3 1.6 CRDi (114bhp) 5dr Hatchback

Good, but definitely don't get with 17" wheels!

I bought the car at 52,000 miles from my sister who’d bought at 6 months old with a new 7yr warranty. Now on 92,000 miles.

Overall, I like the car a lot- I think it looks nice, is spacious throughout and handles pretty well- actually nicer, I thought than a contemporary Ford Focus hire car. I’ve come from classic BMWs and SAAB Turbo weekend cars and it’s my first sensible commuter car in some time and given how much fun those old cars are, it’s still pretty enjoyable - plenty of urge from the engine.

MPG isn’t awesome - I average just under 48.4mpg on mixed A Road and Motorway 30 mile each way commutes in, I’ve had it up to 60mpg if I drive very carefully (50 mph at 5am on empty A roads for about 200 miles).

However, as per MARKCEED, I too, have the droning from the rear wheels and very heavy tyre wear from the fronts, too.

When I first got it, I thought something had gone badly wrong as the noise on the motorway was so bad - it needed new tyres anyway and that fixed it. I was relieved.

It happened again after about 10,000 miles on Goodyear Efficient Grip Performances on the front and Kumho Ecsta HMs on the rear. At service time I mentioned to Kia that I thought a wheel bearing may have gone - they said not and that I may have damaged a tyre.

I’ve just put over £400 worth of Continental Premium Contact 6 on, XLs to help with the wear rate and resist blowouts (had one pothole blowout and one other puncture) - so far fixed again, but if the noise comes back in under 20,000 miles I’ll be swapping to 16s. I’m hoping that these tyres resist the droning.

I have also notice the back end skipping a bit during the noisy drone periods, which is pretty worrying.

I only ever put good tyres on the car and spending an £400 to cure really irritating droning every 8 months isn’t acceptable. I’m seriously considering sourcing some 16 inch wheels. But that looks like it’ll cost me at least £400...

So, a good, spacious car, but don’t get it with 17’ wheels! Would be a 4 or 5 start without that.

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