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Comments
Some of the features that I enjoy, is the roominess with those adjustable seats. On the occasion when I find myself, a back-seat passenger, it appears as though one could set-up housekeeping,ie., stove, refrigerator, t.v. We always finding something new as to what she is capable of doing.
Sometimes, i think the car has a mind of its' own...anyway i've begin to talk to her that way. Our family usually enjoy nameing our cars, we haven't found on for this one yet...everyone seem to have settled on "The Kia".
This is a great looking car with great performance and the mileage is great,the comfort level is outstanding! I love my Kia!
Thanks!
As for your other question, the Amanti uses a timing belt that should be changed every 60k.
we were looking for a car to replace our beloved bwm 733i with 300,000+ miles on it. after much searching, settled on amanti, hyundai xg350, or camry le - v6. a couple of days searching the internet, and haggling with dealers, did not make our choices any easier. my wife rode the car on a test drive and loved it. so, i was more or less determined to find an amanti.
saw some ads for a base car 19,995 and after quizzing the dealership lady [sheehy kia in VA] who said that if i reached the shop and cut them a cheque for that amount, plus taxes, tags, $ 240 processing fee, i could have the car. drove through really bad traffic on a hot day and reached the dealership. went on a test ride and then the sales man started adding up numbers and came up with $ 22,995 plus all other add ons for the same car. it was sad and not a good thing for the dealership to do. the manager's explanation was that the sales lady was misinformed! walked out and drove another 2 hrs in the hot sun to get home!
finally, went to a dealership near my office in hagerstown and they sold me a base model for 20,995. good buy i thought. covered my bases by buying some extra warranty [bumper to bumper] for about $ 800 covering the car till 100k miles or 7 years. as you can guess from our other car, we tend to keep cars till they are ready to die, so this might be a good investment.
will keep posting info about the reliability of the car as time goes by, as i would like to build a reliability data base for this car.
i told my colleague that if i went with logic as i normally tend to do, i would have bought the camry but decided to go with my heart this time. hope this car works out!
like the hyundai with its t-h-c.org user forum, does kia have one too? found the message about tyre pressure intriguing, will go and check out the pressure before going out tonight. was the pressure checked when the tyre was cool, possibly in the beginning of the day?
cheers
2. What's that little sensor-like device on the wood-grain strip just above the ignition switch? It's neither shown nor described in the Manual. Page 4-55 does show the cabin temp sensor in the center of the dash near the front windshield--and describes it as being "on the instrument panel."
3. Has anyone heard a crackling or creaking noise coming from what seems to be the middle of (or just behind) the steering wheel? I hear it VERY infrequently but when it starts up, it's extremely annoying. Apparently my enquiry was the only one in the world Kia's ever received on this.
hugo: Congratulations on your new Amanti. Yes, I checked the tires on my car when they were cold. I think the suggestion that the over-inflation was done to preclude flat spots during the long Pacific transit (and the dealership forgot to reset them) is plausible.
The sensor on the woodgrain is called an "In car sensor", it senses temperature and provides a control voltage to the automatic temperature control module. It is described on page HA-27 of the Amanti service Manual.
No crackling with my Amanti.
My tires were checked cold as well.
Have run 1,200 miles on the car mostly on highways. Made a 300 odd mile trip with 3 passengers and the car averaged 25 mph. The second tankfull of gas seems to have averaged 27 mph! Have to check that out. No problems yet. Some rattling from the back seat area when I go over speed bumps. Will investigate and keep you all informed.
My wife loves the car and so does my neighbour who took it for a ride. She has a lead foot and was thrilled with the response of the car when she merged onto the highway.
All systems work as advertised. Another neighbour bought the Hyundai XG350L. It is very similar to my car except that it has leather seats and moon roof. Interior looks very similar. It misses the sext MB patented seat adjusting mechanism though!
Radio is of good quality. Most people who looked at the car have been very impressed by it. Especially by the engine compartment where everything is covered up and perhaps because of it, the lack of noise in the cab.
cheers
hugo
Also, many other Amanti owners have put custom wheels on their Amanti, but I don't want to go to that expense. It bothers me to have "KIA" on the wheels and I would like to get rid of that just as I did the KIA emblem on the trunk. (It seems similar to having "Toyota" markings on a Lexus!) Has anyone else found a suitable replacement emblem for the center wheel cap? Any help appreciated.
De-badging is very common nowadays, even when it is a nice brand.
-juice
-juice
Some interesting things to note:
1. Check out the handles on the inside of the car near the seats. They help old guys like me get in and out of the car! They are damped and don't go "klang" when you let them go. They sort of sigh to a stop. A nice refinement found only in lots more expensive cars.
2. The stock FM radio is a little weak - no window tinting. Compared it with the Altima at the same spots on the highway with the same station and Kia is a little weaker. Maybe there is a tweak. Sound system is good though. La Traviata sounds great!
