Kia Advice

If you've got a few more dollars to spend, there's a host of new cars and SUVs arriving in 2017 to tempt you.

Dealers are sharpening the pencils for the end of the year — and these are the best buys.December is a great time to buy a new car as dealers try to clear stock before 2016 arrives.Many buyers are away on holidays so the dealers sharpen their pencils to try to get people in the door and cars off the lot. This year is no exception.Before highlighting the best new-car deals, we should clarify what "2016 Model Year" means.That's the car industry's way of describing when the model is planned for sale, even though they're often released in the second half of the previous year.The contrived confusion is aimed at blunting the need for sharp discounting as the new year rolls around.But regardless of what you are told, the only date that matters is not the model year or the compliance date but the build date of the car.If your car is built in November 2015 but it is being marketed as a "2016 Model Year", it will be regarded as a 2015 model at trade-in time, even if it's at the very same dealer trying to convince you it's next year's model.Does it matter? Not really. But you should know. Besides, the discount you're getting now will likely be worth more than the slight dip in resale.One more caveat — be wary of some low interest rate finance deals.Nissan, for example, has 1 per cent finance on most of its model range. Its cheapest model, the Nissan Micra manual, is $49 a week or $15,850 drive-away. But in the fine print you'll find the repayments must be made within three years — and there is a whopping "balloon" payment of $8210 at the end, more than half the car's cost.On the other hand, Toyota's zero finance deal on certain models is spectacularly good. It is over four years, there is no balloon so, as we discovered, they're practically giving money away.Now, let's go shopping...Small CarsSharp deals are customarily hard to find here because the profit margins are so low — the cut to the dealer on one popular small car is $450.The Suzuki Celerio - is the cheapest mainstream model, still at its launch pricing of $13,990 drive- away with automatic transmission. Learn to drive a manual and pay $12,990.Slightly larger, the trusty Suzuki Swift is good buying at $16,490 drive-away with auto.Toyota's Yaris — with seven airbags and reverse camera — is back at $17,990 drive-away with auto and four years' roadside assistance.The Mazda2 initially looks good at $16,990 drive-away for the manual. Auto brings the price to $18,990 drive-away, which is not as sharp.Honda and Mazda say there are "free on-roads" for the Jazz and Mazda3 respectively, dealer delivery is still in the mix and the prices aren't that sharp.Kia's Cerato sedan and hatch are still at an incredible $19,990 drive-away for auto (metallic paint is expensive at $495). They have a seven-year warranty, front and rear parking sensors but no camera.The Hyundai i30 hatch auto is $21,990 drive-away and you can swap December's $1000 Eftpos voucher for $1000 off the car, so at $20,990 it's good buying. The Elantra stablemate is the same price but will be in run-out within a few months.Toyota's Corolla Ascent Sport hatch is fair buying at $23,990 drive-away with auto.For a little more bling and a good drive, the refreshed Ford Focus Trend is $25,490 drive-away after the $500 test drive discount. That includes auto, satnav, rear camera, alloy wheels, cruise control and a super efficient 1.5-litre turbo engine.Family carsThe most metal for the money at the moment, the just-released new Toyota Camry can be had for $28,990 drive-away at zero finance over four years. It has the cheapest servicing in the business and is economical to run and easy to drive. Standard fare includes seven airbags and rear-view camera.The stablemate Aurion V6 is just $1000 more at $29,990 drive-away, also with the same equipment and the same terms. Warning: this car has so much grunt it can lose traction when accelerating in the wet.The Holden Commodore SV6 "Storm" edition is $39,990 drive-away with auto but $2000 bonus from Holden trims the price to $37,990 drive-away. That's the cheapest VF II yet (though the VE II dropped to $34,990 and $35,990 a couple of years ago).SUVsThe city-sized Holden Trax LS is priced so sharply that dealers have almost run out. More stock is coming late this month and early January.The headline price says $22,990 drive-away with a free auto upgrade — for this month, take off a further $1000, bringing it to $21,990 drive-away or about $6000 off the original RRP.The Mitsubishi ASX LS manual is $25,000 drive-away but there is a free auto upgrade this month, about $5000 off. It has seven airbags, five-year warranty, 18-inch alloys, touchscreen, rear camera and sensors. Good deal.Need a seven-seater? The Mazda CX-9 Classic is still super sharp at $39,990 drive-away; the nine-year-old model will be superseded in February.Much newer but about the same price, the Toyota Kluger seven-seater can be had for $42,990 drive-away.Looking to buy a Holden Captiva 7? Be warned, a refreshed model with a new look and Apple CarPlay is just around the corner.Want to go bush? The Holden Colorado 7 LT will get you there and leave more money for camping gear: with $1000 factory bonus it comes down to $42,990 drive-away, or about $5000 off.Mitsubishi Pajero is also really good buying for the Big Trip. At $55,000 drive-away with auto and five-year warranty, it's a solid choice at a sharp price.

The days of dollar deals in Kia showrooms are on the way out.

