If you ignore the fire and theft issues, they aren’t such bad vehicles…

 

I saw a clip not long back where various suv got rear ended. The worse were hyundai and kia. The rear ended on the dash, where as other usa, german and japanese cars would vary from halfway to way less.

 

Subarus have no shortage of known issues.

 

The theft issues should be pretty much solved with the newer Kia/Hyundai cars, so that shouldn't be a factor as far as a new car purchase.

There aren't too many manufacturers that don't have their share of issues.

It mostly comes down to just what type of issues you want to deal with.

 

The theft issues should be pretty much solved with the newer Kia/Hyundai cars, so that shouldn't be a factor as far as a new car purchase...

The usual thief may not be able to tell new from old, just sees the Kia/Hyundai badge.

 

At FWIW, my parents bought a 2017 Sportage with the 2.0 engine. They have no complaints about the power. Both have owned turbo cars and big blocks, so it's not like a new found thing to them.

It would probably leave my Forester behind, and most likely a 2.0 Impreza/Crosstrek.

I'm not saying I'm going to go out and get one, but the brand has come a long way...

 

The theft issues are for all the base models that still use turn-key ignition. If you don't have one of those, you're good

 

Even the ones that do have an immobilizer are frequently broken into in the hopes (on the part of the thieves) of being one that has a traditional key. That's still hundreds or even thousands of dollars in damage plus whatever valuables are stolen out of the car.

 

IIHS-HLDI: Crash Testing & Highway Safety

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries and property damage from motor vehicle crashes through research and evaluation and through education of consumers, policymakers and safety...

www.iihs.org

 

Confirmation bias.

 

I came close to buying a Hyundai Ioniq 5. I had put down $500 for a reservation fee. A few unplanned major expenses made it unaffordable, but the Ioniq 5, I still feel is the class of the EV field, not named Tesla.

Having said that, I am glad it did as I think the Forester is the much better vehicle for us right now.

 

I considered a Hyundai Santa Cruz for a tiny truck but ultimately just kept my Forester...

 

I traded my 2014 Forester for a 2023 Santa Cruz. I wanted a new Subaru Baja, but they don't exist. Delighted with the Santa Cruz so far.

Hyundai had a rash of defective motors. But they have been replacing them under warranty. Current motors are a different design. Too soon to tell if they will last. The vehicle tech is good. Ride and handling is superb. The tiny truck bed is just right for my needs.

Love Subaru and wife still has a 2019 Forester. But I really like the Hyundai so far.

 

A 2017 Kia Sportage has about half-2/3 the value of a 2017 Forester. Pretty easy for me to make my choice.

 

Hyundai and Kia have come a long way since the dark days of the 80s and 90s when they were throw-away cars....

My neighbor has had more than a few over the years - mostly the Sonata as he does Uber ride sharing as a side gig. He leases now from Hertz (some sort of program) and has had Nissans, Chevy, and now a Tesla 3. His wife's ride is the Santa Fe... Another neighbor as a new(ish) Tucson... They swear by them.

But I ain't buying one..

 

Leased the first model year of the Kona. No issues and felt even more sure footed on snow than a Forester at that time. But it was noisier and not as comfortable for long road trips. The ultimate road trip car for a middle aged couple and their stuff is a Forester.

 

We spend several months of the year at my wife's house in Germany. I was impressed by the 1.6 Turbo Kona. If we were there longer, it is the right size and don't need the 4-wheel drive most of the time in Germany.
But we live in the mountains of California and the Forester with winter tires is the one for us.

 

Where I live, I’d be more concerned today with most of the local area Hyundai/Kia dealership service reputations than the actual vehicles themselves. I think most of the mid-range and higher models being made today are fairly sound vehicles, but they do seem to depreciate pretty rapidly over the first few years of ownership compared to other brands (at least, in my geographical area).

Still, I know a few owners that have really had good luck with them.

