Kia Problems

The iMax is reliable and would win in terms of storage space. The early Carnival with the V6 motor was troublesome, but the later one is quite reliable and could be bought with confidence.

Typically you're looking at a car around 2010 vintage for that money, so it's got a few years on it and will have done a few kays. With that in mind it's best to go for a car that's going to give you a good run for your money over a few years. Steer clear of European brands, that includes Ford as its small cars come out of Europe, and go for a solid brand with a good reputation for reliability. In my view that means a Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3, Mitsubishi Lancer, Kia Rio, Hyundai i30.

You've read my mind. After a back-to-back last week with the CX-5 I'm now recommending the Sportage as top in its class. Both get The Tick from me. I think the Sportage is as impressive as the Kia Sorento people-mover that's our reigning Car of the Year.

The XV will be fine around town but is very small in the boot, and the same goes for the CX-3. If you want a similar cabin and boot space to the Liberty then go for the CX-5, but also have a look at the new Kia Sportage.

It's an interesting put-down of the Mercedes-Benz. The Territory is an all-round good car that has been developed for Australian roads, it might be more comfortable than the 'Benz, but I wouldn't say it was of a better quality. You could also look at a Toyota Kluger or a Kia Sorento, both of which would handle the roads well, be comfortable and are of a decent quality.

Both the CX-5 and the Tribeca are good choices; they're capable, well built and reliable. Others to consider are the Kia Sportage and Sorento. While they are Korean like the Captiva, unlike the Captiva they're very good cars, well built and reliable.

The CX-5 is still best in class but a new Kia Sportage has just arrived and promises to be just as good. I’d steer you towards a Subaru Forester or Outback. They drive like a car, are more refined and easily handle country roads.

Kia Australia is aware of the problem, which is related to how the lockup clutch works in the transmission. The lockup points are currently set at 62km/h and 80-85km/h and Kia believes this is why you find it so noticeable. Kia spokesman Kevin Hepworth says: "We have reported this to Korea and have asked them to look at improvements".

You could clean the throttle body to fix the miss. After that you should be looking at the electronics on the engine. The speedo is a mystery, but you would have to think that it is related to the car's electronics.

Timely query — at the risk of repeating myself, the Sportage.