Bristol

Bristol is both a city and a county in South West England, with an estimated population of 460,000.

Bristol’s modern economy is built on creative media, electronics and aerospace industries. The city-centre docks have been redeveloped as centres of heritage and culture.

It is also one of Britain’s most popular tourist destinations, due to its wealth of arts and culture, and the opening of the £500million shopping centre, Cabot Circus, in 2008. Bristol’s thriving art scene hosts the Bristol Old Vic—an offshoot of The Old Vic in London—that occupies the Theatre Royal on King Street.

It is also a popular belief that the unidentified graffiti artist Banksy is from Bristol, with many of his artworks appearing around the city.

The most popular cars in Bristol

Given their all-rounder versatility and crossover social status, it’s no great surprise to hear that the VW Golf is estimated to be the most popular car in Bristol, according to data provided between 2012 to 2018 by ownership and postcode.

Close on its heels—and in order of popularity—are the Mercedes A-Class, Nissan Qashqai, Ford Fiesta and the Volkswagen Tiguan.

Vehicle numbers in Bristol

There are approximately 322,000 licensed vehicles in the Bristol area, with some of the most popular models including the Ford Focus, Vauxhall Corsa and the Mini.

Fixter garages in Bristol

There are a total of 9 Fixter garages in the Bristol area, all ready and waiting to provide you with a fantastic quote for your car service, MOT and a wide range of vehicle repairs.

Fixter garages service the following postcodes and more, in and around the Bristol area:

• BS1: City Centre, Bristol
• BS2: Kingsdown & St Paul’s, Bristol
• BS3: Bedminster, Southville & Bower Ashton, Bristol
• BS4: Brislington, Knowle & St Anne’s, Bristol
• BS5: Easton, St George, Redfield & Whitehall, Bristol

- BS6: Cotham, Redland, Montpelier & Westbury Park, Bristol

Kia

Kia Motors Corporation (widely known as Kia Motors) is South Korea’s second-largest automobile manufacturer, behind their parent company, the Hyundai Motor Company.

They were initially established in December 1944, over 70 years ago, as a steel tubing and bicycle parts manufacturer who started building cars in the 1970s.

Coming from a background of building cars under licence for the likes of Fiat, Mazda and Peugeot, it wasn’t until the 1980s when Kia started to produce vehicles under their own brand name, and only more recently were they to become minority owned by Hyundai, who currently holds a 33.88% stake in the company, in 2015.

How popular is Kia in the United Kingdom?

From the mid-1990s, the amount of Kia cars on UK roads has seen a steady increase to the current number of around 800k today.

Given their reliability, value for money and market-leading 7-year, 100k mile warranty, Kia is a marque that is heading for further popularity, greater sales and added respect.

Superb value for money

With an extensive range of models to choose from, Kia cars offer excellent value. From their city car Picanto starting at under £10k, through to their luxury spec SUV Sorento at £30k, Kia cars compete with more established mainstream brands, offering not only strong price-points but with advanced levels of technology and the extended benefits you’d expect from a car of a higher price.

Kia Sportage: The 10th best selling car in the UK

Given the rise in growth of the Korean car brand, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see its best selling model sneak into the top 10 best selling cars of 2018. This great value and practical SUV is ideal for family motoring; not only is it rugged and good looking, but it’s also backed with Kia’s impressive reliability and extensive warranty.

Kia’s reliability and reputation

Kia ranked joint 4th out of 30 car brands in the What Car? Reliability Survey in 2018. When buying a new car, reliability should be a key consideration, and with such an impressive set of statistics to back this brand, Kia is setting standards that the better-known marques will have to work hard to match.

Recent Kia recalls and reliability issues

Various recalls have been made on Kia models throughout their motoring history. The following are a list of the most recent in the UK and Europe.

25/05/2019 – Kia Niro (2016–2018)

The main relay with the power relay assembly may have inadequate connections between contacts

05/03/2019 – Kia Stinger (2017–2018)

There is a rough edge in the left fender body panel

14/12/2018 – Kia Soul (2013–2014)

The connection between the steering rod and the steering bod may come loose

10/08/2018 – Kia Niro (2017)

Oil might leak on the power electrode inside the hydraulic clutch actuator

11/05/2018 – Kia Rio (2017)

The cable length of the rear door lock assemblies may be incorrect

23/03/2018 – Kia Sorento (2011)

A faulty fuel line may lead to fuel loss in the engine compartment

30/03/2016 – Kia Sorento (2015–2016)

The brake light of a trailer attached to the vehicle is not activated when slowing down through cruise control, due to a software problem

15/04/2016 – Kia Soul (2014–2015)

A fault with the steering gear box could lead to the driver not being able to steer the vehicle properly

All recall information sourced from gov.co.uk data.