How good is KIA nowadays? Options

[Zacxaviqer]

Ever since I swopped my Toyota for the Kia Koup, I heard many different comments. The comments usually come in unison, "Nice car, bro, Wah, sport car lei, how much you buy, Wah, Chio lei" etc

After the initial praises on the appearance of the car, they usually come with a sucker punch with a second follow up question, " Eh, Kia ar? Kia good meh? Why change Toyota to Kia" etc... I even have a few pple telling me that "Kia very lousy one lei, Kia car not good lei, Kia cars is known to be cheap but their spare parts is expensive" I also have one telling me "I would rather buy Civic with that amount of money spend on Kia"

All this negative comments really override the praises they have sung a few seconds ago and it came bitting me where it hurts most. At times, I will think, "Did I really make the wrong choice for choosing Kia or should I have use the money to buy a Civic"

However I will usually argued back saying "You all got the wrong perception on Kia already. Kia is getting better and better, In fact Kia has the second or third highest sales over the past few months, only losing out to Toyota, They will get better, in fact their cars are getting nicer and nicer" I know these are just some of the lame rebuttal in defence of Kia but they seems to know that I was offended by their remark and stay silence.

I just want to know how good are Kia nowaday as comapred to other Jap car manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Nissian etc... At least I can have better ammunition to defend against all critics. Do pple generally go for Kia because it is a low budget car? Kia managed to sell their car at such a low price because their hardwares (engine, performance etc) are not as good as those Japanese car manufacturers? Kia's OMV are generally much lower than most jap car manufacturer. (The last time I checked, Honda Civic 1.6M's OMV is arnd $22k while Kia forte Koup 2.0 is only arnd $16k, a whopping $6k difference! and at different cc as well) Why it is so? What lies ahead for Kia in order to push their reputation up against those jap car manufacturer?

I also observed that many pple changed the KIA badge into something else almost immediately they have received their car. Inferiority? Or purely for aesthetic purposes? (Well, to be frank, after one or two unkind remarks, I also sought to debadging it and replace it with something else)

If we are ashame of owning Kia car, then how do we expect other pple who are driving Jap car to be convinced that Kia cars is actually good and as competitive as other brand of cars?

Comments pls

[Mike1234]

KIA is decent.

You get the price for what u paid...

Kia's more into style and design....Looking at Forte, Koup, Soul....U will know why...

Besides, now KIA have some "technology transfer" from parent company, Hyundai for engine,chassis,etc ....

Thus as a result, its still generally ok....

FYI, KIA actually used to target EURO countries one....And i guess korean companies will be matching the standards of japanese relatively soon....They are doing quite well actually....

[Ericongy]

my friend praise that i bought a nice car at a good price, reliable etc etc.
the only conclusion i can come up wif all their praises is that they own the same badge as mine, coz i feel i overpaid for a crappy jap car.

wait till ur friend buy a korean car and they will start singing praises tat u make the perfect choice. alternatively, mix wif ppl tat own Kia if u want to hear good stuff abt ur car.

u r the owner of the car, u pay for it using ur own $, u drive in it and at the end of the day, u r the best judge of ur car.

[Zacxaviqer]

You are one of the few who acknowledges that Kia is getting better and will be matching the Jap cars. But majority (I would say at least 85% will still think that Korean car is always inferior to the Jap cars in term of quality and performance)

Even when I argue on this facts, I can feel that pple are still not convince and thinks that I'm just defending it because I brought Kia car.

[Jerrytansg]

I just bought my car last September. Cars that I was considering were, Toyota Vios, Mitsubishi Lancer, Kia Cerato Forte, Chevrolet Aveo SS and Honda Jazz. After due considerations, I narrowed my options to only Lancer and Forte (was bought over by its looks). In the end, I gave up on Forte as for the price I pay, I would rather buy a MIJ car which, I believe many would agree that the Japanese has indeed proven themselves in terms of quality and reliability. As for Kia, will have to wait a few more years before concluding.

This post has been edited by Jerrytansg: Jul 15 2010, 11:01 AM

[Zacxaviqer]

KIA is decent.

You get the price for what u paid...

Kia's more into style and design....Looking at Forte, Koup, Soul....U will know why...

Besides, now KIA have some "technology transfer" from parent company, Hyundai for engine,chassis,etc ....

