Kia has had a chequered career in the
Thailand motor industry. Pre 1997 the brand was handled by
Premier Motors, but post-crash it looked as if Kia was going
to go down the gurgler as well. However, Yontrakit picked up
Kia after it had lost BeeEmm, and now Yontrakit assembles the
Carnival, as well as selling the Sorento, Carens and Pregio.
Kia
has had some very faithful customers in the past, and the
sales of Kia are rising in Thailand. In Australia, the brand
is booming, and our Down-Under correspondent John Weinthal has
just spent a week with the 3.5 litre V6 engined Sorento SUV.
John headed his piece as “Simply great value.” Here are
the Words from Weinthal.
“Korean motor manufacturer Kia Automotive
has made a rapid impact in Australia. In October 2003 it
displaced Mercedes Benz as No. 10 in the bestseller charts
down under. The company offers a growing range of sedans and
hatchbacks, four-wheel-drives and the top-selling Carnival
people mover as well as light commercials (Pregio). This year
Kia has seen a 41% growth in sales in a record-breaking market
in Australia, but one which has grown by a much lower 10.4%.
“Kia’s
second four-wheel-drive, after the five-door 2 litre AUD
25,000 Sportage, is the fully-equipped and stylish 3.5 litre
154kW V6-engined Sorento. It was launched earlier in 2003 as
an auto-only model costing AUD 38,000. More recently a 5 speed
manual has been added at a saving of AUD 2000. (In Thailand
the Sorento comes with a 4 speed auto and a 2.369 million baht
price ticket - that’s AUD 87,700 - more than twice the price
of the Aussie vehicle - thank you Mr. Tax Man!)
“This is a full body-on-chassis, high
ground clearance wagon with advanced crash resistance in the
form of side, front and rear crumple zones equivalent to most
cars. It can be switched from rear drive to high or low range
four-wheel-drive with a twist of a fascia-mounted knob.
“A medium-large wagon it is longer and
wider than a Jeep Cherokee, with a wider track than the
Mercedes M or BMW X5 and it has more luggage space than a Land
Rover Discovery.
“Standard gear includes air con, cruise
control and eight speaker sound system to such niceties as
twin illuminated vanity mirrors, sliding sun visors, overhead
display (thermometer, altimeter, barometer and compass),
remote keyless entry, power windows and mirrors, panic alarm
and engine immobilizer.
“A myriad of clever storage facilities
includes a large glove box and two bins in the central arm
rest. There is 900 litres of luggage space under a luggage
cover expandable to 1960 litres by folding the 60/40 split
rear seating.
“It has twin air bags and four-wheel disc
brakes but, unusually these days, ABS is an option. (The Thai
version has ABS as standard equipment.) Alloy wheels, remote
opening rear window and a roof rack with adjustable cross bars
are also standard.
“The 154 kW V6 has plenty of grunt but
its 1996 kg - let’s call it two tonnes - weight means that
Sorento is no sprinter, but nor is it a slouch. The engine is
hushed, but when pressed it produces a pleasingly powerful V6
thrum. On good surfaces it is impressively refined and quiet.
“The story is not so good on typical
pock-marked suburban roads and dirt. The suspension bumps and
thumps loudly and sometimes uncomfortably. Body roll is more
pronounced than with most competitors and the ride can become
choppy on undulating surfaces.
“While the suspension was the only
downfall of the test Sorento, it is a significant one. It was
the more surprising in view of the obvious thought that had
gone into everything else about the vehicle and its sturdy,
quality feel. Sorento’s body-on-frame construction comes
into its own off road. Even when crawling over body-twisting
tracks there are no creaks, groans or rattles. It has good
approach and departure angles to avoid front or rear bumpers
scraping in the dirt. A relatively nimble 36 foot turning
circle makes tackling heavier bushland less difficult.
“The Kia at least matches most of its
under AUD 50,000 competitors off road, while beating them
hands down in outright value. Those who confine themselves
mainly to town and highway cruising will appreciate the
refinement, performance and lavish and practical standard
equipment levels of their under AUD 40,000 Sorento, be it
manual or automatic.
“Sorento is undoubtedly good value, but
there’s work still to be done to make the suspension more
appropriate to Australian conditions.”
(Thank you John. With our choked roads, it
probably doesn’t matter how it handles! Dr. Iain.)
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Bira Championships
The last race meeting at the Bira Circuit
saw the local championships decided, with all of the
championships going right down to the wire.
The Sport Challenge class was won by
Chaivut Puengthong. This is the ‘starter’ formula for
drivers to move on to brighter and better things. Let’s see
if he continues to shine next year after moving up.
