Kia Advice

Is 2017 the year of the new car for your garage? It's pretty easy to work out what's available now, but here are the most exciting models that are yet to arrive in showrooms.

The first thing we did when trying to figure out the meaning of the Sorento badge was to ask Kia Australia. “No idea” was the simple reply. Beyond, that is, the obvious connection with towns such as Sorrento in Victoria, Western Australia and, of course, Italy. Since the Sorrento on the Bay of Naples is the best known globally, and Kia is definitely a global company, it would stand to reason that it’s the Italian Sorrento that Kia was referencing. And there are plenty of precedents for car companies naming sometimes hum-drum cars after exotic resort locations: Ford Capri and Cortina; Chevrolet Malibu; Triumph Dolomite. So why not Kia Sorrento? That gains weight when you consider that – depending on who you talk to – the town of Sorrento was named after the Sirens that inhabited the area according to Greek mythology. And if the PR spin is to be believed, Kia picked up on the Sirens’ legendary powers of attraction to describe it’s alluring full-sized SUV. Even Tina Arena managed to get the spelling correct on her 1995 single 'Sorrento Moon'. Although, ironically, despite being born to Sicilian parents, Ms Arena was actually singing about the Victorian Sorrento in the song, and the film-clip was partly filmed at Sorrento back-beach, south of Melbourne. By spelling it with one 'r', Kia instantly put all those theories in doubt, because even the Australian Sorrentos are double 'r'. Maybe saving a few cents on each badge was a thing in South Korea back then. Rs don’t grow on trees you know. That’s a bit more interesting because even though it’s one of the shorter words on the planet, 'Kia' is actually a two-part word. The 'Ki' bit is a way of saying 'coming' or 'arising from' while 'a' is either 'the East' or 'Asia'. Which is a heck of a lot less esoteric than a mis-spelt Italian resort town.

There’s long been a bit of a stench around diesel, but with the Volkswagen scandal and big cities in Europe now considering banning them, it seems to be a fuel source that’s more on the nose than ever

We spend weeks comparing new car performance and prices... then fall for a shiny one.

CarsGuide readers Trisha and Karl are a mum and a dad in search of a new car, so they’ve asked our expert team of journalists to help them choose the right one for their little family of three. They’re currently driving an ageing Renault Megane and both think it might be time to switch to an SUV. But Trisha and Karl aren't sure which is the right SUV for them. That’s where The Cars Guides can help. Matt Campbell and Richard Berry are joined by James Cleary, Tom White and Peter Anderson who each nominate what they consider the perfect next car for Karl and Trisha’s family. Should it be a Kia Seltos, a Subaru Forester, Suzuki Vitara or even a Peugeot 2008? Watch as The Cars Guides go to extreme lengths to prove exactly why their choice is the right one.

The Stinger launched with a 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine in higher specs which produces an impressive 272kW and 510Nm of torque. So, what’s the Stinger’s 0-100km/h time?

