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Kia Ceed or bmw 1 series?

Strange two to narrow down to, given the obvious difference in target markets, but answering your question straight: the BMW.

Reasoning? I’d rather walk/cycle than drive a Kia but that’s just snobbishness.

No direct experience with either, but my current daily is a BMW 4 series and I love it. Excellent to drive, makes me smile every time. Just returned from a 2 week foreign holiday where we had a Kia Rio as a rental… awful little shit box that I couldn’t believe some people put up with as a daily machine.
 
shiftyp87 said:
Strange two to narrow down to, given the obvious difference in target markets, but answering your question straight: the BMW.

Reasoning? I’d rather walk/cycle than drive a Kia but that’s just snobbishness.

No direct experience with either, but my current daily is a BMW 4 series and I love it. Excellent to drive, makes me smile every time. Just returned from a 2 week foreign holiday where we had a Kia Rio as a rental… awful little shit box that I couldn’t believe some people put up with as a daily machine.
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Interesting how you say what deep down I’m thinking. Im still proud of my Audi although it’s getting on , so badge probably means more than it should to me. I think the dreadful drivers seat on mine leans me to the Kia as it’s got adjustable lumbar support as standard whereas the bmw/Audi is non adjustable and hard to tell by just sitting in it whether it would be ok or not. Appreciate all your comments
 
Peddy said:
Interesting how you say what deep down I’m thinking. Im still proud of my Audi although it’s getting on , so badge probably means more than it should to me. I think the dreadful drivers seat on mine leans me to the Kia as it’s got adjustable lumbar support as standard whereas the bmw/Audi is non adjustable and hard to tell by just sitting in it whether it would be ok or not. Appreciate all your comments
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The badge does matter. Might not necessarily be the better car but this thread proves the bm would be easier to sell and would keep value, if that is a consideration.
 
Personally I'd not bother with the BMW if it's one of the newer FWD variants as they seem to be closer to the M*ni than a proper BMW.. the four pot engines also have a not-too-great rep. I guess both of these might be priced in since it can be had for similar money to a Kia!
 
Value retention is an issue with cost to replace going through the roof. I paid £12500 for my Audi 4 1/2 years ago same car/age/mileage is near 20k now. My last two Vauxhalls were worth around a grand by the time I finished with them my Audi is still worth 7k. As already said don’t think the Kia will hold much value compared to bmw. Could do with borrowing one for the day to test the seat out it really is a deal breaker, I’ve had to fit all sorts of supports in the Audi, passengers also winge about the passenger seat.
 
baphomet666 said:
Really? Where have you heard that? They have Thatcham graded immobilisers & alarms, so I guess its the keyless ignitions being cloned. I have had six Kia's in the last 11 years, and would never entertain a BMW myself. My mate got a new one & didn't even get a handbook with it!:eek:
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Search for kia boys and watch the videos it's well documented on the thefts oys the only car they tend to go for hence the name kia boys
 
Imo.the Kia gt is a great looking thing and a bit of a sleeper with its 204hp engine which was still in production up until about 2 years ago.This model has a good reliability reputation and pretty good fuel consumption.The bmw WILL be expensive if it goes wrong and parts pricing can be scary.You also get a lot more kit for the money and in my brief rides in one i found the ride on the firm sporty side with very comfortable front seats.Kia every time,Bmw quality is a bit iffy these days.Have a look at the J D Power reliability survey,it provides some good info.Good luck with your search.
 
Problem with questions like these is that folks opinions will be so subjective that it will negate a lot of what is said anyway and you'll end up just having to go with your gut.

My personal experience of both brands is at a bit out of date from owning/driving generally older generations of their cars.

For what that's worth my BMW's despite looking good and feeling like they were well screwed together didn't acquit themselves that well when it came to actual reliability; one particular 5-series being a real pain in the neck with engine issues and a failure that required the replacement of both the immobiliser and the main Ecu.

The one Kia (Soul) in the family was owned by a different family member, and was both reliable and dynamically adequate, if a little bland and clearly built to a price.

Looking at current stuff, Kia's have come a long way since the efforts of 20+ years ago.
Recent BMW's I think have a bit of the Weihrauch about them where in some instances they trade off previous successes a little more than they deserve without always being quite as brilliant vs the competition as they profess to be.

As for thefts, don't know about the design vulnerabity, but a mate had a very nicely specced 330d a couple of years ago.
Thieves didn't bother trying any sophisticated keyless hacking, they simply broke into his house while he was sleeping, taking both the keys and the car, one of 3 "nice" higher end German cars taken the same night from the same area, by the same means. He didn't bother replacing it with another for fear of it being repeated.

Ultimately I'd say just drive both and pick the one you like best.
 