 

but they do seem to depreciate pretty rapidly over the first few years of ownership compared to other brands

Yeah, one of the better used car values around if you can find one that has been properly maintained.

 

That's a very big concern, @FelineFreddie ... it's a reversion to the "old days" of Hyundai and Kia.... They'd done so much over the past 30 years to rectify that and now they're slipping back down again...

 

Recalls happen to almost every manufacturer, as long as its nothing drastic its not that big of a deal.

As for the "thefts" article, just seems like your typical MSM fear clickbait article. I don't pay any heed to that stuff.

 

... As for the "thefts" article, just seems like your typical MSM fear clickbait article. I don't pay any heed to that stuff.

Articles about the problem appear in our newspaper every month, and victims are reporting almost every week just in our NextDoor neighborhoods app.
Our city is suing Kia/Hyundai over the massive local Kia/Hyundai theft problem. This article says "As of Sept. 1, more than 4,600 vehicles had been reported stolen in Louisville this year, and 53% of those were Kias or Hyundais."

Louisville sues Kia, Hyundai for surge in car thefts, public safety threat

The city has hired Keller Rohrback L.L.P., which represents over a dozen cities that say they're experiencing a crime wave of stolen vehicles.

www.courier-journal.com

 

@surfnturf When major insurance companies are refusing to renew coverage on Kias and Hyundais in certain places, it's a lot more than just unsubstantiated clickbait. In Missouri alone over 6100 Kias and Hyundais were stolen last year. In 2019 that number was about 1200.

In May of this year, 62% of the cars stolen in Atlanta were Kias. One year earlier Kias were just 6% of thefts.

The "Kia Boyz" phenomenon is very real.

 

Agreed… It isn’t simple “clickbait” in this instance…

Yes, the 'Kia Challenge' has led to some insurance companies dropping those vehicles

In North Carolina, insurance companies can choose not to cover certain vehicles under their comprehensive/collision insurance policies.

www.wcnc.com

 

Perhaps another reason not to buy a Kia. Kia Canada’s new marketing strategy is to withhold vehicles ordered in 2023 in storage compounds for 2024 delivery so they don’t look too successful (2023 sales) to the head office In Korea https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kia-canada-car-sales-1.7063216

 

I’ve seen bonehead policies many times, but this has added an entirely new slant to the topic…

Yeah… Like Kia’s offices in Korea won’t figure this out…

 

As if upper management can't read the news...

 

Kia and Hyundai will always remain good sellers, even if just on the value prospect. When you can get a vehicle that matches some other brand - especially those that are much more expensive - and if the badge on the hood and trunk doesn't matter to you, the Korean twins are very attractive options...

That's how Acura started, how Lexus started, how Infiniti started. Now we have the Genesis line from Hyundai and vehicles like the unfortunately named K900 from Kia. They compete not only with the original competition of the Japanese trio, but also against the Japanese trio that they tore the playbook page from. These sedans (and SUVs) offer up similar levels of style (subjective) equipment, features, power, etc. for a much lower price.

If the logo doesn't matter to you, or you just want to have those features for a bargain price, Hyundai and Kia make a lot of sense.

But it should also be noted that the majority of those Hyundai and Kia models that are being stolen across the country (and the world?) are the cheapy-stripper low price models - the Accent, the Forte, the Elantra.

Hyundai and Kia started offering up those longer term warranties to help combat the perception (sometimes true, sometimes not) that they were throw-away POS buys... Even when they have been nearly as quality as class leaders, there's still that perception. Now it's their standard and they'll probably never go away from those longer warranty coverages...

Now they need to figure out how to combat the perception that the cars are easily stolen through a flaw in their process and features. That may be a lot harder to overcome...

 

Kia and Hyundai will always remain good sellers, even if just on the value prospect. When you can get a vehicle that matches some other brand - especially those that are much more expensive - and if the badge on the hood and trunk doesn't matter to you, the Korean twins are very attractive options...

