russell

russell — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:14:39 +0000

the kia, hyundi, dawoo which is now chrysler oh and were old vauhall chassis, are also made in china and i have a ford mondeo mk3 with 93k i paid 2500 pounds for it a guy at work got a kia sedona same year as mine same milage his was derv it was rusty oil leaks all over and had a cracked cylinder block dont tell me thay aint shit oh im a mechanic as well he paid 4500 for his. everything ive purchased from asia i mean everything has blown up fell apart or dont work when you take it out of the box. the sooner the work comes back to the uk the better

By: MigukNamja

MigukNamja — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:32:46 +0000

The Kia Pride/Rio 1.5L diesel is a very fun car, especially with a manual transmission. We had driven that car for the past 2 years and loved it. The suspension, however, was indeed the weak link (literally) and left a lot to be desired. The brakes were also a bit weak as well.

However, the i30 seems to be quite an improvement on the Pride/Rio. The suspension and brakes feel more substantial, and the 1.6L diesel seems very similar in performance to the 1.5L in the Pride/Rio. We will likely buy a Kia or Hyundai diesel when we get back in the states, assuming they start selling them by then.

By: Railwaycharm

Railwaycharm — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:30:26 +0000

I love the Opirus!

By: Iambe

Iambe — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:24:13 +0000

Usually described, predictably, as a “motormouth” Clarkson isn’t averse to ranting aimless shite about pretty much anything. He trashes a Merc. in a previous column/review so for all you outraged Korean nationalists, it’s a scatter-gun approach and not some anti-Korean thing. His legions of sycophantic fans and self-conscious “I’m not politically correct unlike everyone else” posturing somehow fail to detract from the fact that he is actually pretty amusing. Incidentally, the Hyundai i30 and Kia C’eed have both got great reviews in the UK

By: Baek du Boy

Baek du Boy — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:25:10 +0000

In a recent episode during series 10, Clarkson also rips into Korean cars (can’t remember exact words but can provide a transcript when I get home - have it on dvd) and then says “speaking of Korea..we have now been sydnicated in Korea”…then goes on to say something about Koreans being little men who work hard all the time.

Obviously tongue in cheek kind of stuff which these guys are famous for…they never shy away from taking the piss out of Australians and calling Australian cars American crap.
However Koreans have no idea of what tongue and cheek is and I’m surprised I haven’t seen the clip on the internet (it may air there later this year)

Great show nonetheless!

By: kangnamdragon

kangnamdragon — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:21:45 +0000

They won’t buy our beef, so why should we buy their cars? Time to boycott everything and all things Korean.

By: SomeguyinKorea

SomeguyinKorea — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:32:16 +0000

…The new Kia Morning (Picanto) is a nice little car, though. It was a much more comfortable ride than the Rio that I tried two years ago.

By: SomeguyinKorea

SomeguyinKorea — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:30:14 +0000

#5,

I don’t care for the Rio. They might have improved on the design, but the suspension wasn’t great on the one I tried. I could feel every bump on the road and it felt as if there was very little insulation on the floor. I was very much aware of the fact that my feet were just a few inches above the road.

By: globalvillageidiot

globalvillageidiot — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:06:04 +0000

I’ll probably be buying a Kia when I head back home next year. Very likely a Pride (Rio). Good bang for the buck.

By: The Goat

The Goat — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:57:34 +0000

Heh they are a bunch of pompous asses on that show.