In the sedan car classes, the smaller Class
C (1.6 litres) was won by Songsak Komsiviseubsakul in the Nick
Racing Honda Civic, while the larger engined Class B (2
litres) was won by Polsakda Hongchadchaval in another Honda,
sponsored by Pola Pola Racing.
Class A and the Thailand Touring Car
Championship was won by Nattavud Jareansukawattana in the
Toyota Team Thailand Corolla Altis. Toyota also won the teams
classification, and I believe deservedly so, as they turn up
with immaculately presented motor cars at each meeting, and
the smoothness of Nattavud belies his speed. “Pete”
carries the number 2 position well, and what he lacks in raw
speed he makes up for in raw pulling power, being the most
photographed driver in pit lane!
The Sport Grand Champion class was a Singha
Beer benefit all year, with Piti Bhirombhakdi narrowly edging
out his elder brother. (Series organizer and the push behind
the locally produced Sport Grand Champion vehicles, Prutirat
Seriroengrith won the final round, just to show he can still
do it, and used it as a warm up event before competing in
Macao earlier this month.)
The final race meeting of the year for the AIM sponsored
races will be on Sunday December 7.
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Another Holden milestone for
Commodore - but it’s a Lumina here
General Motors Holden is celebrating 25
years of Commodore in Oz with the release of a special limited
edition version of Australia’s biggest selling car.
 The
25th Anniversary Commodore sedans and wagons include
individual exterior and exterior design treatments and a
selection of extra comfort and convenience features, which
Holden claims represents AUD 5000 extra value.
The sedan retails for AUD 33,490 and the
wagon for 35,590, both equipped with automatic transmission.
Holden is building 4700 of the
commemorative cars, with the first examples rolling off the
assembly line in late October, exactly 25 years to the day
after the original Commodore made its public debut in 1978.
Available in a choice of six exterior
finishes, 25th anniversary Commodores are set apart by
nine-spoke 16-inch alloy wheels and a chrome exhaust
extension. Mirrors, grille surround, side mouldings, rockers
and lower fascia are all finished in body colour.
The sedan sports a rear spoiler while the
wagon is equipped with a roof rack and has body coloured roof
rails and rear dust deflector. Both wear special 25th
Anniversary badges.
In the passenger compartment, features
include a unique velour trim, six-disc in-dash CD changer,
power windows all round, air-conditioning and unique floor
mats. The steering wheel, automatic transmission selector and
handbrake are leather-wrapped and door pulls are finished in
satin chrome.
I do not know whether we will get a Lumina version, but the
new Holdens are very good motorcars - but the price landed
here could be the killer.
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Reliability.
Always an important factor
A survey has just been completed in the UK
to look at the issue of reliability. The reviewers took their
statistics from 800,000 vehicles maintained by contract hire
companies and the results were not all that radically
different from what you could have guessed.
The winning manufacturer was - yes you
guessed it - Toyota. Close behind was Honda, followed by
Lexus. The first non-Japanese brand was BMW in 4th position.
Many people, even in the auto industry,
profess ignorance at how Japan managed to take over the world.
The word is reliability. By the way, the most reliable car in
the 800,000 vehicle survey was the Honda Accord.
This factor also shows up when you look at
resale, or just how well your new car will hold onto its
value. According to the Australian Red Book people, who are
now in Thailand, a Toyota 2 years old and with 20,000 clicks
is still worth around 67 percent of its new price. A Honda is
even slightly better at 70 percent. That’s what keeps the
buying public coming back for more.
If you look very hard at the residual values of motor
vehicles, you can also soon see when you should buy, and when
you should sell. For example, if a one year old car is 80
percent of the new price and when three years old it is worth
55 percent, look at the following - get a two year lease plan
to get you into your car when it is one year old. For the sake
of the exercise, let’s say the car is 1 million new, so
that’s 800,000 at 12 months and 550,000 baht at 36 months.
You climb on board with a one year old model leased at 800,000
baht. Take the lease over 24 months with a 50 percent residual
- that’s 400,000 you have to come up with at the end of your
lease period, when the car is now three years old. However, we
already know that it will be worth 550,000 baht at three
years. End result is a cool 150,000 “profit” for you.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I wrote about a wicker bodied car
made in Europe in 1924. I asked which company made this
peculiar vehicle? And to also have a stab at ‘why’? The
company was Hanomag, and I believe it was a weight saving
idea. Great too if you had an accident - you rushed down to
the local cane furniture shop!
So to this week. “Hybrid” power plants
are all the rage these days, being put forward as the
“new” technology. However, this idea of petrol/electric
vehicles is not at all new. It was first demonstrated in 1902,
and the designer raced a car with it and won. Who was he?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
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