That's how Acura started, how Lexus started, how Infiniti started. Now we have the Genesis line from Hyundai and vehicles like the unfortunately named K900 from Kia. They compete not only with the original competition of the Japanese trio, but also against the Japanese trio that they tore the playbook page from. These sedans (and SUVs) offer up similar levels of style (subjective) equipment, features, power, etc. for a much lower price.

If the logo doesn't matter to you, or you just want to have those features for a bargain price, Hyundai and Kia make a lot of sense.

But it should also be noted that the majority of those Hyundai and Kia models that are being stolen across the country (and the world?) are the cheapy-stripper low price models - the Accent, the Forte, the Elantra.

Hyundai and Kia started offering up those longer term warranties to help combat the perception (sometimes true, sometimes not) that they were throw-away POS buys... Even when they have been nearly as quality as class leaders, there's still that perception. Now it's their standard and they'll probably never go away from those longer warranty coverages...

Now they need to figure out how to combat the perception that the cars are easily stolen through a flaw in their process and features. That may be a lot harder to overcome...

Ironically, the value proposition of Kia/Hyundai has degraded significantly.
Looking at average MSRP by car brand from 2018 to 2023, Kia/Hyundai were only 2nd to Stelantis:

(Source: Car Price Inflation Is Real - These Brands Are the Worst - CarEdge )

Not to mention Kia/Hyundai dealers were also some of the biggest offenders in ADM, making the increase even larger for many customers who were desperate enough to pay thousands in dealer markup.

Side note: look what brand had the lowest MSRP increase in that time.

 

I'm thinking that since Genesis is under the Hyundai/Kia brand, that addition in 2020 could be a significant driver of the statistic.
The addition of any luxury car brand to a formerly lower cost car maker would have the same result.

Imagine if you added the prices for Lexus to Toyota, Accura to Honda, or Infiniti to Nissan during the same period.

The old saying of "there are lies, damn lies and statistics" applies here.

Without an understanding of the underlying data, statistical results by themselves can be misleading, as is likely in the case noted above.

 

There is (was?) the Equus "brand" added to Hyundai as well, as a notch above Genesis. Originally, the Genesis was a moderately priced coupe and larger sedan. The sedan has morphed into a higher priced offering and there has also been the Genesis SUV models recently added - high end to compete with Jag and BMW and Benz.

Currently, there are 3 sedans - G70, G80 (gas and hybrid) and the G90 (the former Equus). There are 3 SUV models - GV60, GV70 (gas and Hybrid) and GV 80. Genesis was originally just a model in the Hyundai line up. In 2015, it became a sub-brand (much like Lexus for Toyota, etc.).

Stellantis will also be an odd-duck outlier due to having ownership of not only Fiat and Chrysler plus Jeep, but also Alfa Romeo, Maserati. If you start looking at the prices of Jeep models lately, they're going through the roof and I doubt it's because they're really costing all that much to manufacture. Look at the new Wagoneer (starting in the $60k range) and Grand Wagoneer (starting at over $110,000 !!!!).

So yeah, Stellantis and Hyundia/Kia MSRP statistics are very - VERY - skewed by these high-end models....

 

The 10 year/100,000 mile warranty will still pull in customers if they (Kia) keep it intact.

Think about it, my parents bought a used 2017, and it still has warranty. Up to 2027, which given they don't drive nearly as much being in their 80's, they shouldn't have to worry about a huge expense. For a lot of people, that's huge.

Can't get that included in the purchase price with a Subaru.

 

A bit of a scandal in Canada today with Kia. Some customers have been waiting months, if not years for their new Kia and it turns out that corporate Kia Canada has been purposely holding back delivering cars to Customers, because they had met there 2023 sales objectives and did not want to over achieve, in fear of having their 2024 marketing budget cut from Corporate Kia. They were screwing their customers, dealers and salesmen. Imagine being a customer having waited for months for your new car and your old car is on it’s last legs and finding out that new cars have been sitting on lots for months, without being delivered.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kia-canada-car-sales-1.7063216