KIA

RIGHT KIA, RIGHT NOW Models Covered: (4 dr saloon 2.0, 2.5 litre petrol [LX, SE])

BY ANDY ENRIGHT

As audiences go, motoring journalists are a tough crowd to please. It’s true that writing about a bad car usually generates more entertaining copy than writing about something uniformly competent. With this in mind, many members of Her Majesty’s press corps were gleefully sharpening their knives in advance of Kia’s launch of the Magentis in 2001. Their faces when they emerged from the car were a study of lost opportunity. The withering comments, the unflattering comparisons and the opening paragraphs on the theme of ‘ideas above their station’ would all have to be saved for another day. The Kia Magentis, they grudgingly accepted, was actually pretty good which, coming from this dispirited bunch, was high praise indeed. Actually, the Magentis is better than pretty good. It’s a huge step forward for Kia and drives like cars costing twice its asking price. It’s also one of the more interesting used buys around at the moment, the initial slice of depreciation having reduced these quality cars to prices that read like a misprint.

Perhaps we shouldn’t have been so surprised that the Magentis was quite as well developed as it was. Its predecessor, the Clarus, wasn’t a bad car. It was saddled by a curiously bovine name and was launched at a time when bashing Kias was still widely accepted behaviour but it showed signs of promise. Few expected quite such sweeping advances at the 2001 launch of the Magentis, however, and Kia were rightly proud of their flagship car. Initially only a V6 engined model was available, although at prices starting from under £12,000 here was a Mondeo sized car that retailed for less than the price of some Fiestas, making it the cheapest V6 engined car on sale in the UK. An upspec model laden with gadgets and fitted with a sports H-matic suspension was also made available. Late 2002 saw the first change to the Magentis range. The flagship V6 SE automatic carried on as before but the entry-level V6 car, badged LX, had its engine swapped for a 2.0-litre four cylinder unit and £1,000 was lopped from the price. A number of minor styling changes were also made to the Magentis range in early 2003 including different headlamps. The jury’s out on whether the new look represents an improvement. In 2004 the 2.5-litre V6 engine was shown the door and the Magentis range reduced to one model with 2.0-litre power and a choice of manual or automatic transmission.

First impressions are promising. The styling of the Magentis, whilst unlikely to be the last word in urban cool, is tidy and well proportioned, if a little bland. In an Asian testament to US design there’s a lot of chrome on the outside, starting at that imposing grille and taking in some broad side rubbing strips and pert door handles. The wheels, although of an inoffensive design, look as if they could have benefited from being slightly larger, and are accosted by some rather bulbous-looking rubberwear. The headlamps are of the obligatory jewel-effect, whilst the rear view is again cleanly styled but liable to slip from the memory without registering any residual impact. You can choose between a 2.0-litre as fitted to the LX model or instead opt for the 2.5-litre V6 engine, this one putting out a respectable 166bhp. The Magentis offers plenty of car for the money but then Kias have always done that. It has certainly had its work cut out against the usual suspects such as the Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Vectra models – though if you want one of those with a V6, be prepared to pay a lot more for it. Even so, perhaps it’s fairer to compare this car with something a little less European and more in line with the Magentis’ value proposition. Targets like the Daewoo Leganza and Hyundai Sonata look fairer game for the flagship Kia, being of similar size and price. Bear in mind however, that only the Sonata offers V6 power – for £2,000 more than the top Magentis. Naturally if you plan to build a big car for small change, you have to cut a few corners here and there. The real expertise comes in disguising where the corners have been cut. Whereas big companies like Ford and General Motors pour millions of pounds into engine development and chassis tuning in order to produce an excellent product, companies such as Kia, to be blunt, don’t. What the Magentis concentrates on instead is a generous equipment list that will give instant showroom appeal, and the Kia has some notably impressive features. All models get alloy wheels, air conditioning, anti lock brakes and electric windows as well as driver and passenger airbags and front foglamps. An eight-way adjustable driver’s seat, remote opening boot, powered heated mirrors and a six-speaker CD stereo system also feature on the base model. Go further upmarket with the auto-only SE variant and you’ll get a leather interior with some injection-moulded wood to look at, plus side airbags, traction control, climate control for the air conditioning, an electric aerial, heated mirrors and cruise control. Practicality is always going to be a given with any Kia and the Magentis delivers with a 386 litre boot. Photocopier salesmen need no longer resort to using a dog-eared brochure. You can imagine the opportunities such a cavernous boot will afford them. "Of course if you don’t like that photocopier, I’ve got a few more in here somewhere…"

