Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson had some fun at Kia’s expense, ripping the Kia Sedona in a review in the Sunday Times.
Not that he mentions the car until about two thirds of the way in.
To sum up:
I hated this car in the same way that AA Gill would hate microwaved meat. Or Brian Sewell would hate The Crying Boy. I hated it in the same way that I hate own-brand stereo systems. They have all the buttons and they have the low price tags but they have no soul. They were designed simply to milk people who know nothing about the subject. The Sedona is a white good. It is a fridge freezer with windscreen wipers.
Not the first time Mr. Clarkson has compared Korean cars to fridges, coincidentally. Or the first time he’s pissed off Koreans (or Americans, or Germans, or any number of groups).
(HT to whoever sent that to me)
13 Comments
Well, at least he’s ripping the styling and not the reliability. That’s so early 90’s.
Now, only the styling is early 90’s…
Clarkson seems like the genuine asshole for attention. Should we care?
Seems a bit self indulgent for a car review, don’t you think?
Heh they are a bunch of pompous asses on that show.
I’ll probably be buying a Kia when I head back home next year. Very likely a Pride (Rio). Good bang for the buck.
#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.
…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.
They won’t buy our beef, so why should we buy their cars? Time to boycott everything and all things Korean.
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!
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
I love the Opirus!
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.
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