I'd heard good things about Kia and I like the look of them so I decided to go for it and get myself a Magentis. At first I was quite impressed - the engines seemed pretty powerful, it's packed full of equipment and it has plenty of room both in the leg- and boot department. But it isn't until I really got to know my Kia Magentis I realised that it isn't actually that great a car.
It might just be me but I really don't like how this car drives, or how it feels on the road. The handling feels very non-specific, as if your command is only really half listened-to by the car. Similarly the gear changes are awkward because the stick insists on springing around rather than allowing you to smoothly change from one gear to another.
These sound like minor niggles but unfortunately they really get to you after a while and you find yourself regretting not spending a little more and buying something European. The car just feels a bit tacky and charmless and I will probably end up trading it in a lot sooner than I'd expected.
I had been impressed by Kia's before and thought the Magentis would be of the same breed. Now, it is an extremely reliable car, as you can rightly expect from Kias. I know they've recently introduced a 7 year warranty on their cars, which I can understand as they certainly know how to make a car that lasts. Apart from tyres I don't think we've had anything really at all done to ours, and it's coming up to five years old (and we've done about 50 thousand miles in it). It's reasonably economical for a large saloon like this, we tend to do about 40 or just over on motorways, probably somewhat less in city conditions.
In terms of comfort, the Magentis leaves something to be desired. It is reasonably comfortable, and has some nice luxuries like heated seats, but some things haven't been thought through that well. As a driver you're a bit too cramped, just sort of a bit, like turn your arms and just have a couple of inches less space than you might think. Move the chair back and there's a couple of inches less than you might expect. The driver's seat is very adjustable so you can eventually find a decent position, but for such a big car it falls a little short. That's in the front - in the back however there does seem to be a very generous amount of leg and head room. So if you're a small driver with big passengers then it should be great! Plus all 3 back seats get proper seat belts, which is reassuring. The boot is very large too. I'm not sure how it compares to similar sized cars but for our needs it's been totally fine. We went to Butlins with it and didn't need a trailer or roof box, we had two prams, all the kids stuff and both our luggage and it swallowed it up no problem. It's also nice and quiet when you're on the motorway. That's probably helped by it having six gears, so the revs are quite low when cruising. I suppose that's what makes the fuel consumption low too.
In terms of suspension, and what it's like to ride in, that's a little disappointing too. I am being critical for the sake of giving as much info as possible, and it is a comfortable car to be in, but it doesn't react to bumps very well, and especially uneven country roads. Meanwhile the suspension is also a little bit soft in a way, which makes for a little - just a little - too much rolling on corners at speed. The parking sensors on the Kia Magentis make it relatively straightforward to park, but I wouldn't want to be without them as the visibility is not all that great.
The display panel and all the control buttons are in sensible places. I like the nice big hazard warning light, and that it's at the top all on its own, so you can easily reach for it when needed and not turn the radio on by mistake!
The insurance and tax are quite high. The tax is £210 a year which I think is just about the fuel usage, but I've never really been sure why the insurance is so high. Still, worth bearing in mind.