Cars-Kia Vs Nissan

When my SUV was totalled a few years ago I ended up going with a Nissan (Altima) and I still LOVE it. Now that my husband's car is nearing the end of it's life, I am 'gently suggesting' Nissans to him as well.

I don't know where in Cincinnati you live but I would recommend the Jeff Wyler auto group - I get great service & they matched the best price I found (from a dealer in Dayton) when I bought my car. I got mine from the dealership off Route 4 in Fairfield but they have others.

Hi J., Hate to say this, but Kias suck. Good thing they have a great warranty because they are broken half the time. We were on our 4th transmission when we got rid of it. We had a fuel leak for months and brought in 14 times before they fixed it. Nissan has a much better rep.

Do not buy a Kia. We have had 2 and have had nothing but problems, although we know people who love theirs. Their batteries are patented by Kia so if it dies, you can't just replace it at any auto store, you have to take it to a Kia dealer. Just my 2 cents. And call your insurance agent with a VIN number for both and get a quote, it could make a difference in your decision. Good luck!!!

i also wouldn't buy a kia, i feel like they're just super cheap. also, do NOT buy a kia and start replacing things like seats - their warranty will be cancelled. it's a good warranty (i hear), the ten years/10,000 miles, but my brother in law replaced his stereo and cancelled the entire thing (his dumb butt didn't check first!). they just feel cheap and flimsy to me, and i've had several friends with them, and drove several.

I ex father in law use to sell Kias...years ago...but he said more than half of them didn't work coming off the truck brand new. Now, a lot has changed and improved since then but they are still a car made in China.
Nissans are known to have a better name but also be much more costly. Personally, if it were between the two I would go Nissan, but I wouldn't just test drive two cars and choose between those two. What about Toyotas, Honda's, Ford, Mazda? They all have great cars.
It does sound more like a cross over that you want, verses a regular car. I bought used, got my car that was a year old for $13,000 when orginal price was 20,000...fully loaded and tons of air bags. Well worth the $7,000 off. It was a toyota and even after all the problems, I'd still buy from them.
My best friend drives a subrau...they are more expensive but she loves hers in the snow and such as it has all wheel drive. Gas isn't grand.
I have driven a Jetta recently and LOVED it. Again, tad more expensive and I would buy used.
Have you checked out consumer reports on any of it? I'm a big consumer reports person! Check out everything before I buy. JD Power and Associates also does ratings on a TON of things. This way you know whats behind the brand name before you buy and what problems others are running into.
Hundai use to be a poor brand but recently has gotten decent reviews. You may want to look into them too. I've seen nice cars by them on the road.
Whatever you choose you will know when you get in and drive that it is the right car for you. Go with that pick.

Are you wanting to purchase new? If not I would look into a used Nissan, Nissan's are great safe family cars. Kia Soul's do not hold up well in rear end collisions and I know this from my own personal experience. I would check the safety ratings along with the comfort levels. We do love our Nissan.

I don't know too much about Kia's but I have heard both good and bad about them.
I can tell you about Nissan's. My brother in law has worked for a Nissan dealer for over 20 years in the detailing department. Nissan's have great engines and rarely have any mechanical problems. My husband had a Nissan truck with 189,000 miles and never a problem. He also had a Sentra --- again 193,000 miles and no problems.
We just bought a used car and guess what we bought --- a 1994 Nissan Sentra. It ha d only 56,000 miles and I am sure it too will outlast the body.
Nissan is all that my brother in law has driven for over 20 years.
If it were me --- I would go with Nissan without a doubt.
I have never heard anything bad about Nissan's.
Also, you have the best resource at your fingertips --- the internet. Do a google search for complaints about both makes and then make an informed decision.
C.

I have a 1996 Nissan maxima, and we haven't gotten a new car yet, because it still runs great.

If you like the look of the Soul, but don't like the seats and/or other things, try the Scion xB. Made by Toyota, it gets good MPG (22-26). It is unique, fun to drive, has TONS of space, is comfortable for up to 5 and is very affordable (can be bought for around 17000). With Scion, it is pure pricing. You only pay for the extras you want. I added a NAV, fog lights, etc and it was added to the base price of the car. Don't pay for features you don't want or need.

Why limit yourself to the two - look at a Toyota Matrix or a Hyndai Tucson. I know Toyota - but I have always loved my Toyota's.

My boyfriend and I have the Kia Soul. I love it! Yes, the seats have to be broken in. Its good on gas, and my older son says it looks cool. I like the fact that there are anchor hooks for my car seats. The Soul is great if you have long legs and is easier to get kids into/out of.

It sounds like you've answered your own question. You said you "like" the Nissan, but you "love" the Kia. Car seats are an easy fix. Ask a Kia dealership what they have to offer or you could easily find some on Amazon or something. I'm talking about padded car seat covers, not taking out the entire seat.

There will always be people who love Nissan's and Kia's and people who hate Nissan's and Kia's. It's which ever one YOU love.

Good Luck, wish you the best!

My husband works in the auto industry and would never buy a Kia. You'd be better off buying used and adding a warranty, and having it checked before buying it, because new cars lose so much value really fast. Try buying a certified used car, ask the dealership. For that price range I'd look at a small suv like the ford escape or a crossover like the ford freestyle, Mazda has a crossover too. There's so much more to choose from than just Nissan and Kia!

I owned a Kia for several years. I think it was a 99... I never had a single problem with. It had about 180,000 miles on it when we finally traded it in. I did buy used...