The consensus among the motoring journalists is that Jeremy Clarkson might have to start revising his views on Korean cars [1].
Korean cars in the UK have the reputation of competing on price rather than quality. But all this seems to be changing with the Kia Cee’d. From the FT this weekend:
This is the first Kia that does not need a bargain-basement price to compensate for deficiencies vis-a-vis European models.
It competes head-on with the VW Golf, Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra, and “looks, drives, handles and is built pretty much as well as any of them”. And it still has a price advantage. And what’s more it “is being offered with a level of warranty that takes carmakers into uncharted waters: seven years or 100,000 miles for the powertrain – engine, gearbox, fdrive shafts etc – and five years for everything else betwee front and rear bumpers”.
Designed and built in Kia’s Slovakian plant, the Cee’d might change the way people think about Korean cars. Not least in respect of colour: the car pictured in the FT (below) is a nice pale gold. Why is it that pretty much the only colours you see on the streets in Korea are black or white?
Links:
- WhatCar review
- Auto Express review
- Auto Trader review
- Financial Times review
- A Clarkson quote from wikiquote: “I do apologise. We have wasted your evening: there are no good Korean or Malaysian cars”[back]
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I dont know about the other makes but i am sure it will do well against the Vauxhall Astra due to the price of Vauxhall parts being high this puts me off Vauxhalls vehicles.