Once you dismiss the differences in the bodywork and the individual tuning of the suspension, it’s obvious they come from the same rootstock. It’s the same with the Kia Sportage and Hyundai ix35, and just about everything else in the two brands’ showrooms. Kia has its Soul and Grand Carnival, and Hyundai has the Veloster and coming Genesis luxury sedan but the mainstream stuff is identical. That’s no surprise. The companies are part of the same giant South Korean industrial complex, which manufactures everything up to supertankers. Hyundai and Kia began separately and the latter is actually the older company, with a history running back to 1944. When it ran into trouble in the Asian economic meltdown it was brought into the Hyundai family with a bailout package that has also included shared development and basic model plans. In Australia, Hyundai and Kia are take-no-prisoners rivals but in some countries they are bundled together. In Canada, Hyundai-Kia rates second on the sales charts and is only trumped by Chrysler. If you did the same thing in Australia, the South Korean combination would also rate second overall. Hyundai was fourth in the 2013 rankings behind Toyota, Holden and Mazda with sales of 97,006 vehicles. When you tip in the extras from Kia, the number jumps to 126,874, a total eclipsed only by the 214,630 of Toyota. Combine i30 and Cerato tallies, to 36,367, and they’re still in fourth - but they move the total further ahead of Commodore and only 3000 short of the third-placed Toyota HiLux. But don’t expect anyone at either Kia or Hyundai in Australia - the red and the blue teams, as they are known, because of their corporate colours - to push for any sort of alliance. “The two companies are set up to compete,” says Kia spokesman Kevin Hepworth. Part of that competition led Kia to push strongly for a local “personality” in its cars, something provided by engineering and suspension guru Graeme Gambold. It’s no surprise that Hyundai is now doing something similar, with a different feel. Hyundai and Kia are not alone on the South Korean front. Daewoo cars conveniently fly Holden badges and Ssangyong the country third, behind Japan and Thailand. That places Thailand as a photocopy country producing runs of cars designed somewhere else - think the excellent Ford Ranger from Australia. On the other hand, South Korea pushes hard for class and quality and now builds better Japanese cars than Japan, in terms of value, quality and reliability. Kia is also creating a reputation for great design and Hyundai is aiming for the big breakthrough, a worthy luxury car, with the Genesis that lands here later in the year. Both are also driving great value for Australian car buyers. So it’s probably a good thing for customers - and their rivals - that the red and blue teams regard themselves as deadly rivals and not just one brand with two showrooms. Kia Sportage Price: from $25,490 Rating: 3.5/5 Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl 122kW/197Nm, 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo diesel, 135kW/392Nm Transmission: 5-speed/6-speed man/auto; FWD Thirst: from 7.2L/100km The lowdown: One of the first Kia models to benefit from Australian suspension tuning and a Carsguide favourite as a result. It’s been overtaken by the Mazda CX-5 and Subaru Forester but is still roomy, well equipped, excellent value (on the ownership front too) and a good drive. Hyundai i30  Price: from $20,990 Rating: 4/5 Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl, 107kW/175Nm Transmission: 6-speed man/auto; FWD Thirst: from 6.8L/100km  The lowdown: Recent suspension improvements mean the i30 drives even better, although its age means it rates third in class behind the VW Golf and Mazda3. The i30 has become a new-age Corolla, the car you recommend to people who just want trouble-free, cost-effective motoring. It’s better than the Toyota and a winner with its five-year warranty and service package. Hyundai Santa Fe Price: from $37,990 Rating: 3.5/5 Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cyl, 141kW/242Nm, 2.2-litre 4-cyl turbo diesel, 145kW/421Nm Transmission: 6-speed man/auto; AWD Thirst: from 6.5L/100km THE LOWDOWN: The Santa Fe is tough to toss on the value front, with the seven-seater capacity that’s essential for a lot of families. It’s now a generation newer under the skin than its Kia Sorento rival, which means it drives better and is also quieter. It’s a reversal of the Sportage-ix35 match-up, where Carsguide prefers the Kia. Customers are the real winners. SECOND-HAND The bland but efficient Hyundai Getz has taken over from the Toyota Corolla as the Carsguide choice for first-car buyers. The boxy little baby ticks all the right boxes, from price to economy, and we rarely hear of mechanical problems. They were sold in huge numbers and that means good value as a used car.  Hyundai first made its name on the second-hand scene with the jelly bean-shaped Excel, although it was never a great car, and the Getz is building from that base.  There’s a big advantage for used buyers - the five-year warranty and affordable servicing mean Getz new-car buyers have been more likely to give their cars the care and attention that pays off for subsequent owners. This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover  

What makes the Kia Stinger such a surprisingly wonderful machine is far more than the fact that it’s become the most unexpected replacement for the big, rear-drive, roaring Aussie dinosaurs, nor its muscular styling.

These hatches coming in 2019 look like a very sweet bunch of low riders indeed.

Police cars, efficiency tech, fast Kias and future Commodores make up the hottest news of the year.