Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, located north of the Cheshire Plain and south and west of the Pennines, with an estimated population of 545,000.

Manchester is a popular cultural centre, with performing arts and live music venues that include the Palace Theatre, Manchester Opera House, the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester Arena and Manchester Academy.

Manchester has provided iconic bands such as The Smiths, Joy Division, The Verve, M People and The 1975, and in the height of the 1980s the ‘Madchester’ scene gave us The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets and James.

Canal Street has been the home for an LGBTQ+ community since 1940, with bars and clubs attracting around 20k visitors each weekend, and the Manchester Pride festival is celebrated every August.

It wouldn’t be fair to talk about Manchester without mentioning the city’s football rivalry: you’re either blue or you’re red, City or United—with both teams holding an extensive list of silverware and titles.

The most popular cars in Manchester

The Mercedes A-Class is estimated to be the most popular car in Manchester, according to data provided between 2012 to 2018 by ownership and postcode.

Close on its heels—and in order of popularity—are the Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Polo, Mercedes C-Class Saloon and Nissan Qashqai.

Vehicle numbers in Manchester

There are approximately 218,000 licensed vehicles in Manchester, with some of the most popular models including the Mini, Ford Kuga and the Kia Sportage.

Find a Fixter garage in Manchester today

There are a total of 38 Fixter garages in the Manchester 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 Manchester area:

• M1 & M2: City Centre, Deansgate, Castlefield & Piccadilly, Manchester
• M4: Ancoats, Northern Quarter & Strangeways, Manchester
• M8: Crumpsall & Cheetham Hill, Manchester
• M9: Harpurhey & Blackley, Manchester
• M11: Clayton, Openshaw & Beswick, Manchester
• M12: Ardwick, Longsight & Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester

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.