The first time I saw a Kia Amanti, before I knew it was a Kia, I thought to myself “What car is that? Is that some new Mercedes or something?” It actually fooled me into believing it was a true luxury car by it’s outer styling and established grill. When I saw who made the car, I blushed and quickly changed the subject. In retrospect, I think it’s the biggest compliment I could have given it. It confused me into thinking it was a true luxury car.
The Kias are coming a long way, and they’ve been winning the hearts of people across the country, but it still seems weird to me to call a Kia a luxury car maker, even though the Amanti is entering into that class.
Inside, the Amanti is very luxurious; with leather it sits very comfortable, has an elegant dash, and well placed controls; all which remind me of driving an Infinity. The seat positioning controls are located on the door somewhat like the high-end Mercedes-Benz. And its very elegant control panel betrays its sub-$30,000 price tag.
For the price, this is definitely one of the most elegant cars I’ve seen, however, it still is a budget luxury car (possible?). The leather is a little tacky and cheap, and it follows the same path as all Kias with a poorly balanced accelerator which weights the majority of the throttle at the top of the pedal. This is something I hate and hoped the Amanti would be above, but it wasn’t.
The car is also bigger inside than I expected, with ample room in the backseat and trunk, it’s definitely comfortable for up to 5 adults. Other features include seat warmers with 5 different independent settings, and all 4 windows have auto up and auto down–almost unheard of in a $30,000 car. It also had among the best steering wheel controls I’ve seen, being logically laid out and easy to use. One feature/bug is when you put it in reverse both mirrors turn down. That could be a good and bad thing, as only having the curb-side mirror going down allows you to use the other mirror to see behind you better. But overall, I’d rather them both go down than not go down.
Driving the car wasn’t on par with other $30,000 cars available, as it seemed a little squishy and not that inspiring, on the straights or the corners. It was smooth on smooth pavement, and wasn’t distracting by any feature other than the afore-mentioned throttle issue.
I’m not quite sure who the target is for this car. As anyone who knows it’s a Kia knows it’s not a true luxury car. I imagine maybe a budget-minded older generation who like the creature features, but don’t need the full bill of a BMW or Mercedes-Benz. To the right person, I think they’ll be very happy, to anyone very picky, I would suggest looking elsewhere. 3.5 stars.
