kia carshow * the fort

[ferdine]

ferdine,

baka naman hindi VGT yung turbo dito kaya ganun.
that type of turbo does wonders in horsepower count. laki ng disparity sa regular turbocharging.

*basti08, Puede pala max horsepower hindi magkatugma pero max torque identical? Pasensya ka na ha, mahina kasi ako sa mga ganito. Gusto ko lang ma enlightened.

[carlocaraddict]

*number001: sana sumama ka, masaya!

Kudos to the very very first tsikoteer on the site, si brubeck (avid lurker daw siya... ...he's the tall guy beside me, carlo and m2 in the standing pic), I met him and his wife there at 8:00 am, almost an hour before they were supposed to open up the test-drives... :lol: ...excited din siya sa mga Kia models.

Reviews:

Driven:

Sorento:

+ Very nice wood trim, a sort of black bamboo-ish pattern. Interior is much more "special" feeling than the Fortuner.

+ Initial throttle response better than Toyota's D4D... much better, thanks to the variable geometry turbos. Terrific grunt from the engine.

+ Ride is pillowy soft, steering is good.

x Ride is too soft for me, it rolls too much under braking and in turns. I still like the Fortuner's body control better, and the Fortuner still seems a better car for high-speed highway travel (more grunt, more stability).


Rio

Was expecting disappointment after having tried the super-quick Accent, but was surprised. The Rio has very punchy and smooth 1.4 gas engine. With approximately 92 hp and 92 ft-lbs of torque, it'll pull even from low revs, and it doesn't lug too much if you shift too early. Fuel consumption should be between 10-12 in traffic.

Everything else is as in the Accent, roomy interior, cheap plastics, decent handling, stiff ride, except the Rio looks better both inside and out, and comes in at a jaw-dropping 530k peso introductory price. That's a subcompact at just 40k more than a supermini.

Display

Sedona

-tentatively priced at 1.5 million. Dual power sliding doors, very large cargo space behind the third row (as well as a fold flat third row) and a 158 hp (343 NM) 2.9 liter turbodiesel. It's got the features, space and power to match the Previa and Town and Country, at half-a-million less. Inside isn't as spectacular, but with 500,000 pesos in change, you could probably install LazyBoy massage chairs with real italian leather...

Carens

-personal favorite... seven seater with third row legroom comparable to the Innova, but it's just as long as your regular compact sedan. It has a very very clever fold-flat third row, a crazy number of armrests in the second row, and easy ingress/egress for the third row with the sliding second row seat.

-Oh, did I mention? It's got a 110 hp 2.0 CRDi turbo engine with a manumatic shifter. Multi-link rear suspension, mags, and a roof rack with moveable rails. And it's supposed to be coming in at under 1 million pesos. I'm saying adios to our Crosswind when this baby comes in...

-only gripes are the crappy plastics (again), but considering everything else, that's a minor, MINOR gripe.

Sportage

Just another mini-SUV. Take one Tucson and rebody it. Favorite comment? Carlo's "corduroy fabric" observation. Otherwise, it's a good CUV, too bad the display unit is a 2.0 gas vehicle.

Picanto Deluxe

Power windows. Yay. But seriously, still cute.

Opirus

Blech. Grille looks like a Stavic grille slapped on the hood, then cut at the top without regards to the contours of the car. Dashboard top looks like the vinyl and foam combos from the 70's and 80's that disintegrated under the tropical heat.

The leather seats are nice... but that's about it. Needs major restyling to be competitive.

K2700

What can I say... dual cab truck with a pickup bed and 4x4. Painted lime green. I love it. I've driven the container van version, and the driving position and controls are very car-like. I want to test-drive this one to Pinatubo...

Like what we've discussed that afternoon, if the Opirus will be brought here, it will suffer like the Azera, very poor sales. Though if they really want to target Korean ex-pats, ok, fine.

I think Filipino luxu car buyers would settle for a Japanese badge.

[Jun aka Pekto]

Like what we've discussed that afternoon, if the Opirus will be brought here, it will suffer like the Azera, very poor sales. Though if they really want to target Korean ex-pats, ok, fine.

I think Filipino luxu car buyers would settle for a Japanese badge.

The Opirus/Amanti (USDM) is a far cry from an Azera which is a totally different platform and performance a totally different ballpark. If the Azera was out when we bought our 2006 V6 Sonata, we would've bought that one instead even though it costs more than the V6 Sonata. We've checked out a few Azeras in the neighborhood. It certainly is much more luxurious than the Sonata and that 263hp V6 (vs 235hp on the Sonata) is nothing to sneeze at.

Fast V6 cars in general wouldn't do well in the Philippines because of their bigger gas consumption. Here, there's plenty of room to test out the Azera's (and the Sonata's) performance and at least, there's enough freeways to try out cruise control and get a semblance of good gas mileage.

Edit: I didn't know the Azera was even offered in the Philippines...... If I was retiring there at this instant, that'd be the car I'd buy over there.