Kia Amanti 2006 and earlier

chicobaldguy

We got ours Jan 11. We had to fly up to Portland OR to get the fully loaded black on black that we were adamant about. We drove it back that Sunday. Invoice (fully loaded, all options) was $26, 600, we paid $27,500 - no haggling - did it via e-mail. MSRP was about $28,800. Some of the NoCal bozo dealers were trying go tell me this was a $30K car, I let them have it. Anyway, this car is impeccable. I had a Daewoo Leganza (now my ex-wife's) and was happy with it, but this car blows that one away. First impressions? 200 hp is plenty - this car cruises at 80 mph at about 2500 rpm. This car is "Honda" quiet. I am impressed with the cruise control - you set it and it stays put, no fluctuating, and when you accelerate with it, it doesn't go into a passing gear like my company Astro van does. The leather is soft, the heated seats are great on a cold day.

The suspension is the softest I have ever driven, which is what you would expect from a luxury-type car. Visually, this car really smacks of an E-Class, with a hint of S-Type. I love the way the side view mirrors tilt down when put in reverse. The screen with the mpg, temp, time , etc is handy. I think the thing that impresses me the most about this car is it's smoothness and quietness, which are big things with me. Oh, the faux wood looks really cool against black leather also. I drove a Nissan Maxima before getting this car, and the only thing the Maxima has on the Amanti is a very fast engine. The Amanti was at least $3,000 less, and came with more stuff. At this point, I am very happy with my car. Questions?

saber86

You don't want to get a x type jaguar. The car is full of problems. Get a lexus if you want a proven winner or wait and see how amanti turns out.

james138

What kind of miles per gallon does your computer
say you are getting at a certain speed like 65 mph?

 Are you using regular or high test gas?

kmq

We got ours Jan 16. Base model, cloth seats, analog clock, no sunroof, no heated seats or self adjusting mirrors. Comes with leather covered steering wheel, wood grain interior, full sized spare on a rim identical to the mounted tires, cargo net, two trunk carpets. We test drove Camry and Altima with V-6 engines. $ were close, slightly more for Amanti. Amanti wins hands down on all the amenities and safety features. It is fun to drive, quiet, fit and finish is superior to anything we test drove. Runs on regular gas.

dm11

I live in the portland area and am considering buying one of these...which dealer did you use...is there any particular sales person to talk with?

thanks..

uga91

Congrats on your new ride. The first thing I want to say is that I am not a Kia basher in any way. I bought a new Sephia LS in August 1995 and drove it for 6-1/2 trouble free years. I also bought a new 1997 Sonata in January 1998 and drove it over 3 years with no issues. That being said, what was your thought process in buying an Amanti without leather, sunroof, high end sound system, heated seats, etc over a V6 Camry or Altima 3.5SE? Those 2 cars were less expensive, will have higher resale (I know Kia owners hate the resale argument, I hated it as well, but it is a point to consider), were more powerful and get better mileage. It's true that the Amanti runs on 87 octane, but you'll be buying gas more often in your Amanti, so you won't save any money there. Did it really come down to just wanting something different? I can understand that. Back in 1998, Hyundai sold a lot fewer cars than they do now and almost nobody knew what my Sonata was in a field of Accords and Camrys. Was it the design? The 100k mi warranty? Again, I'm not questioning your purchase--I'm happy you bought it. I'm just curious about what the deciding factor was since it was not money. Thanks.

kmq

It was on the lot as described. I wouldn't own a car with a sunroof. Resale is not an issue, last car was a Saab I owned for 18 years, prior to that a Volvo for 16 years. I like the design, warranty, amenities, etc. It looks like a lot of car for the money. Gas was not an issue either, just responding to message #159.

