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our test drives or view them all

Kia Magentis 2.0D six-speed manual

IT’S not much to look at and the badge won’t get your heart thumping with excitement – but Kia has a gentle giant on its hands that backs value and economy.

I last drove LB58FLW in March when I made a return trip of 1250 miles over three days to attend the Geneva Motor Show.

It was brand new then and just unveiled as the 2009 Kia Magentis facelift – the South Korean’s largest, and blandest, four-door saloon.

I doubt the lowly Kia Magentis saloon would figure highly on many "must have" lists, but here’s the rub – it’s actually very good at its job of moving five people and their luggage in comfort with a frugal appetite for diesel.

Kia gave a facelift to the large saloon and officially launched it on March 1 with a new-look nose and some general updates.

There’s just one model – a two-litre turbodiesel with a choice of standard six-speed manual or a £1000 four-speed automatic. But this is not a high volume prestige saloon that needs a lot of glitz – and, given the economic facts of life we’re experiencing, it is perhaps closer to being the perfect choice for the times in which we live.

Three months on and a lot of rough motoring journalists later, FLW was dispatched to me as a test car. It was like meeting up with an old friend – a little more wear and tear but none the worse for that.

In fact over the week I drove this relaxed and exceptionally well-equipped basic saloon I was convinced it was smoother and more refined than it had felt in early March and was certainly delivering better economy with nearly 5000 miles under its belt.

This "ordinary" 2.0 TR CRDI turbodiesel won’t get the neighbours’ tongues wagging because of its exclusiveness. But neither will you be left wanting, thanks to a very generous specification.

The new single-model Magentis costs £17,295 in TR guise with its lusty 147bhp turbocharged diesel. Of course that’s before discount, which will be good even though it’s just off the production line and drips with equipment.

While colleagues chose Jaguars, BMWs, Mercedes and other fine machinery to cross France and mount the Alps, I felt confident enough with my "budget" executive as I left Gatwick way back on March 1 and headed for the Channel Tunnel.

It may not have the feel of a Beamer, the style of XFR or the cache of a Merc, but I felt comfortable in my big front-drive Kia.

Let’s be honest. The Magentis, even with its dramatic new wide grille and 2009 updates, is never going to set any pulses racing. But neither is it a Mogadon special.

It’s an ideal and quiet cruiser that averaged 45mpg while I had it on test and that included a 300-mile round trip run to interview a motor trade contact – a target who turned out to be more impressed by this budget saloon than I had expected.

He sells all kinds of performance and luxury cars, but he summed up the Magentis like this.

"In a world where money’s getting tighter and we’re all buying sophisticated and expensive cars that we really do not need, it’s basic, sensible things like this Magentis that we need to take more seriously," he said.

His sage comment is in line with my own thoughts. Forget the badge, think of the package.

The bargain-basement Kia ran faultlessly to and from Switzerland and, if anything, performed even better, on its Highland break.

The boot is massive with a low sill and will swallow 425 litres. The rear seats split and fold, but here the story’s not so good.

Although there’s a ski slot, the car’s structure intervenes and restricts through-loading for bigger items. It also means there’s an awkward lip where the seatbacks fold that robs the car of its true cargo-carrying potential.

But thank goodness for unpretentious, relaxed basic transport like the Magentis that gets the job done with a minimum of fuss.

The car is not much of an inspired handler but, for all that, its soft springing made life comfortable and it took the twisty and narrow road from Kingussie to Roy Bridge in its stride. The front-wheel-drive hung on like a mountain goat and if there was any single thing I would have craved it would have been a more precise six-speed gearbox.

Noise levels are remarkably low, the CRDI unit’s power and torque delivery were perfectly adequate and when it came to space and luggage practicalities there was nothing to complain about.

Kia throws equipment at this car. Climate control, 17-inch alloys, six-speed transmission, foglamps, reversing sensors, part leather trim, electric driver’s seat adjustment, two heated front seats, four electric windows, cruise control, remote central locking and an RDS radio with six speakers and AUX and USB ports.

On top of that you get six airbags, electronic stability control, active headrests, powerful ABS brakes and a three-year unlimited mileage warranty.

That still leaves you with a dull three-box body shape and dashboard plastics that would feel at home in the 1980s Ford Cortina. But given the scope for discounting and the fact that the Magentis is an honest, low-rent five-seater with a big boot and a lusty two-litre turbodiesel, the car could well find some willing buyers.

For value, general reliability and space there is plenty in its favour. The 2009 makeover may be little more than a sop to style, but given the hard times in which we live there will be families who need space and basic dynamics, not to mention legions of taxi drivers, who will find the latest Magentis will fit the bill.

Would I have enjoyed my week any more in a Beamer or a Jag? Maybe. But the Magentis does its job well, is remarkably well screwed together and covered ground comfortably at a far lower cost per mile than just about anything else in its size.

Don’t turn your nose up at this large saloon because of its badge, its odd name or its bland styling – you’d be missing the point.

The Magentis is likely to prove itself by being outstandingly reliable, cheap to run and economical. It’s a little pricey to insure in Group 13, but the overall package means you are still left on the right side of a great bargain car.

This big Kia comes with a generous three-year/unlimited mileage warranty and only needs servicing every 12,500 miles

It may be a Cinderella saloon – but there’s a princess just under the skin.

Rating: 7.5/10

FINAL THOUGHT: The styling refresh has given Kia an opportunity to highlight the Magentis as a large, low-cost saloon. Unexciting, even bland, it is nevertheless a comfortable cruiser with an able two-litre turbodiesel engine that will average 45mpg overall. As a carry-all for five passengers and a lot of luggage it’s an ideal and well-assembled, cheap to buy and run four-door with lots of standard equipment thrown in to sweeten the deal. An ideal taxi.

Kia Magentis 2.0D six-speed manual

• Price: £17,295
• Capacity: 1991cc
• Power: 147bhp
• 0-62mph: 10.4 seconds
• Maximum speed: 124mph
• Economy: Combined 47.1mpg; Urban 36.2mpg
• CO2 emissions: 185g/km
• ESP: Standard
• Insurance: Group 13