I bought a Rio in 2001...I know you should never buy the first model year of anything, but at the time it seemed like a great deal. Sold it in 2005, after having two major transmission repairs...The 13in wheels were way too small and it would never hold an alignment. On top of that, had to replace the spark plugs every 10-12 mos...It almost deterred me from buying Korean again...That and my friend had a 2003 Spectra that went through 4 transmissions, all under warranty...They do seem MUCH better now...

I am tossing up between a 2007 Kia Rio or 2007 Hyundai Getz. Which would you go for? I know this is a Hyundai site but please dont be biased . Thanks :)

Im not a big fan of Kia as i used to be....reason being is that I had an Amanti before I traded it in for the Sonata....nice car..but it was a boat...poor gas mileage, suspension was horrible, bringing it to the dealer every other week...I havent drove a new one yet ..but id rather get an Azera

I agree with you, the suspension was horrible on the Amanti and the handling was very light i guess you could say. It seems they have fixed that problem on the newer ones along with a better interior and shrinking that horrible looking grille. I have driven them and the owner at dealer I work at had one as his demo for the summer, he usually takes a stang convertible.

The Kia dealer near home has two 2006 Amanti's still brand new on their lot! Discounted $10,000 off MSRP on the windshield. :grin: Guess they're not having much luck selling them!

I sat in one at a used car lot once and liked the interior... Haven't driven one though. Too big of a car for me! I wonder if Kia is going to get a replacement Amanti based off the Azera?

Amanti's don't exactly fly off of the lot where I work either. We still have one of the first 07's we got in. They added sidewindow deflectors, mudguards and a snazzy "AMANTI" license frame and put it in the showroom. The car now has about 200 miles on it because one of the lot guys likes using it. The 07's are definitely an improvment. The guage cluster is nicer than the Azera in my opinion.

My friend got a 2007 Optima rental when his Elantra was in getting some minor warranty work taken care of. He said he was very impressed with it. I think they've come a long way.

Just ten years ago they were averaging something like 580 problems per 100 new vehicles on JD Power... :blink:

This post has been edited by lovemysantafe: Feb 26 2008, 02:43 AM

I think the old Kias were crap. Just like the old hyundais were crap(mitsu based 94 and down). Now hyundai builts excellent motors and cars. Hyundai bought out Kia and now puts good motors in them so yeah i think they are good cars. I do like hyundais styling better though