Rented a Kia....

[nismodave]

And liked it....:stare

I rented a 2009 Kia Sportage for the weekend, and it was very solid. It went through the snow well. The v6 had a fair amount power. The interior was not as low rent as I expected. Seat material was so-so, but comfortable. Liked the Sirius radio. The ESC kicked in pretty hard in slippery conditoins when I pushed the vehicle hard, but when I turned it off I had no problems. Rides nice, and is quiet.

ZERO RATTLES!!!:thumbsup

I would of never picked a Kia over a Jeep 10 years ago (they offered me a choice of the Sportage or a Liberty). But things sure have changed.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g250/nismodave57/016.jpg

Our Co-Pilot for the weekend.:goof

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g250/nismodave57/004.jpg

[Waver]

love the duck dave......as far as the kia goes.....I still dont think I would of just asked if there was a third choice or upgraded....I personally feel that the liberty has hit the kia level of quality, and I would never choose a kia over anything.

[nismodave]

Dont knock it till you ride in it. Was no third choice upgrade was too expensive.

Believe me, I was skeptical also.

[xxtremeteam]

we have a liberty and put it to work hard comming home from the bar last night county roads out here where garbage couldnt tell the road from the ditch

[4eyedstang]

i have a 00 KIA and a 95 Jeep XJ and i will say there pretty close in winter driving ability and the KIA has a better fit and finish,but the jeep has way more power

[88Nightmare]

so why did you rent a vehicle?

[lit666]

the clock looks cheap

[nismodave]

so why did you rent a vehicle?

Because I dint know how bad the roads would be going up to the Dells for the weekend. The Mazda is decent in snow, but the AWD was good to have.

[nismodave]

the clock looks cheap

The interior was not Lexus quality, but was not as bad as others i have seen.

[Myles]

i would trust a kia over a mopar product any day.

[GRAMPS SS]

it has F I B plates on it Dave....trying to tell us that your moving and that the KIA is really yours...

[GRAMPS SS]

looks nice Dave..i think i would take it over a Escape as well....

[juicedimpss]

:gay

[Poncho]

looks nice Dave..i think i would take it over a Escape as well....

I doubt the mariner and escape are that different, but mariners aren't crappy. Neither are recent KIAs.

[wrath]

Kias are still shitboxes but at least now you're getting what you pay for.

[Waver]

looks nice Dave..i think i would take it over a Escape as well....

not even close.....I would take the escape over it any day....the fit and finish is a lot better, it feels a lot more sure footed in the snow, It looks like it could take a licking, and the over all reliability is far superior. This past tuesday when it was snowing realy good I had to get one that I sold from our store in west alles....took an explorer down and the escape back. The escape handled the snow just as well as the explorer, infact, I went a little faster in the escape than I did with the explorer.....no compairison, escape for the win


oh and yeah I have driven an 08 sportage before........I will admit that it has come a long way from when I last drove them in 99, but I still would not take it over the escape....and the escape has sirrus too

[Waver]

I doubt the mariner and escape are that different, but mariners aren't crappy. Neither are recent KIAs.


there are a lot of things that are alike on the mariner and the escape, however you get a few things standard on the primere that you have as an option on the xlt. I think the escape has more comfortable seats (when equiped with leather)

[GRAMPS SS]

True FORD salesman! ^^^^^^^^^^^^

[nismodave]

This is an 09, which is different from the 08 I have found out. Never rode in an 08 tho.

Like i said, its not the greatest in the world. But you can get one loaded for 20k right now.

[Breecher_7]

True FORD salesman! ^^^^^^^^^^^^

:rolf

[subliminal1284]

Its still a kia, A jeep or really any american 4x4 would kill that thing on a real offroad track.

[shoooo32]

Choice number three.... I went with the Hyundai Santa Fe when my wife and I were in Arizona last month. I ran over to a dodge nitro first but the rear gate latch was broke so I had no choice. The santa fe isn't a bad suv for the money and I got about 21 mpg doing 85 in the mountains.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb163/shoooo32/340.jpg

[WhatsADSM]

Interesting. A few years back I was in a sportage rental and it was terrible, honestly the worst thing I had ever been in. Maybe a lot has changed in a few years.

Otherwise I have a hyundai elantra now as my daily driver and honestly my SRT-4 was a lot more reliable than this elantra is. IMO on the low end of things I would still go mopar > koreans. Although I would love to give a Hyundai Azera or Genesis a try.

[Karps TA]

Everyone I know who has bought a Korean car loved it the first 12-15 months. Then turned to hating it and doing whatever they could to get rid of it. Which usually meant taking a big hit since they seem to depreciate even more then an American car.

[Mr Twigbert]

No matter what car you drive Dave, you will still be gay in my book..

[nismodave]

No matter what car you drive Dave, you will still be gay in my book..

Says the guy who BOUGHT a Corolla.:rolf

[Mr Twigbert]

Hey Dave,

Well, don't want to sound like a d-ck or nothin', but, ah... it says on your chart that you're fucked up. Ah, you talk like a f-g, and your shit's all retarded. What I'd do, is just like... like... you know, like, you know what I mean, like...

But Don't worry.. Theres lots of tards living some real kick ass lives..


http://www.gotwavs.com/0038475992/WAVS/Movies/Idiocracy/onyourchart.wav

[Rocket Power]

I ran over to a dodge nitro first but the rear gate latch was broke so I had no choice.

Ack! the Nitro might be the ugliest SUV made.
The Hyundai/Kia guys keep getting better and are working there way up to make better cars all the time. You know kinda like those Japanese pieces o crap in the 70's?;)