A big Korean car that few people have heard of, powered by a thirsty V6 engine would normally be a prime candidate for the sort of depreciation curve that starts steep and just keeps going. It seems that a small but committed section of the public have realised what a decent product the Magentis is, however, and residual values have remained reasonably strong. Take a 2001 51-plated Magentis LX V6. This car retailed new for £11,995 whereas today you’d be able to pick that same vehicle up for just under £4,400. A 2001 51-plated SE V6 will retail for around £5,700. Insurance is reasonable, all V6 engined Magentis models being rated at Group 15.

Make sure the car is in perfect condition. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be, as it will be within warranty, but any dents, scratches or interior damage will knock values hard. One advantage of the Magentis is that most cars will have had a relatively easy life, the majority of customers using them for motorway wafting. Otherwise insist on a full service record and contact a few franchised dealers to try to find the best bargain available.

(approx based on a 2001 Magentis 2.5LX) Like their cars, Kia spares prices have gained an enviable reputation for good value, and replacement parts for the Magentis are all agreeably cheap. A clutch assembly is around £255, whilst front brake pads weigh in at around £40. An alternator will cost around £150, and for a starter motor you’ll be looking at £130. The only comparatively pricey parts are the jewel effect headlamps.

Kia not only have Hyundai to thank for saving their corporate hides, they also owe them a debt of gratitude for the V6 engine that they saw fit to share with their Sonata model. Fitted to the Magentis, it offers a creamy, if not particularly rapid, driving experience, the feeling of well being augmented by the huge seats and velvety ride quality. Turn up the air-conditioning, crank up the stereo and you can’t help but feel that this Kia is a very pleasant companion, just so long as you don’t simultaneously show it a bend and press the pedal on the right, whereupon it’s prone to a touch of roll and wallowing. The V6 model gets the Sports H-matic transmission. Whilst sounding about as sporting as an attack of gout, it is no less than the Porsche-based tiptronic gearchange system and helps to make those twisty bits something less of a chore, although with a car as relaxed as the Magentis, it’s inclusion is something of a puzzle. This is a car you’d much rather stick in Drive and waft about in, enjoying the toys and taking it easy. As an antidote to road rage, it pretty much hits the spot.

Paying under £8,000 for a 2001 model Kia Magentis V6 feels almost criminal. The problem is there aren’t that many to choose from. Never in the field of used car purchasing was so much offered for so little by so few. Your best hope of finding one may well be to canvass your local Kia dealer in the hope that they’ve got an ex-demo car. As a used buy, the Magentis’ surprisingly stable residual values don’t make it quite such an outrageous steal as many had predicted but its still a whole lot of metal for your money. If you’re a mature buyer looking for a comfortable car that will last for a few years, the Kia Magentis is a serious contender.

CRYSTAL KIA Models Covered: (4 dr saloon 2.0, 2.7 litre petrol, 2.0 diesel [GS, LS])

BY ANDY ENRIGHT

‘People who know’ about cars won’t buy a Kia Magentis. That may sound damning but those in the know will be clued into the latest must-have car and this isn’t it. While Kia has pulled its socks up with some genuinely smart vehicles like the cee’d and the Sedona, the Magentis has remained strictly sub rosa. It resides in a black hole of public perception, ignored by ‘people who know’. Thing is, people who don’t know may just stumble across what might just be one of the most smoking used car bargains around. It might well pay to keep this one on the down low…

I could highlight for you the long backstory behind the current Kia Magentis, starting with the Clarus, a car that morphed into the first generation Magentis. Doing so would fill in some of the blanks that the Magentis has come to represent but chances are if you’ve made it this far that would be enough to switch you off. The brief line is that the Clarus was dull but reliable and the first generation Magentis better than expected but still only class competitive to a certain rather left-field viewpoint. All of which fast forwards us neatly to 2006 and the launch of the latest Magentis. Sister car to the Hyundai Sonata, the Magentis is sold in the US as the Optima and is a true world car. This usually means it’s a bit of a jack of all trades and while the car is blander than its predecessor, perhaps that’s no bad thing. It’s also fairly good looking in an unobtrusive manner. It first saw the light of day in 2005 in Korea and has been a hard sell for Kia in the UK.

