2006 Kia Megantis 2.0l

[Gary84]

Guys, hv u guys chk out this car in tdy's Straits Times...issit the F/L huh?...Kia did a great job in producing this 2.0l car...sleek and classy design...I rem it's got a couple of features but i misplaced the papers liao...anyone driving a Magentis here?....

[Paddie]

Not driving one but you can read a review here:

 

http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publish/onem...gentis_2_0.html

[Gary84]

thx bro...! nice car

[Alliedaces]

You can find more details here on their UK website.

 

Cheers!

 

 

www.kia.co.uk/magentishome.asp

[Latioboy]

How can it be today? todays one only ( in life section) only got porshe... and kia sportage 2007 plus s80 and a few others mahh.... magentis was few wweeks back. or is it in main paper?

[Gary84]

ok got it bro...thx

[Gary84]

hmmm paiseh i made a mistake...then must be Classified lor...confirm tdy's papers cos i read it this morning...

[Firstcall]

Hey Gary, I test drove the Magentis last week.

I found some interest in the car after seeing it in metal 2 weeks ago. It looks much better in metal than what you see on paper. For me the front need to gets some used to. while the rear looks pretty handsome and well resolved. I like the curve of the C-Pillar sloping down and the rounded but bold design of the rear light clusters. It looked very European.

 

It is very well equiped for the price. I find the interior is way better in terms of design, features, functionality, materials quality and built than Sonata. But like Sonata, it offer only 1 driver's airbag. I'd prefer the full black interior than the 2-tone beige color we get here. It's not that I do not like biedge but I do not like combination of light brown/beige. I prefer black/beige combination like that of Premeria.

 

Driving it:

Cranking the engine is a totally non-event. Smooth, quiet and totally void of vibration or engine shake-up. While reversing out of the parking lot, I found the thick C-Pillar somewhat obstructing my rear visual...

 

Driving it is also a very relaxed affair. It is very quiet, goes over hump and speed bump comfortably, engine is very quiet and muted. Good for relaxing drive. What about traffic light sprint? No, it isn't made for that, despite reasonable power rating, it won't do well in this department. While crusing, I realise that it has relatively high rpm even crusing at 80-100km/h rpm. What I mean is that you wont find yourself cruise at 2.2krpm at 100km/h.

 

The tiptronic: Quite a disappointment. There were a few occasion I downsift and the gear did not respond. I ended up shifting the second time before it respond, and even so the delay makes tiptronic driving unexciting.

 

My conclusion:

Appearance: Good. Makes the pressence felt. Does not look cheap.

Interior Space: Good. However not as wide as Camry.

Equipment: Excellent. Cruise Control, Rain sensor, E. Seat, Auto Aircon, Backlit Meters, LCD with DVD player, factory tinted windows etc. Wont get all these at such price anywhere. It bonnet and Boot comes with gas aborber, so no more dirtying your fingers fiddling to open up the boonet. The boot can also be open with remote switch!

Steering: Light and easy.

Ride: Good. Very comfortable.

NVH: Very good. However can't tell if road noise will be a problem since the tires are still very new and most likely not run in yet.

Brakes: Average. A little spongy. Perhaps it's just me, or I need to re-test.

Performance: Average. Enough said.

Handling: Can't comment as there are not much corners in test road.

Interior quality: Good. Won't find those rough edges in their previous generation car.

 

Final Score: Good

Its a good mid size saloon that offer many luxury features at 1.6l jap price without looking cheap.

[Gary84]

thx for the review bro...seems like the magentis is a good korean make

well my primera us on the silver and beige combi though...but requires alot of interior grooming to be done to keep the leather clean, tough job! anyway forgot abt the pricing...hw issit?...

[Firstcall]

Yeah good guy $65 999 I think if the price did not change. Because of a print error in news paper 2 weeks ago, they had to offer free sun roof for first 20 buyers!

[Gary84]

wow...tats nt bad a deal...but will u actually fork out another 7k to buy the 1.8 civic instead?

[Alliedaces]

Hi,

 

No cruise control. Fyi.

 

Cheers!

[Firstcall]

hmmm.. frankly...it never come across my mind to compare both...

 

Civic is certainly more capable in driving and performance aspects but has far less luxury equipment and features. Space and comfort Magentis will still win. I think the basic Civic is really basic. The price wise, it is about additional 1k more in yearly depreciation tho resale demand should be better.

 

At the end it boils down to what I want. Size, luxury and comfort or performance, technology and brand.

[Gary84]

u r right though bro...

[Ferrari7]

At the end it boils down to what I want. Size, luxury and comfort or performance, technology and brand.

 

Yeah I agree. Be sure of what you are willingly to compromise and what you are not. E.g performance, space, safety, reliability, build quality. . . blah blah blah . . .

[Powerkeong]

The look is now more of a Continential Feel... but the "K I A" Logo simply turns me off.

[Linghs]

I totally agreed with the above review of the car.

 

I collected my Magentis and drove for 3 weeks, everything is fine and good: the space the comfort.

 

But as rightly pointed out- this car lacks power! i try shifting to sport mode to do a overtaking, but it simply don't live up to a 2l car, having said that, it does provide gradual power pick up. I drove it at 140 km/hr and the car still feel stable and cool.

 

No regret after trading in my 1.6l corolla.

[Linghs]

I do agree that KIA is not as prestigious as any Japanese car, but i asked myself:

 

For the same budget, should i go for entry level continential car, or mid-level japanese car or top korean car?

 

In term of specs, I do not see much different in Korean and Japanese car, afterall most Korean car uses Japanese engine.

Also if we look back 10 to 15 years- the same senerios is happening- nobody believe that japanese car will dorminate the market.

 

Let's give the underdog a chance, and i believed they will dorminate the market soon.