Driving
The Kia is available with 2.0-litre or 2.7-litre V6 petrol engines, but we prefer the 2.0-litre turbodiesel. There's a fair amount of diesel clatter at idle, but once on the move it delivers power progressively, and at cruising speeds is impressive refined. It serves up its power in a progressive manner too. So it's a shame the Kia's clutch action is snappy which, combined with a less-than-slick gearbox, makes smooth progress difficult. What's more, dynamically the Magentis feels flimsy. It rolls through corners, and this increased body movement means it works its front tyres much harder. There's also a lot of dive when braking, and the middle pedal is soft under-foot too. The steering is light and vague, and never inspires confidence. Unfortunately, the soft dynamic set-up doesn't translate into a decent ride quality either, because while the Kia is cushioned over smooth surfaces, the dampers don't control suspension movement. As a result, it can become crashy over imperfections, while kickback through the wheel is a problem. Still, stability control is standard.
See also:
Wiper blades
Wiper blade maintenance
Commercial hot waxes applied by
automatic car washes have been
known to make the windshield difficult
to clean.
Contamination of either the windshield
or the wiper blad ...
Defroster
CAUTION
To prevent damage to the conductors
bonded to the inside surface of
the rear window, never use sharp
instruments or window cleaners
containing abrasives to clean the
window.
NOTICE
If ...
Rear differential (4WD)
Checking or changing rear differential
fluid
Have rear differential fluid checked or
changed by an Authorized Kia
Dealer according to the Maintenance
Schedule at the beginning of this
section.
...