3. Don't know if anyone else has seen this, but there is a medium freq vibration on the steering wheel when the car is started. Just as well though, because it is hard to figure out if the engine is running except by looking at the tachometer. So, quiet it is.
4. When engaging the cruise control, either on the "set" mode or "res" mode, keep the foot on the gas pedal to obtain a jerk free engagement. Foot off the gas pedal will yield a jerky engagement. Also, like in all cars, it helps if the car is brought to the almost the original speed before invoking the "res" mode.
5. The fuel compartment door flips open and seems to work off a detent. The door can be opened further and it is secure in both positions. This is magic and great touch.
Ride is good. People rave about the ride and the comfort of the rear seat. Some people who passed the car on the highway turn to look. The car looks great when looking head on. It seems to be a great buy. Will keep everyone posted regularly.
cheers
Hugo
My wife keeps eyeing these, even when she's in the Caddy. Gas mileage seems better than expected, eh?
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
This is pure speculation as I do not even know how these gas pump shut off mechanisms work.
The bottom line is that in the last 2 fills, the car gave 25.8 and 26 mpg. Any gas pump gurus to explain this or is this just the luck of the draw?
cheers
hugo
After 2500 plus miles and a recent road trip between Port land, Oregon and Vancouver, BC, the Amanti is still the best luxury car I have driven. The driver's seat is so comfortable that three hours behind the wheel passed quicker than watching a movie in your favorite easy-chair. The road noise at 70 mph was not loud enough to hamper conversation, or interfere with music coming through Amanti's Infinity sound system. The sun roof did not allow enough heat to penetrate the passenger interior to overwhelm the air conditioner. The automatic temperature control worked perfectly. The cruse control combined with the five speed automatic transmission made driving effortless, and provided great gas mileage (for a two ton sedan). According to the computer display in the Amanti's dash, my average miles per gallon with the AC running the whole time was just over 26. That computer is accurate as I did my own calculations, and I was within 2% of the computer's figures.
A few little things that I have noted.
1) If you use the computer display to show how many miles you have left before filling up at the next gas station be advised that it goes to all blanks when there is approximately 30 miles left on the display. I have calculated that there is about two gallons of gas left in the tank at this point. I have never run out of gas, and do not plan to.
2) It takes practice with the automatic window controls to make the windows remain open just a crack. One needs to do this in order to let hot air out of the vehicle when the car sits in the sun. I also crack the sunroof at the same time.
3) The sheet metal used to make the hood, and body door panels is THIN. I have a small ding on the side caused by soft contact with a shopping cart. So park your Amanti away from crowded parking areas if you are concerned about dings to the body.
4) I have put the key fob away as it is too bulky to carry in my pocket. This means that in order to open the back doors (and the trunk) you have to turn the key on the driver's door twice clockwise.
Also, the only lock is on the driver's door.
5) The only body flaw I have discovered is the led directional signal light on the front driver's side of the vehicle is loose. I plan to have the dealership repair it during my first oil change.
I have one question for those of you out there who read this form. I have been thinking about using Mobil One instead of the oil suggested in the owner's guide. Has anyone heard negative feedback about using off spec oils in Kia automobiles?
More after the 5K checkup.
Carpetguru
What's the best deal I can get right now ? thanks.
Is there a website for me to look for inventories ? deals ?
Looking for either black or white, all options. Thanks.
Good luck and get oily!
-juice
Awhile back someone asked if anyone had seen any/many of them on the road and I think in the past 6 months I’ve only seen one. Also, TV advertisements for the Amanti (at least in the mid-Atlantic region) are virtually non-existent---what Kia spots there are seem devoted almost exclusively to the Sedona or Sorento. Are Amantis selling like hotcakes and don’t need to be advertised or has Hyundai thrown in the towel? Yesterday, on an impulse, I stopped at a local Ford/Hyundai/Kia dealership (not where I bought mine) and talked to a salesman. He said that Amantis sell quickly when the dealership can get them but inventories of them are always low resulting in less available choices for customers--they only had three on the lot and two of them were, in my opinion, under equipped. He said Hyundai recognizes the problem and, over the longer term, are planning to open assembly plants in the US for their Hyundai line. Plants in Korea, formerly dedicated to the Hyundai line, would then be converted to increase Kia production. Don’t know if he knows what he’s talking about or if inventory issues are the same around the country. I do know that a lot of customers appear to be missing a super bargain and an absolutely great car if they bypass the Amanti .
indicator that tells how far you can drive until you need gas stopped working. Two fill ups ago, it wouldn't reset completely and this morning as an example, it started flashing blank lines when I still had over a quarter of a tank and had only driven 195 miles. Also, my Amanti only came with one master key and one sub key. It is supposed to have two master keys. My dealer ordered the extra master key, but after three trips back to the dealer, they haven't figured out how to program the key. Once they had the new key programmed, but then the other keys wouldn't work. Anyone else have this problem?
The problems I've had so far are just little bugs that need working out. Overall, my Amanti is my favorite car, having driven Cadillacs for over 25 years. Dollar for dollar, you can't beat it.