Kia Problems

The crash testing has been done by ANCAP and, even though Kia recently had a safety glitch with its Carnival, I’m expecting a five-star result for the Sportage.

Kia’s warranty on commercial vehicles and rental cars is the same as that on their regular passenger cars in time terms, but the kilometres are limited. Being a rental car yours would have been sold with a warranty of 5 years and/or 150,000 km, and it would have been transferable to you when you bought it. If you were told it would be shortened to 3 years you were misled.

Yes, I agree that SUVs are a good choice of vehicle for older drivers; as you say they afford you a good view of the road ahead and your surroundings, and they're easier to get in and out of. They are, however, larger and that can make them awkward for older drivers who have a greater tendency to bump into things. If you choose an SUV the CX-5 is a good one. Should you decide against the SUV you could look at the Mazda 6, Subaru Liberty, Toyota Camry, Kia Optima or Honda Accord. All are good cars. Another to think about is the Subaru Outback, a high-riding version of the Liberty.

Stop me if you've heard this before. Definitely reconsider as the South Korean brands have made massive improvements in recent years and the Sportage tops the CR-V and X-Trail.

You left out my choice, which is the Kia Sportage.

Your mechanic is wrong. The new Sorento has been out less than a year, has zero engine troubles and is the one I would pick.

Right now, for me, it’s the Kia Sportage. It gets The Tick and should be right on the money for you.

Our information is that there is nothing on the horizon that will change the towball weight, but we are told the Sorento will tow 2 tonnes if the caravan or whatever is being towed is loaded correctly and a load-equalising hitch is used and used properly. Kia has a hitch available, and you could also go to a company like Hayman-Reese.

Both are very good cars, they're well designed, well built and reliable. The Outback is the more fuel-efficient of the two, but it has a CVT auto where as the Sportage has a conventional automatic. You should drive the Outback to see if you like the CVT before making your final decision. Clearly the more frequent servicing of the Subaru means its running costs are slightly higher, and the shorter warranty could have an impact later on. It's a line-ball decision, but for mine I would probably go for the Kia.