1.6 GDI Phev 139bhp 3 DCT 5dr

Comfortable and flexible but you have to question the value of a PHEV against the HEV as the petrol engines often (especially when cold) starts even when running in EV mode.

I've covered about 21,000 miles in the car, mixing short trips with some 300+ mile round trips including one to Spain (via France - a 2000km round trip).

Fuel economy is disappointing. Even with a fully charged battery (showing 34 miles) a short trip, especially in winter, delivers only about 50mpg. It's not until the warmer weather that 200+ indicated mpg is returned on 20-25 mile round trips. Typical averages in mixed driving are 60 to 70 mpg.

It's comfortable, versatile and very easy to drive. I've had problems though with home charging - having to manually reset the trip switch under the bonnet. This was fixed under warranty and at no cost, but only on the second attempt.

There are design faults with the rear camera and headlight glass. They are prone to getting very dirty and ineffective. In a drive through a rainy Manchester I had to stop to clear the headlights as, when darkness feel, I found I couldn't see anything. Similarly the rear parking camera needs regular cleaning.

The car is still in its first set of tyres - the fronts will need replacing shortly. I run them slightly under inflated to reduce road noise.

The technology (lane following adaptive cruise control etc) seem to work well. The car though has, on a couple of occasions, activated the emergency braking when it was clear that the other vehicle was not in the same lane. I tend to avoid using cruise control now, except on motorways when traffic is light.

Paint and finish is good and both inside and out looks good - we did by a load liner as we have a dog. This seems to have been a good investment. I purchased Kia roof bars. There were very good quality and didn't seem to generate much road noise when fitted (with a top box).

The car was supplied without a warning triangle. I was told that this was as standard. The price for the triangle at the dealer was very high. I sourced a Kia badged replacement cheaply on eBay.

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