Reply With QuoteLet’s be honest, they are cheap for a reason.
Last Friday, someone rear-ended my wife's CR-V. Nothing serious but enough to have the car off the road for a while. She needed another representative(...) car, so a three-month-old Kia Sportage was delivered at our house last Friday night. This 'basic' model with a petrol engine is loaded with goodies that our nearly-7-yr-old CR-V doesn't have. Which is, in essence, a nice thing. It also has a good seating position and the gear change is very, very slick. At first sight, everything is perfect.
However... one feature... well, I am not sure about that: the system that helps you to keep the car between the lines is very very aggressive and takes over control up until the point that it scares you! For example: I was hauling a boat trailer and when I drive on a roundabout, I need to make the turn wide to prevent that the inner trailer wheel hits the curb. When I'm a little too wide (according to the system...) it increases the power steering so that I automatically pull harder on the steering wheel, making the turn narrower. It feels weird and scary at the same time.
At first, my wife complained about the odd steering behaviour when she took the car for a business trip to Amsterdam. But I agreed with her after my first short drive. I asked someone at the workshop to take the car for a quick spin. Within 100 mtrs, he also commented on the weird feeling. Basically, you can take your hands from the wheel. The car steers itself through wide bends and all, but when you are in control of the wheel, the car demands that you're spot-on the middle of the lane, leaving equal distance left and right between both sides of the car and the lines on the road.
I've switched it off and it will be off for the whole rental period.
Then, there's the engine power. Or better: the lack of...! With a total boat trailer weight of 700 kgs, the engine has a hard time to reach 100 km/hr in 5th or 6th gear! Merging on the motorway is simply dangerous! Overtaking a slower van is causing a traffic jam on the fast lane! I can't see how this car's max towing capacity is 1300 kgs! This 1.6 ltr 136 hp engine does not really 'deliver'. The 100k miles Honda CR-V 2.2 diesel doesn't feel faster, it simply IS faster.
Is this temp car a dud? Or is the Sportage simply a slow car?
M.
Last edited by thieuster; 23rd September 2019 at 06:35.
Let’s be honest, they are cheap for a reason.
I know someone who recently bought one and they said the same thing about the base model’s engine.
They bought the GTLine model which is apparently much better.
I can’t comment about the lane control as I’ve never driven a car with it.
Had one as a hire car getting to and from the Barcelona GP this year. It wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding.
Hilarious,, will you be here all week?Originally Posted by Benji053
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
its a large car with a 136hp engine- its going to be slow by default , diesels usually do better due to the torque.
as for lane assist just turn it off - other than that its a bit like moaning about the noise the radio makes :) - if you dont like it turn it off and forget about it.
I swiched off. The rental company and the Repair shop (where the Honda is) are located within a stone's throw, so after returning the Kia, I went to the repair shop and they told me that a lot of the newest gen. Asian cars are now fitted with that sort of stay-in-your-lane device, including the latest Hondas... It's an EU rule thing now according to the guys at the shop (can't confirm this). Luckily, all come with an on/off switch for that gizmo.
Have to say I switch the lane assist off in my Velar also.
It's OK on the motorway but is very very touchy, and if you were to try to change lanes without indicating it has a shit fit.
Also your comparing a diesel your used to with a modern petrol, there’s no torque in the petrol till a lot higher revs than your used to. You just need to use the loud pedal a lot more and watch the fuel gauge go down faster. Lane assist is a pain but the off button is there.
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I have a top of the range Kia Sorento and can't fault it - its the diesel though and FULLY loaded. Its way better than the CRV that I had before - that was plasticy and kept going wrong - its was a 16 plate so not too old. The Honda dealership were a bunch of muppets and took two or three goes to do anything. Kia have been superb so far. Horses for courses and luck I guess!!
I do have lane assist and its pretty useless in this country as it bleeping and moaning most of the time, turned it off on delivery and never turned on. I suspect its designed more for those long American highways were you have plenty of opportunity to fall asleep rather than our congested motorways and twisty narrow lanes.
Can echo this. We have a 13 plate and it's been great, as has the Kia garage whenever we've needed them for servicing, accessories etc.
Can’t comment on Kia but you must have been unlucky with the CRV. In my experience they’re very reliable, in fact don’t think I’ve ever read of anything to the contrary.
Er, you do know that you are not allowed in the off-side lane of a motorway with 3 or more lanes if drawing a trailer.
Maybe not in UK, rules same everywhere?
Good point, noted.
Rules are different on this side of the North Sea. Here, a car with a trailer is allowed to overtake on a two-lane motorway. On a three-lane motorway, one is only allowed to use the 2 'inner' lanes. Granted, the max speed should not exceed 90 km/hr. In reality, it is 105 km/hr. But with some careful driving (where are the speed traps!?) and the use of a very good phone app, I've managed > 40K km with a trailer behind the car without a ticket.
That's why I love the French motorways where there's no speed limit for cars with a trailer. And no, I don't drive like a hooligan when towing a trailer. The whole kit-and-caboodle behind my car is far too expensive to mess around with.
Menno
Last edited by thieuster; 23rd September 2019 at 10:50.
My Hyundai Ioniq has three levels of lane control, set by the driver. They are I think “ beep and a bit of vibration of the steering wheel, through to “ step away from the steering wheel”
Either way I set it in the middle setting and as others have said didn't like its intrusion, so mine is always off.