uga91

But, you will get dinged for the lack of sunroof if you need to get rid of the car. Plus, and remember I'm not anti-Kia, I don't believe you'll have this Amanti any where near as long as your previous Saab or Volvo, do you? Again, congrats on your purchase. It's just that it would take a lot of trust and a big pair of cajones for me to spend more money on a Kia than what I would spend on a Honda, Toyota or Nissan that I know will be more powerful, get better mileage, have a higher resale value and that history will show to be far more reliable. I'm not saying that Kia should not sell cars in the $25k and up range. I think it's great. I just think that for $25k with a Kia name plate that I should get a car that compares favorably with $35k Acuras and Infinitis, not with Japanese cars in the same price range. Good luck to you; and, I hope you get 18 wonderful years out of it!

kmq

I fully expect this car to last well beyond the ten year power train warranty period. It appears to be very well built. It may very well compare favorably with a $35k Acura. I don't know. I didn't test drive $35k cars since I didn't want to spend $35k. It is a $25k car and when compared with other $25k cars that I looked at, the Amanti was my choice by a wide margin.

aristotle

I looked at a fully loaded Amanti a week ago and was quite impressed although I did not drive it. I have been getting calls daily since then from the salesman and the manager at the dealership asking me to come back and take a test drive. I have no doubt the car will perform well.

But I am a very cautious buyer. I dont want to spend over $20K for any car. Also, I would like Kia to work out all the kinks in the first model year. I will be better positioned by the end of this year to decide if the Amanti is the right car for me. My 99 Maxima will do for me until then.

Congratulations and best wishes to all the buyers of Amanti. I hope you enjoy the car. Please let us know your feelings about the car from time to time.

uga91

Okay, sounds good to me. You ought to go to the Kia Amanti site under "New Cars" and post a Consumer Review so that prospective buyers who do not check Town Hall can get a sense of your enthusiasm for the car. Good luck!

saber86

this review is from msn.com site.

here is the link

iluvmysephia1

she mentions a lot of the feature-content that makes this a great value in a luxury car. The cons for the car according to her: lower gas mileage and Kia's reputation. Also the lack of leather smell to the leather seats. Humm...I would think that all of the other positive things added up FAR OUTWEIGH the negatives listed, eh? Thanks for posting the link, saber.

kmq

The factory authorized service manuals on page 9-7 of the Amanti owners manual have the wrong part numbers. Those listed are for the Opirus not the Amanti. The Helm Inc company listed in the owners manual did not have Amanti manuals. The correct AMANTI manuals can be ordered directly from KIA at 1-866-542-6268. KIA paid for the shipping. Correct part number for service manual is UH040-PS-010; for electrical trouble shooting manual is UH040-PS-011. KIA's web site has much of the shop manual on line.

bluewinds

Opirus and Amanti are identical twins.

backy

Just noticed something strange on the NHTSA site. The Amanti is listed with the "light" cars, e.g. Accent, Rio, and ECHO. The Optima is there too. But the Sonata, the Optima's twin, is listed under "medium" cars. And the XG350, which is pretty close to the Amanti in size and weight, is listed under "heavy" cars.

Oops. One of the crash test dummies must have pushed the wrong keys entering the data.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/ncap/

kmq

I shipped those guys off an email pointing out the error of their ways. They responded saying you are absolutely correct, it should be heavy and they will make the change ASAP.

iluvmysephia1

paints the new Kia lux-entry in a pretty favorable light. Lots of safety and comfort and value. Plenty of room in the back for the passengers and decent handling and QUIET road manners. Kia engineers wanted quiet and they apparently did it right. Here's the link.

http://www.auto123.com/en/info/news/previews,view,Kia.spy?artid=1- - - 2322&pg=1

rokndj

http://www.auto123.com/en/info/news/roadtest,view,Kia.spy?artid=1- 9369

beer47

No posts in days....I need more info from current owners! If Kia does not offer any leases because the residual is so low it doesn't make sense; perhaps we should wait to buy them used and hope for the best. Is warranty enough to make you buy new with few discounts?

ateixeira

Keep in mind that if you buy used, only the 5/60 warranty transfers.

But...I've heard a 10/100 extended warranty is cheap for the original owner, and that is fully transferable.

-juice

boa35

If anyone’s still out there, here’s an owner’s report on the Amanti.
 
