Kia Carens - 'safe' motoring

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Mon 4 Apr 2016 18:49
Kia Carens - 'safe' motoring - Wee Willie Winkie

Afternoon all

My current car is currently at a garage following a lack of oil pressure (known fault for the make model). There is a chance it is uneconomical to repair. Even if I have got away with minimal damage it'll still be expensive to repair.

So, I'm considering chopping it in for something a little simpler, and definitely not diesel so there's no DMF or DPF etc. I no longer do enough miles to justify diesel, but I do prefer how they drive.

I'm attracted to Kia, mainly for value and the warranty. In particular, the Carens 1.6GDi. A 2014 model with c.20k can be had from a franchised dealer for c.£10k.

Does anyone have any experience of these? I've looked at the CBC breakdown but would appreciate any further thoughts.

Thank you!

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Mon 4 Apr 2016 19:01
Kia Carens - 'safe' motoring - RT

Direct injection engines can be just as troublesome as diesels - and many petrols have DMFs these days.

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Tue 5 Apr 2016 17:35
Kia Carens - 'safe' motoring - Wee Willie Winkie

Thanks for the reply.

I suppose I'm looking around the 10k mark for a car with as much warranty left as possible. It needs to be reliable, fairly frugal, and be able to deal with putting bikes on top/behind and swallow luggage for family holidays etc.

So far I've come up with Kia Carens, Kia C'eed SW, Toyota Auris estate, Vauxhall Astra estate, Peugeot 3008. All either manual or TC transmission with petrol engines.

Any thoughts at all?

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Tue 5 Apr 2016 18:37
Kia Carens - 'safe' motoring - Avant

Kias have a fairly good reputation for reliability, but Toyotas are even better so from your list I'd go for the Auris. I'm not sure what sort of automatic it has, but you look as if you know to avoid the semi-automatic rubbish (which some Toyotas have, I think called MMI , which means Much Misery Included).

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Tue 5 Apr 2016 18:57
Kia Carens - 'safe' motoring - johnnyrev
Can I suggest you have a look at a Dacia Logan MCV? A new 0.9l petrol Laurete is around £10k, and we had a 5 year warranty thrown in with the the dealer finance (I think it can be added for a few hundred quid).

Worth a look, we have been pleasantly surprised with ours and hope to keep it for at least 5 years. Currently doing around 40mpg, although we are only on the second tank full!
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Tue 5 Apr 2016 19:38
Kia Carens - 'safe' motoring - Wee Willie Winkie

Thank you! The Auris' I've seen are all the 1.33VVT engines with a manual box. I can get a 2015 model so that means 4 years warranty left.

The Logan, whilst being a sensible contender, isn't one that floats my boat to be honest. It does seem superb value but I can't get past the looks.

I'm definitely avoiding any kind of automated manual - I have experience of the Citroen EGS box and loathed it.

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