Kia Problems

I would go for an i30. It's a former Carsguide Car of the Year and you will get a car with the remainder of the five-year warranty

The current Grand Carnival gets The Tick but its all-new replacement has already been previewed at this year's New York motor show and we're expecting it early in 2015 with huge improvements. Wait.

Don’t judge the Carnival by the badge, as it definitely gets The Tick. The The Multivan is also far more practical than any SUV, as you will find when you try to load all the stuff that comes with four youngsters. If you absolutely must play the SUV game, go for a Hyundai Santa Fe, also a Tick winner.

If you don't want four-wheel drive, save the money and get the front-drive Dualis. The Kia is better but not for average family use.

There are so many things that can affect fuel consumption in real life that it’s difficult to precisely predict what you might get. But you can take the claimed fuel consumption figures published by every carmaker as a guide. Kia’s published figures for the car you are considering are: 9.7 L/100 km (urban), 7.3 L/100 km (combined) and 5.9 L/100 km (hwy). If most of your travel is around town, with little highway or freeway driving, I would expect your fuel consumption should be 7.5-8.0 L/100 km. If you do short runs only it will tend to be closer to 9.7 L/100 km, if you’re regularly on the freeway it could be less than the combined figure.

The Kia gets The Tick from me, because it’s better value but also because of the excellent suspension work done by Aussie guru and Carsguide friend Graeme Gambold.

You need to have it checked on a computer diagnostic checker to identify what is causing the engine to run roughly. It could be one of the sensors on the engine; it could be that the throttle body needs cleaning.

Test drive the Cerato, see how it compares with your Jetta and then decide if you can make the change.