As I’d posted earlier, we got it it on 17 January for $1200 under invoice because it was the sales manager’s “demo.” Carbon Gray color and all options except for the Electronic Stability Program Package.

Currently has just under 1000 miles on it; the 800 of those that were put on by me are mostly (75%) local high-speed freeways with the remainder suburban/city stuff. Mileage has averaged 19-20 mpg. While I have yet to really test it on a long interstate trip...

the Car has performed beautifully. Not a single glitch or annoyance entailing a return to the dealer. Well almost--recently I tested the tire pressure and was astounded that they were all inflated between 45-50 psi (side of tire noted 44 psi was the max load pressure); door sticker said 30 psi. KIA America was totally clueless (not a good omen) and gave me the tire maker’s 1-800 number. Instead, I emailed my salesman who checked it out and said to deflate them to the 30 psi; the dealership didn’t admit to over inflating them and they may have come from the factory that way. Other owners had better check their's out. Post-deflation ride perhaps improved slightly but, surprisingly, the difference was not overly noticeable.

The car itself is flawless. Perfect fit and finish--no rattles, smooth acceleration and ride, exceptionally quiet inside, enough power when I need it (one of my pre-purchase concerns). Overall, an absolute pleasure to drive. KIA should make more of a “to-do” over its speed-sensing automatic steering system, i.e., responsiveness increases with speed. It’s awesome; total stability at higher speeds with a smooth, "fluid" feeling at very low. Their so called “sportmatic shifter” is also nice although I’ll admit I’m not yet fully attuned to it. I also think the audio system is great-- but the separate manual on its operation brought some smiles to my face because of its badly fractured English text--they really do need to rewrite it.

By way of comparison, my yuppie, BMW-owning son was impressed that the Amanti had many of the same features that his car has (and some his didn’t!). Additionally, last year we bought my wife a (more expensive) 2004 Nissan Quest and while I basically love it too, there's no comparison between the Amanti and the Quest concerning the relatively minor glitches we’ve had with the Quest, the smoothness of the Amanti's ride, its lower interior noise levels, and the big difference between the Quest's four and the Amanti's five-speed automatic transmission.

I’ll post again in a few more thousand miles and see if I’m just as happy with the Amanti as I am now.

backy

Thanks. Now, if anyone wants a review that is a real hoot, check out this article from the Washington Post (free registration required):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40167-2004Feb13.ht- ml

It was republished in my local paper today. Here is just one tidbit:

Legend has it that the Amanti, Kia's first large sedan, is the descendant of an initial union between Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz, which begot a child, Jaguabenz. Jaguabenz was reared in a patrician environment in which it dated and mated with BMW, a coupling that yielded Jabenbimmer, who in childhood cruelly was nicknamed "Jabimbo."

This one is even better:

"That looks like one of ours!" said a Mercedes-Benz official.

"No," said another Mercedes-Benz executive. "I'll be [expletive]! That's a Kia!"

pat

I enjoy Warren Brown very much.

iluvmysephia1

It's not like observing other car's styling and just tweaking the lines and curves to make their own version is something new in the auto industry, eh? Been goin' on a long time,now. That is a very cool review by boa35 above. It sounds like the tire inflation issue is really a non-issue, boa35. I have read that manufacturer's will over-inflate tires that have to be shipped overseas a long ways over a long time. They do this to avoid the "tire spot-flattening" that can occur when a car sits for an extended period of time. I believe it's the dealer's job to check this when they do their "dealer-prep" checklist every car they sell gets before selling it. Sounds as if they didn't check your Amanti's tires before they gave it to you...again, not a big deal now that you've fixed it. Enjoy that beautiful luxury car!

uga91

"I tested the tire pressure and was astounded that they were all inflated between 45-50 psi (side of tire noted 44 psi was the max load pressure); door sticker said 30 psi. KIA America was totally clueless (not a good omen) and gave me the tire maker’s 1-800 number. Instead, I emailed my salesman who checked it out and said to deflate them to the 30 psi"