First impressions are promising. The styling of the MK1 Magentis was always something of an acquired taste. It was almost as if the Koreans had decided that lots of chrome equated to a dignified and upmarket presence and didn’t hold back. The MK2 car is far more restrained and mature in its design philosophy. Some would say it’s less conspicuous but that’s not always a bad thing. Created by Kia design teams in Korea, Germany and the USA, the Magentis must cater to the tastes of all three markets, so something a little less gaudy was always on the menu. Although it looks more compact than its rather presidential predecessor, the tape measure doesn’t lie and the current car is actually a few millimetres longer, significantly taller by 70mm and a tad wider. More importantly, it adopts more modern packaging practices which put a wheel at each corner, freeing up wheelbase and offering more rear passenger legroom and a bigger boot as well. The 420 litres of space back there for your bags make it a better load lugger than a Jaguar S-TYPE. All versions have air conditioning, an MP3-compatible radio/CD player, driver's seat height adjustment and a tilt-adjust steering column, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, powered and heated door mirrors, four electric windows and remote central locking. Plusher LS models have in addition automatic lights, a trip computer, telescopic steering wheel adjustment, full climate control with an air quality monitoring system, an eight-way powered driver’s seat, heated front seats and stability and traction control with emergency brake assist.

A sizeable Korean car that few people have heard of, powered by a thirsty V6 engine, would normally be a prime candidate for the sort of depreciation curve that starts steep and just keeps going. The 2.7-litre V6 model’s £17,495 asking price from new always did look a bit optimistic and retail buyers could often knock a grand off that with a bit of spirited negotiation. This is reflected in the residual values for this car which means you’ll be able to pick up a low mileage 06 plater for around £11,600. My advice would be to wait another year or two on this particular model. A far better choice for the here and now is the 2.0-litre diesel, a car which holds its value a bit better and which therefore isn’t going to sting the nearly new buyer quite so viciously. These open at around £9,000 for a 56-plated GS while the petrol-engined 2.0-litre car on the same plate retails at around £500 less. Both offer a decent amount of car for the price of a new Fiesta.

Make sure the car is in perfect condition. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be, as it will be within warranty, but any dents, scratches or interior damage will knock values hard. One advantage of the Magentis is that most cars will have had a relatively easy life, the majority of customers using them for motorway wafting. Otherwise insist on a full service record and contact a few franchised dealers to try to find the best bargain available.

(approx based on a 2006 Magentis 2.7) Like their cars, Kia spares prices have gained an enviable reputation for good value, and replacement parts for the Magentis are all agreeably cheap. A clutch assembly is around £255, whilst front brake pads weigh in at around £40. An alternator will cost around £150, and for a starter motor you’ll be looking at £130. The only comparatively pricey parts are the jewel effect headlamps.

Riding on the company’s MG platform, the Magentis uses MacPherson strut front suspension and a multi-link independent rear setup. Unusually in this class, all of the Magentis’ engines will be offered with an automatic gearbox option. The 2.0-litre petrol and diesel powerplants can be specified with a four-speed auto while the 2.7-litre is mated as standard to a five-speed self-shifter that features Kia’s Sport Mode if you want to take over proceedings and change gears up and down sequentially yourself. The auto ‘box is an optional extra on the two-litre models however, and in basic showroom trim, the petrol car comes equipped with a five-speed manual while the diesel gets a six-speed box. Kia has worked at a certain amount of tailoring to each major market. Instead of the grey and beige two-tone interior that has tested so well in Asian and American markets, the rather more style-conscious Europeans get either all black or grey and black seat and trim combinations with longer cushions and larger side bolsters to cater for our higher average cornering speeds. Kia has also spent a lot of time tuning the suspension for each market’s separate requirements.

There’s a lot to like about the post ’06 Kia Magentis but for many used buyers it’s in a bit of a no man’s land at the moment. Those looking for the sort of value the Kia badge represents will probably prefer to wait a year or two for depreciation to level off and real bargains to appear. In the meantime, limiting your exposure with a 2.0-litre diesel isn’t unappealing.