Thus as a result, its still generally ok....

FYI, KIA actually used to target EURO countries one....And i guess korean companies will be matching the standards of japanese relatively soon....They are doing quite well actually....

I'm just wondering why Kia is able to sell at such lower price (thus lowering their reputation) with so many functionality in place as compared to those Jap cars?

I compared my Koup 2.0 with Civic 2.0. Same bhp, same torque, less function for Civic (no sunroof etc) but yet almost $20k difference in price.

[Vextan]

what you cannot match up in quality, you make up in price and style.

[Zacxaviqer]

my friend praise that i bought a nice car at a good price, reliable etc etc.
the only conclusion i can come up wif all their praises is that they own the same badge as mine, coz i feel i overpaid for a crappy jap car.

wait till ur friend buy a korean car and they will start singing praises tat u make the perfect choice. alternatively, mix wif ppl tat own Kia if u want to hear good stuff abt ur car.

u r the owner of the car, u pay for it using ur own $, u drive in it and at the end of the day, u r the best judge of ur car.

Many dun feel that they are overpaying for a crappy jap car. Look at the sales figures. Toyota is well ahead from the nearest competitors and Honda is also not close behind.

When I got my Toyota a few years back (before I make the switch), the older generation (e.g. my Dad) commented that, wah, u owe a Toyota Car! and gives me the thumb up.

This time round, when I told him that I'm getting Kia, his reaction was less enthuastic. "Huh? Why Kia? Why change Toyota to Kia, not earning enough ar?" Downgrade ar?"

That's frustrating!

[Jerrytansg]

Actually, the AD got a hand on this. Probably jacking up the price to give people the feeling that they are getting premium stuff lor. But then again, if people didn't trust Japanese cars, they wouldn't be paying for them. Ultimately, it's the demand and supply thingy at work.

[Zacxaviqer]

what you cannot match up in quality, you make up in price and style.

So It's true that Kia's quality is inferior to Jap car??

In wat ways?? The material used, the engine used or other things?

[Vextan]

So It's true that Kia's quality is inferior to Jap car??

In wat ways?? The material used, the engine used or other things?

the sum of all things, to be specific.

[Jerrytansg]

Many dun feel that they are overpaying for a crappy jap car. Look at the sales figures. Toyota is well ahead from the nearest competitors and Honda is also not close behind.

When I got my Toyota a few years back (before I make the switch), the older generation (e.g. my Dad) commented that, wah, u owe a Toyota Car! and gives me the thumb up.

This time round, when I told him that I'm getting Kia, his reaction was less enthuastic. "Huh? Why Kia? Why change Toyota to Kia, not earning enough ar?" Downgrade ar?"

That's frustrating!

Look at it this way, Toyota is well reputed for their quality, and I believe there must be a very good reason for it. Would you recommend your friend to buy something that you had bought previously but had very bad experience with? Unless you really hated that friend of yours, of course!!! Korean cars lose out previously in terms of design and quality. For the latter comment, it is based on feedbacks from many of driver friends, eg. lousy FC, parts falling apart after 3 years, etc.

This post has been edited by Jerrytansg: Jul 15 2010, 11:00 AM

[Zacxaviqer]

Actually, the AD got a hand on this. Probably jacking up the price to give people the feeling that they are getting premium stuff lor. But then again, if people didn't trust Japanese cars, they wouldn't be paying for them. Ultimately, it's the demand and supply thingy at work.

I dunno whether this is the real reason for Jap car to be price at a higher price than Kia but this is what my SE told me.

Kia profit margin is only $3 to $4 whereas Jap car profit margin is usually at least $10k and above thus contributing to the difference in price.

I can only guess that this is the marketing strategy to gather more market shares in the market. (They have actually done quite well. They has the second or third highest sales in Singapore in the past few months)

However Kia OMV is so much lower than other Jap car OMV.

Why is this so? Jap car more durable and sustainable than Korean car?

[Mike1234]

I'm just wondering why Kia is able to sell at such lower price (thus lowering their reputation) with so many functionality in place as compared to those Jap cars?

I compared my Koup 2.0 with Civic 2.0. Same bhp, same torque, less function for Civic (no sunroof etc) but yet almost $20k difference in price.