Just for future reference, the max pressure on the sidewall of the tire is the MAX you can use--not what should be used. Always go with what the sticker on the door frame or in the glove box says on psi. Your salesman was correct. Otherwise, it's good to hear that your new Amanti is doing well. As a former Kia owner myself, it makes me happy to see the company expand and grow. Good luck to you all!

kmq

Thanks for the Heads Up on tire pressure. My tires were all at 34 PSI except for the spare and it was 47 PSI. All are down to 30 PSI now.
   We have slightly over 1000 miles on our Amanti now. Fun car to drive, flawless so far. About 21.5 mpg on the highway.

pat

Consumers' Most Wanted Vehicles for 2004 Survey is posted and ready for your input!

carpetguru

My carbon grey Amanti received stares even during my test drive. I waited two weeks to do more research, and finally wrote the check, and drove off in a very nice luxury car for not much money (comparatively speaking).

This car reminds me of those old floaty luxury cars that GM and Ford produced in the 70s. However, unlike those cars, my new Amanti is quieter, more luxurious, has more safety features, and more creature comforts than a 5 star hotel. I think the seats are the plush est I have ever experienced in an automobile.

The sound system (optional Infinity system) is outstanding, and can hold six CDs, one tape, and play FM and AM radio stations with equal clarity to include booming base.

The car handles like a big luxury car with absolutely no
"sporty" feel at all. Throttle response is outstanding off the line, but don't expect to be pinned back in the seat. Cornering is adequate, but don't expect to dive into a corner with your Amanti, this is NOT sport car. However, the car feels solid at higher speeds (over 60) probably due to the ESP (optional electronic stability). The power steering is smooth an easy at lower speeds in city driving, and more rigid taking a freeway curve at 65. The five speed automatic transmission is silky smooth, and there is no jerky acceleration that I could detect. I already can tell, however, that 30 or so more horses under the hood would make a big difference.

Again, this is just a first week of ownership, and as each day passes, I like my Amanti more. I will update in a few weeks noting the little quirks that you miss on first impressions.

BTW did I mention, this car is beautiful and looks twice as expensive as it is.

carpetguru.com

dlb14frost

Purchased a dark rose red with leather, convenience and AES packages. Must say so far I am VERY impressed. Sound system is awsome, smooth and quiet ride and plenty of get up and go for me. Wife loves the dual climate feature.

james138

Glad you like your new Amanti! I am thinking about getting one later in the year. Please let us know more about your car, when you get some miles on it.

dlb14frost

Taking a trip to Florida from PA in mid April. I'll let you know how the mileage turns out. Just hit 500 miles today and love it. Been seeing quite a few heads turn.

deklund

I am considering a certified (3yr bumper to bumper warranty) Lexus 99 LS400, same price as the Amanti. But I love the Amanti! I am concerned that after the 3 years the 99 lexus will be worth more than the 3 yr old Amanti. Any thoughts?

backy

It's quite possible the Lexus will be worth more in 3 years than the Amanti. Cars take the biggest hit on depreciation the first couple of years; the Lexus has already taken that hit, the Amanti has not. Then there's the depreciation "half life" theory, that states a car loses about half its value every 3 years. If that is true, both vehicles would be worth the same after 3 years. However, Lexi have historically high resale values, and Kias have historically low resale values. But in 3 years, the Amanti will still have 2 years of b-to-b warranty and 7 years of powertrain warranty left.

alamid69

Go for a Lexus if you don't intend to keep it long.

murfdog

how cheap are they going for. I do not need leather or any other extras. If I can get one under 22, I will definitely get one or atleast come close to getting one depending on trade-in.

uga91

A couple dealers in the Atlanta newspaper over the weekend advertised new Amantis starting at about $22.8 to $22,900.

ateixeira

XG350s around here start at just over $20k, for reference. They might get slightly lower, but not much.

