Driving
The Kia is available with 2.0-litre or 2.7-litre V6 petrol engines, but we prefer the 2.0-litre turbodiesel. There's a fair amount of diesel clatter at idle, but once on the move it delivers power progressively, and at cruising speeds is impressive refined. It serves up its power in a progressive manner too. So it's a shame the Kia's clutch action is snappy which, combined with a less-than-slick gearbox, makes smooth progress difficult. What's more, dynamically the Magentis feels flimsy. It rolls through corners, and this increased body movement means it works its front tyres much harder. There's also a lot of dive when braking, and the middle pedal is soft under-foot too. The steering is light and vague, and never inspires confidence. Unfortunately, the soft dynamic set-up doesn't translate into a decent ride quality either, because while the Kia is cushioned over smooth surfaces, the dampers don't control suspension movement. As a result, it can become crashy over imperfections, while kickback through the wheel is a problem. Still, stability control is standard.
See also:
Parking brake
Checking the parking brake
Type A
Check whether the stroke is within specification
when the parking brake pedal is
depressed with 20 kg (44 lb, 196N) of
force. Also, the parking brake alone
sh ...
Introduction
Before CR-V and RAV4, there was Sportage. Yep, believe it or not, the Kia
Sportage was one of the first small import SUVs sold in the United States.
However, being first doesn't always lead to sal ...
Trunk
Opening the trunk
With remote trunk lid release
To open the trunk lid without using the
key, pull up the trunk lid release lever.
With the key
To open the trunk lid, insert the key and
turn ...


