Kia Problems

The 2015 MY Cerato was released in April 2014, so I would say you haven't been cheated.

Towball downweight is an important consideration and it's something we'll consider more closely in future.

Definitely not the Journey; the Territory is solid and good value; but my current favourite in the class is the Kia Sorento. It gets The Tick and is well worth the extra, even though the starting price of $40,990 is well beyond the $33,500 base of the Journey.

Before I spent $2400 I would want to be sure the car would be fixed. As the car is out of warranty, it’s seven years old, I wouldn’t expect Kia to come to your rescue and pay the full cost of repairs, but I would expect them to take a kindly view and pay for part of the cost. Go back to the dealer, and to Kia head office, and put your case.

You should drive and compare the CX-5, the long-term leader in its class, and the new Tucson. Don’t go for seven seats unless you really need them because of the extra price and ongoing penalty in running costs.

Of those you have been looking at I would rule out the Cruze on the basis of its transmission troubles. The Focus and the Hyundai are good cars and would do what you want nicely. Others to consider would be the Mazda3 and the Kia Rio.

It's clearly a happy camper when it's cold and it's getting the cold settings, it's clearly not when the cold settings are not in play. It could be a problem with the ECU, the crank angle sensor, the oxygen sensor, or the idle setting. You really need to go to a mechanic who can diagnose the problem for you.

I couldn't recommend either one, both have issues with their transmissions as your homework suggests. I would urge you to look at similar models from brands such as Mazda, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Kia.

The latest Carnival is excellent, gets The Tick and rates for me ahead of the Odyssey.