-juice

richdag

I'm new here and very much interested in an Amanti. I test drove one last Friday, and all I can say is WOW it was nice. There was not any thing about it I didn't like. I even tried the manual shift, It worked great and I thought it was pretty cool. It went over bumps like they were not even there, but yet I didn't get that floaty feeling like you do in Lincoln. And I drove a Town Car For three years so I know what that feels like. I thought the fit and finish looked as good as anything else. better than anything made in America. It had some nice touches also, like gas shocks on the truck hood. and the engine was all covered but had openings to get to things like the battery terminals. the shifting was smooth and quiet, even with the manual shift. there was plenty of power for me. And no it didn't take corners like a sports car but it wasn't meant to and I was wasn't expecting it to. I live on The east coast of Florida, near Cocoa Beach and Kennedy Space Center. The dealers here have been giving a $3040.00 discount off them! I'm waiting for KIA to starts giving a rebate on top of that, Than I'll grab one.

james138

I'm also waiting for the Kia Amanti rebate. Looking for one with the cloth seats. I live in Deltona Florida. Is there a dealer in Cocoa Beach, or do you have to go to Daytona Beach? Wish we have more Kia Dealers in this area.

richdag

We have 2 dealers here, one in Melbourne and one in Merritt Island. I'm told they are both owned by the same person or persons, but the sales people at both are very nice and helpful, and neither place is pushy. There's about 14 different Amantis between the two of places, and both are giving the same discount. One of the sales people even said they would put different tires on the car if I was happy with whats on it, because I commented about the tires.

topgear

Being the happy owner of an Amanti, I must comment that the tires are a very important part of the Amanti's quality ride. These are really good tires and to change them might defeat that great, quiet ride we all seem to love so much. Just my two cents!
Top Gear, Sarasota FL

richdag

You make a very good point! Thanks for your input. Sorry for the misspelling. Also wondering way we don't get the wood grain steering wheel here in the USA. Canadian and Asian versions of this car I think have a wood grain steering wheel from pictures I have seen. Anybody known any different.

topgear

I too, wondered why the Korean and the other countries' models had more wood trim in their interiors, including the shifter and rear armrest. I guess they thought the US market would think the wood-look overdone. The leather wheel is probably more comfortable to grip though, but the wood sure does look cool.
Top Gear
PS Anybody buy one lately?
I have mine for two and a half months now and have yet to see another Amanti on the road here in Sarasota FL. They seem to be moving off the dealers lot, though.

richdag

The Brochure says this car has "solar glass" but doesn't say what it is..can someone tell me what they mean by solar glass?

topgear

Good question! One of many questions about the Amanti I wondered about myself before I bought mine. Solar Glass seems to be a type of glass that restricts UV and radiant light into the car cabin which therefore allows the inside to stay cooler. It has a light tint as you can see, yet it is not too dark as to restrict vision at night.

Top Gear

dlb14frost

Vacation in Florida and car performed wonderfully. Had alot of stop and go trafic on I 95 going down so overall milage suffered. 2120 miles at 23.92 mpg. On trip home traffic was lighter and 2 tank fulls averaged 26.
Overheard a few conversations, its a Jag, its a Mercedes. Jokes on them. One got it right, its a KIA ??!! LOL On entire trip I didn't see a single Amanti on the road.

james138

You are getting very good mpg with your Amanti! I live in central Florida and have not yet seen a Amanti yet on the road. Yesterday I drove a base Chrysler 300 2.7 engine. The car road well but was not very quite and the engine not as smooth running as a Amanti. That is why I like the Amanti better, because it is very quite, smooth running and built better.

richdag

I'm interested in seeing what age people like the Amanti. Either interested, own one already or would like to buy one. I'm 48.

lngtonge18

I find the Amanti an attractive luxury cruiser and I'm only 24. One of my current cars is an 03 Mitsubishi Diamante LS. I'm not sure I would buy one over the XG350 though because I prefer the smoother flowing lines of the dash in the XG (though the gauges are nicer in the Amanti). I'm sure I'm in the minority in my age group for liking these kind of cars. I'm willing to bet most people attracted to the Amanti will range in age from 35-60.