I had a Cadillac XT4 with lane assist last week which took some getting used to. I fairly quickly learnt that I had to choose between indicating when I didn't need to or hauling it from one lane to the other against its will. There was also something about my driving it didn't like that made the seat buzz like crazy and a red light flash on the dash. It came on as expected if traffic stopped suddenly ahead of me (although I'd like to think I was ahead of it) but also at other times when there was nothing much to worry about. My own car is very manual so all these 'tools' take a bit of getting used to but generally I think they're a good idea.
I can't comment on the Kia's power but I did have a Dodge Challenger with a 5.7L V8 for the weekend (on the Pacific Coast Highway) and can confirm it is not lacking in grunt. I know that's not strictly relevant to the OP but I just wanted to tell someone (apart from my family and friends who have all been told about it already).
I'm not a fan of the cloak-and-dagger stuff, but I have missed your one-liners.
Just until he gets to 250.
I had a demo one a while ago - really wanted to like them, good spec. points and keen price.
The reality was the fuel consumption did not seem commensurate with the claims, interior was less than expected (lots of 'faux' leather) and the drive was just 'average'.
If non of that bothers you then the value is pretty good given the warranty.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
If you can get over your badge,sorry,marque snobbery they are probably the best value vehicle of the lot. Can’t see any German manufacturers with enough faith in their product to stand on for7yrs.I have seen Kia’s with suspension bushes replaced at 5 yrs Under warranty and let’s face it our roads are not too forgiving are they. They are without doubt the less troublesome of all the different manufacturers we deal with.
My point wasn't about car snobbery. One can hardly call my Honda CR-V a car that's on the 'snobbery list'.
- I wrote about the weird steering and then, in a later post, I mentioned that all Asian cars (including the MY20 Hondas) have that 'gimmick'.
- I wrote about the sluggish performance when hauling a trailer and put that in perspective with the 'small engine, high performance' solutions now en vogue among car builders. As in: I am afraid that people who need/want to haul a (any) trailer will not be happy with what they'll get when buying a new car.
About my last point: I've heard (not tested) that the new Quasquai has the same problems when hauling a caravan. The last generation diesel is simply better (torque) than today's high-revving petrol engines. On paper, the hp is the same, but the engine characteristics are totally different.
Menno
sorry didnt mean yourself in that it was a general observation not directed at anyone in particular.
It’s not as straight forward as that though. If you buy a Kia and run it as a taxi, the warranty is only good for 100,000 miles. That equates to a 3 year (or less) warranty.
My Merc had a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty that was still honoured even if it was a taxi, so if your do 100,000 per year, you are still getting covered.
Merc always had special deals for taxi owners; at least here on the Continent and certainly Germany. Taxis were Mercedes biggest free marketing tool. Nowadays, Tesla has taken over that role. (Ever been from Schiphol to Amsterdam? You'll struggle to find another taxi-brand than Tesla).
New Hondas sold here in the Netherlands come with a 10 yr / 180,000 km (± 110k miles) full warranty. Given the fact that the average annual mileage here in Holland is around 10K miles, it's safe to assume that most Honda owners will benefit from this during their whole ownership. Honda is a very, very small brand here in Holland. The local dealer told me that the brand benefits from the 'Max Verstappen effect': an increase in sales as in: "Oh yeah, I forgot about Honda, that's perhaps a brand I should look into as well..." That's why there's a 10-year warranty scheme: just to lure people into Hondas when there are more brands to choose from.
One other reason is that Honda owners tend to hold on to their cars for a longer period than other car owners. Ours is 7 y/old next January and honestly, I can't see a reason to buy another one. Owners notice that their cars are trouble-free and the running costs are low as well + no extra costs for repair (maintenance is not too expensive as well).
On the other hand... parts. A new rear light, quarter panel (plastic) and a new bumper cost around 1350 euros. Add to that painting and mounting the parts. The total bill will be shy of 2000 euros, I think.
M
Last edited by thieuster; 26th September 2019 at 16:19.
It is as straightforward as that-unless you are a taxi driver.
No it’s not. The reason that these manufacturers give long warranties is because the average mileage per year for your typical buyer is about 12K. Times that by 7 years and you still come up short of 100K.
They KNOW a taxi is going to be doing 30K+ a year and as such they cap the warranty mileage to 100K. That’s not standing behind your product.
Mercedes will give you a 3 year do-as-much-mileage-as-you-like warranty. THAT is standing behind your product.
My rationale applied more to general users rather than the taxi driver market.I am quite happy to believe C class makes a better taxi,it’s almost a tradition.
Last edited by meridian; 27th September 2019 at 07:15.
I guess the problem is the taxi ownership market is very small compared to the private owner market.
For most people 100k or 7 years will be more than enough taking in to consideration also that not a huge amount of people keep a car 7 years now.
My broher had an 07 plate Kia Ceed which I think had 5 years back then. He was getting suspension issues and a misfire sorted out within the last months of the warranty. It had covered about 75k in that time, for "most" people the warranty is great- not great for all users but great for the majority.
Similar to many products where warranty doesn’t cover commercial use. Seems fair enough.
Curious about the comment about keeping car 7 years though. Might be true but are these warranties transferable? Hopefully the cars aren’t being scrapped
Afaik they’re transferable yes. I think what I was trying to say is that for most people a 7 year warranty isn’t a deal breaker as not a huge amount of people keep cars 5 years let alone 7. I’m not saying people don’t but I’d think the amount is far less to those that chop and change every few years.
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