Comments on: First drive with Kia Pro_cee’d

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:00:55 +0000

himi-it is great going in to corners and popping back out of them. The CVT automatic tranny shifts seamlessly and
is a pretty cool and painless way to shift. I am someone who love manual tranny’s but this CVT is a nice replacement
for a “true” stick shift model.

Some have said that the ’08 Mitsubishi Lancer’s accelerate too slowly-that there’s not enough pop off the line.
I don’t find that to be true, however, I don’t approach driving as a “race”. I was born and raised in the Seattle area
and I truly feel a lot of those drivers felt like driving on I-5 was a race, most obnoxious driver wins. I am not that kind of a driver, hence, the Lancer GTS for 2008 has plenty enough power at 152 hp and I-4 cyl.

Shifting the CVT is easy and fun to do. It moves the power quickly to the wheels and doesn’t jerk the car around while it does it.
I definitely give it a passing grade.

By: himi

himi — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 21:43:42 +0000

So you are one of many happy Kia owners! I’m glad to hear that and also hope you’ll come back to Kia sometime in the future!:)

Kia usually facelifts their cars after three or four years after coming to the market. Rio was unveiled in 05, that’s why we can expect a facelift in 08.

I have read some very positive reviews about the Lancer. I especially the design of it and the choice of CVT tranny. How does it feel when driving?

By: Bryan

Bryan — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:49:03 +0000

I spent $21,200 on my Lancer GTS as it has the Sun and Sound package and CVT tranny with
paddle shifters. It is proving to be a fantastic sedan, sporty sedan at that. I love it’s styling and it handles like a dream!

Yeah, I’lll check out the newest Kia offerings. I bought a 1999 Kia Sephia and a 2001 Kia Sportage 4X4
so I do like Kia vehicles and recognize their value and worth.

I like the new Sportage and the Spectra and even the Rio.

himi, is Kia planning a Rio re-design anytime soon? The Rio LX sedan and the Rio5 are both
nice small cars I’m also interested in. The Rondo looks good, too.

By: himi

himi — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:16:39 +0000

Hi Bryan, welcome to the Kia-world!
Unfortunately Kia cee’d (Pro_cee’d and cee’d SW) are not coming to US. The cee’d family was exclusively developed for European market and will be sold only there. The engine you mentioned is really great and recieved recognition among magazine test drivers. It is mentioned to be one of the best in it’s class!
There are no plans to bring it to US.
If you want similar vehicle, you should wait for next generation Kia Spectra. It is going to be exciting car as cee’d!
The price you posted, would be around 19.500 if directly converted to $. But prices in Europe can not be compared to US car prices, because of the different tax system. Most if not all cars cost more in EU than in US.
How much did you spend on Lancer? Did you get a good deal?
The new Lancer looks very nice and I hope you’ll enjoy driving it in the next few years!

By: Bryan

Bryan — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:46:57 +0000

Who knows if this great looking Kia hatch is going to be imported in to
the U.S.? The c’eed that would interest me the most would be the 5-door
hatch with the 1.6L turbo-diesel motor. The one with 115hp producing 255ft.lb
of torque to the wheels. A 5-speed tranny would be choice.

And, what does 14,245 Euros or lb’s translate over to in U.S. prices? No
problem if it’s not coming to the U.S., but I would like to know. This one looks
very promising and one I’d consider trading in my ’08 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS
in on in 5 or 6 years.

I start researching early!