2004 Kia Amanti from North America - Comments

Hi guyz, I am planning to buy a '06 amanti, though, all the reviews say it's a nice car, I would still like to confirm with you. They have run out of higher models, so the car has cloth seats, without any screen and has 6 speakers and no cruise control. They are offerring a price of QR 80,000 (Qatar). Is it a good deal? or is avalon or hyndai coupe (tiburon) better?

My wife and I purchased a 2005 Amanti used with 21,000 miles on it. I was very impressed with the amount of car this is for the price. As you may know, buying used significantly reduces the original 100,000 mile warranty to 60,000 five years, but it is still pretty decent.

Our Amanti is a metallic gold of which I have yet to see another like it in our area. It is definitely a luxurious vehicle that is well appointed with high end options.

We are a little disappointed in the gas mileage. The car is very heavy plus there are a number of options on it that may affect the mpg.

I feel first gear is geared too low. You can actually use the manual shift option to start off in second gear which feels more normal.

It is easy to bark the tires from a dead stop in first gear if you get on it a little too much.

I suppose you must keep in mind that you are driving a large heavy luxury vehicle so the mileage is what it is. Maybe there will be some type of after market modification that can be added to the engine or transmission to improve the mileage. If anyone hears of such a product, please post it.

I am the owner of 2005 Metallic Gold Amanti, with black leather seats, the look of the car is luxurious inside and out, however when I turn I notice popping sounds, I am at 64k miles and have to replace the timing belt. The gas mileage sucks on it, I use premium gas and that tends to last longer, when I use regular octane, my car runs kinda ruff? Does any one else expereince the popping sound. I purchased the car with 50k on it and could not get the manufacturers warranty, should I purchase the warranty? Also I found out that Hyundia are the makers of Kia, just like Ford and Mercury, the up keep on Kia Amanti's are expensive and the transmission tends to go out after 60k...so be very mindful, my mechanic told me to flus the transmission fluid once and one time only after that, he recommended me to change the transmission fluid without flushing it, he is the mechanic for a Kia/Mercedes/Hyundia/BMW foreign car dealership? Any thoughs or similiar problems?