Several car brands are boosting their new car warranties, as quality improvements reduce costs. Around the world, cars are getting better and buyers are getting a bulletproof bonus. Warranty costs and claims are falling dramatically at most major makers and that's a reflection of improved quality from the first computer strokes through to the final assembly.There are still flaws, and risk-averse management is rushing to recalls at the first signs of potential trouble, but the overall trend is very positive for most new-car buyers.Renault says its warranty costs in Australia have fallen by a whopping 68 per cent over the past six years, a result that has justified a five-year unlimited-kilometre warranty that's even been extended to its Renault Sport performance cars.At Kia, warranty costs since 2005 have dropped by nearly three-quarters. And that's despite the number of cars covered by the company's five-year warranty umbrella more than doubling."Using 2005 as the baseline, costs per unit in June this year were down by 71.2 per cent," says Kia spokesman Kevin Hepworth. "At that time, in 2005, the Kia carpark was roughly 60,000 cars under warranty. Now there are more than 140,000 under warranty. So numbers have doubled and costs have more than halved." There was a time when Suzuki boasted that the warranty cost on its Vitara was just $12 for each car sold in Australia. That's an incredibly low figure and illustrates the benefits to buyers.The trend at Suzuki is continuing a similar downward path to most of the majors, with a double-digit improvement since 2010. "Our warranty costs have dropped 11.9 per cent over the past three years," says spokesman Andrew Ellis. He won't go into details but a Suzuki service chief contacted by Carsguide confirms the warranty cost in 2013 was little more than $20 for each car sold. This is probably an industry-leading result."The longer-term trend is greater reliability and less cost for the consumer. We see this trend being maintained," Ellis says. But not every brand is driving its claims down, as Hyundai says a vastly bigger pool of cars and more costly cars has led to a slight increase in its warranty costs over the past three years."Marginally increased warranty costs are to be expected with this shift," Hyundai spokesman Bill Thomas says. "We may see slightly increased warranty costs per unit as we sell more premium vehicles, because people have correspondingly higher expectations of those vehicles. It's not to do with diminished reliability. Ultimately, the customer is the winner."CHOICESRENAULT CLIO RS200 **** - see reviewsPrice: from $29,290 Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo, 147kW/240Nm Transmission: 6-speed double-clutch auto;  FWD Thirst: 6.3L/100km Lowdown: The Megane RS is better known but its baby brother is more fun. The Clio from Renault Sport is a genuine pocket rocket that's now protected by a five-year warranty, great news for people who like to drive.KIA SPORTAGE *** 1/2 - see reviewsPrice: from $25,990Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 122kW/205Nm Transmission: 6-speed man/auto; FWD Thirst: from 8.2L/100km Lowdown: The Sportage is a long-term Carsguide favourite because of its value and class, but it's also one of the most trouble-free Kia models. A starter variant with front-wheel drive makes the value even better.SUZUKI GRAND VITARA *** - see reviewsPrice: from $24,990 Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cyl, 122kW/225Nm Transmission: 5-speed man, 4-speed auto; RWD Thirst: from 8.7L/100km Lowdown: Hidden gem in SUV land that's just about bulletproof and incredibly capable as a 4WD. Now also winning friends as an affordable, three-door, front-drive price leader and suburban runabout.

Industry-best seven year unlimited kilometre warranty announced by Kia.Kia is today launching a new industry-leading warranty program that will cover owners for seven years and unlimited kilometres.Customers will also benefit from seven years of capped price servicing and roadside assistance, while the warranty will be fully transferable between owners.All existing Kia owners whose vehicles were covered by the brand's previous five-year capped price servicing plan will also automatically receive an additional two years of capped price servicing for a total of seven years. The five year warranty period remains for these owners however."Crucially, our customers will not be asked to pay any more for their scheduled services than had been the case with the five year capped-price program," Kia Australia COO Damien Meredith said."The two year increase in warranty, capped-price servicing and roadside assist is absolutely transparent and we will not be asking our customers to dip into their pockets to fund the extra benefits," he added.Kia is currently the only automaker in Australia to offer a seven-year warranty period, trumping Citroen's six-year term and the five-years offered by several other manufacturers. The Korean brand's new coverage is also more than double the three-year industry standard.

Walk into a pet shop and there'll always be a pooch that's endearing but overlooked. The deterrent might be the price, or the markings or even the fact it's an exotic breed so it'll presumably take mo

Thousands of drivers promised fixed maximum charges when their vehicles were serviced are eligible for refunds after the nation's consumer watchdog discovered Kia's prices changed four times from 2012 to late 2014.Despite promoting that "the capped price applicable for each service is the maximum you will pay for your scheduled service", its terms and conditions allowed prices to change at any time.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said such advertising was likely to amount to misleading representation contravening the Australian Consumer Law.Kia Motors Australia "cooperated fully" with the investigation, and agreed to alter terms and conditions so that service charges are locked in at the price advised when an individual car is bought.The consumer watchdog plans to review other manufacturers' capped price deals. "Businesses that make capped price offers of this type in their advertising campaigns or represent that consumers can fix the maximum charge for particular services must ensure that these offers are not eroded by later reliance on amendment provisions in their terms and conditions which permit price changes," ACCC commissioner Sarah Court said. False or misleading claims carry a maximum penalty of up to $1.1 million per breach.