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Bias_2012
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High tech doesn't always mean better
The electric power steering on my 2016 Kia Cerato is the worst steering I've ever experienced. I've owned a lot of different brand cars over the years, but this Kia has only done 35,000ks and still under warranty, previous elderly lady owner
The steering is stiff and notchy at speeds above 40kh, the Kia dealer said it's normal. I fitted brand new tires and over-inflated them from 32 to 38, got the wheel alignment checked and adjusted, but still there's a "stiff" feel to the steering. This is not high-tech, it's just bullshit
My old Corolla was heaps better and it had no power steering at all. That Corolla also had an Aisian auto, said to be 3sp, but it had a 4th gear overdrive that you never knew it had unless you carefully listened to the revs or felt the very slight hesitation of the car when going up a grade. Never felt it go into that gear though, there was no switch for it. I miss that gearbox, it was pretty good
The Kia has high-tech stuff for the engine, brakes, millage read-out and other sensors, but the rest of the car is very ordinary. The door catches and handles act like, and are no better than old Kelvinator fridge doors, before magnetic door seals. The hatch door opens and closes a bit like a tilting garage door and if it's not closed fully, the battery goes flat, you may not know. The bonnet must be slammed down to shut it, gently pushing it down will dent the sheet metal because the bonnet is that hard to close. You can feel every change from the auto box most of the time, and the curved side rear-view mirrors give a false impression of how far traffic is away from you ... and then there is the terrible power steering, not worth a pinch
One saving grace is the low fuel consumption, but only if driven at moderate speeds, fast speeds on or over speed limits just ruins fuel economy, it's then equal to my 3.0L diesel van
However, on one long stretch on the way home from town, I get 4.3 Lts/100ks from the Kia, but that's in 5th gear, not 6th, and doing 70-80 kh. 5th gear takes load off the motor and the accelerator pedal is not pressed down as far, so not as much fuel is needed. The 4.3 was displaying on the dash millage computer read-out. The engine is a 1.8lt, so, not bad in that regard
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