One of the main reason is Japanese YEN is raising....In other words, more money will have to be paid for the assembly and work of the Japanese car. Rent,etc also included. Won is generally weaker than YEN and also the salaries of the workers in Korea are generally much cheaper than the Japanese workers...

Korean makers know that they can't compete wif Japanese thus they add in more electronics and make it much reasonable price.....

But i guess at the rate they are improving, i am not surprised that the pricing between two makes would be very very close...By then, u really headache which make to choose liao...

Also, one of the reason which suggest is .....OUR local dealers....Trying to price them at a ridiculous price which they think they are competing against EU make??? What's wrong wif them

[Hermes_1]

The reason y Kia nowadays look nicer is becos I heard they manage to "buy" over one of Audi's designer. I guess it's hard to change other pple's perception on Korean car as in terms of technology since old days they are more inferior. My dad used to drive conti, jap and Korean cars. At that time most of the cars already have auto window switch
but the Korean I have to manually do so. Whatever the case, I guess
more imptly u feel happy and contented in ur Kia and dun bother what others have to say.

Cheers!

[Zacxaviqer]

Look at it this way, Toyota is well reputed for their quality, and I believe there must be a very good reason for it. Would you recommend your friend to buy something that you had bought previously but had very bad experience with? Unless you really hated that friend of yours, of course!!! Korean cars lose out previously in terms of design and quality. For the latter comment, it is based on feedbacks from many of driver friends, eg. lousy FC, parts falling apart after 3 years, etc.

Haven they improve over the past years?
Hence going back to my topic. How good is Kia nowadays?

Still inferior as compare to the Jap car manufucturers?

[Vextan]

to look at the price difference bet jap and korean cars in a way, if you can sell the same type of product at a higher price, it only means your is better than the others. thats why bmw is more expensive than a toyota and then a kia.

[Tom_kkh]

So It's true that Kia's quality is inferior to Jap car??

In wat ways?? The material used, the engine used or other things?

Ah chuan :"sell plastic and paper plate who can earn? one piece only 0.02 cents profit."

Ah Heng :" cannot earn? than how come Ah Seng got factory just selling it? and he stay bungalow?"

morale of the story, u need to be involved in order to know the quality. Just like everyone say Bentley is a great car, but how many of us has ever really driven one to comment from personal expereince?

15 years ago when my bro in law bought a Hyundia, also many ppl say he's in for trouble. But he drove the car Till COE finish with no repairs whatsoever except wear and tear...

Just one simple question, how many times has a korean brand recall its car compared to japs. well the figure dosnt really makes another more superior but it does say something about the one that has the less recall.

Singaporean are like that, they tent to lean towards brands and hearsay.

This post has been edited by Tom_kkh: Jul 15 2010, 11:15 AM

[Jerrytansg]

Haven they improve over the past years?
Hence going back to my topic. How good is Kia nowadays?

Still inferior as compare to the Jap car manufucturers?

Frankly, I don't know. What I know is, a car, apart from our house, is the next biggest ticket item. Having said that, I wouldn't want to throw in my hardearned money into something that has yet to prove itself in the market. I am not saying that Japanese cars won't give end users any major problems. But somehow, I personally believe that the probability of a Japanese car failing me is lower...

[Zacxaviqer]

The reason y Kia nowadays look nicer is becos I heard they manage to "buy" over one of Audi's designer. I guess it's hard to change other pple's perception on Korean car as in terms of technology since old days they are more inferior. My dad used to drive conti, jap and Korean cars. At that time most of the cars already have auto window switch
but the Korean I have to manually do so. Whatever the case, I guess
more imptly u feel happy and contented in ur Kia and dun bother what others have to say.

Cheers!

Yup, they brought over Audi designer and made him the Chief designer for Kia. Ever since he arrived at Kia, he facelifted the entire production line. All new cars produced by Kia gives a very styling, comfortable looks such as Cerato Forte, Forte Koup, Sorento, soul etc...

I've seen some older version of Kia car and it is unappealing at all. Kia Cerato (old version), Piccanto (Old version) to say a few. The colour that they comes with it. Gold, sliver.... duh....

Another view that I have that cast such perception on pple minds is the production of Kia Piccanto. With Kia Piccanto, pple had etched in their mind that Kia is a budget and simple car. For pple who need to travel frequent on the road and yet dun have much resource to afford a car and from there, they start to have the impression that all Kia product are made for the purpose only.