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baphomet666 said:
Really? Where have you heard that? They have Thatcham graded immobilisers & alarms, so I guess its the keyless ignitions being cloned. I have had six Kia's in the last 11 years, and would never entertain a BMW myself. My mate got a new one & didn't even get a handbook with it!:eek:
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Apologies in advance for quoting from the Daily Scumbag:
www.dailymail.co.uk

Hyundai and Kia thefts increase 1,100 percent since 2020

Thefts of dozens of models began to soar in 2021 after the ease with which they could be stolen - due to a critical design flaw - went viral. Both Korean automakers are related and share engineering.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
 
Jimbobs999 said:
Apologies in advance for quoting from the Daily Scumbag:
www.dailymail.co.uk

Hyundai and Kia thefts increase 1,100 percent since 2020

Thefts of dozens of models began to soar in 2021 after the ease with which they could be stolen - due to a critical design flaw - went viral. Both Korean automakers are related and share engineering.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
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colinb said:
Yes but who would want mine with the state I leave it in?
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Errr, the Daily fail article is about AMERICAN thefts, read and see they don’t have anti theft . alarms!! Tough choice @Peddy
 
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As much has I liked my old BMWs, I’m not sure I’d buy a newer one.

A mate of mine bought a 1 Series brand new a few years ago, and it let him down several times in the first 18 months or so. Coil pack failure every time. Another mate had the same issue with an 320i.

I don’t know if BMW ever fixed what was bit of a ‘known issue’, but the way they dealt with my mate’ 1 Series issue wasn’t great. When the coil pack fails, the car goes into limp mode, and he had to get BMW to pick the car up. It was still a very new car, and BMW admitted it may have been a dodgy batch of coils.
Instead of replacing all four coils, they only replaced the broken one. Apparently though, one new coil puts extra strain on the other three, and sure enough, the other coils failed, (at least two of them anyway, maybe even three).

I reckon the BMW 1 Series M Sport may well be a ‘nicer’ car than the Kia, but maybe the Kia might be a more sensible choice.
 
I've only had the one Kia, for the last four years.
It's a PHEV Ceed but SW.
I've had no issues with it except outside causes; I've had my son driving into a trailer hook, which the front bumper didn't like at all, but that's what they are for, and a puncture but you can't blame a brand for that kind of incident, can you?
Mine has a six year guarantee and since I took out a small loan with the dealer, I benefit from a seamless maintenance service for the duration (6 years).
It's a midrange, and quite comfortable on long journeys despite being quite firm seating, which I understand is what you are worrying about.
Can't tell you how it compares with a BMW or your Audi though.

I'd suggest like some above that you take one out for a test drive from the dealership, they don't need to know you intend to buy a six-month old second hand one, do they?
 
Depends how much your 'in' to motors imo. I had a couple of kia ceeds, they were great- as work tools to get wrecked. Not something id be looking at for an only motor, as i like nice vehicles.
Ive had a few bmw's, never a 1 series, but ive always liked them so would probably go with that out of the 2.
 
I have a 120d. Great car. Loads of power and 50mpg. I've had older Kias and spent a fair time fixing them (Rio and Proceed).
 
Jimbobs999 said:
The only thing I’d add is that Kia have a shocking reputation for being easy to steal so that would put me off.
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If it is a popular car to be stolen it must otherwise be good. Perhaps the comparison should be which one gets stolen most. That would be the better car?
 
Next day off I get I’m going to test drive them both, thanks for all your input a lots been said that I was already thinking, I’ve always like cars and coming to that stage in life i should get something I’m going to be proud to own for the next 6years as long as it’s comfortable to drive!!
 
I know it’s the opposite end of the performance spectrum as an M-Sport but the missus has owned her BMW 116D for the past 81/2 years - it’s had a few small, minor issues like the hatchback not locking/unlocking properly, a rear wiper motor, the biggest issue being in the form of a driveshaft failure in that time, but generally it has been very reliable. Quite an engaging car to drive in an enthusiastic manor too despite being entry level model. I imagine an M-sport version would be a blast.

Seating comfort is spot on for a 5’11 medium build man and I heard no complaints from 5’3 women. Probably less so for the rear passengers as there’s not a great deal of room back there but that’s to be expected.
I’ve driven long haul trips from the midlands to the Scottish highlands and back in it with one puking kid, two labradors (and a vast number of their tick hitch hikers upon return too!) and a metric sh1t-ton of completely unnecessary luggage in the back, so should be ok for short journeys at least.
 
If you're looking at buying something that's around 12 months old and keeping it for around 6 years then I would say that a Kia would be definitely worth considering as they have a 7 year warranty (unless that's changed recently) and for a company to give a warranty of that length they must be confident of their product.
I bought a 2018 Kia last year and it still has nearly 12 months warranty left on it.
I bought it from a Kia dealership in Northampton and have it serviced at an independent garage using original parts if needed.
Barring a couple of initial issues which were sorted by the dealer it's been 100% reliable.
It's not a Ceed but I get around 60 mpg out of it commuting and it has good boot space with the seats folded down if I need it.
The only negative thing that I can think of is my local Kia dealership had a big waiting list to fit the car in for warranty work when I first bought it (over a month) but to be fair the Northampton dealership I bought it from stepped in and collected the car to do the work and left me a new Sportage whilst it was being repaired. They then delivered my car back with a full tank of fuel a week later.
 
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