Buying your first car is an exciting moment. It's the ticket to your freedom, an opportunity to be the master of your own destiny and destination. This landmark moment only comes by once in your life, so you'll be wanting to make the most of it. Selecting the right car for the experience is nearly as important as the occasion itself.
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Naturally, you wouldn't want to climb into a car that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, something that sours the memories and dilutes the experience. Getting the most from your first car can be a little tricky. If you're buying new you'll be enamoured with that new car smell and have the peace of mind of a warranty and maintenance plan. If you're buying used you may be getting more car for your money, but there's always the unknowns.
What should you be looking for in a first car?
Matching a car to your lifestyle is probably the best way to extract the most enjoyment from it. If you're a keen adventurer, something with space and some ground clearance and maybe even 4x4 will be ideal for you. If you're without kids, you could get away with a sporty coupe or a snazzy sports car.
Many first-time car owners will have less experience than others, and that's ok, we all started somewhere. It's just as important that you match a car to this as it is to your lifestyle. While the sporty car sounds great it will hinder your driving experience somewhat and possibly even make you more likely to have an accident.
First-time car buyers and owners should be looking for something with a little more ground clearance, a raised driving position to help you see the road better, and easy to use controls. Safety is also crucial. You'll want something that offers respectable safety features to safeguard you (or your loved one) when travelling.
You will want something that has relatively low runnings costs. Too often a first-time car owner underestimates how expensive owning a car really is. This ranges from fuel consumption to services and repairs. Let's not forget about insurance - you'll want that. A car that is cheaper to maintain is also going to be cheaper to insure.
Are KIAs good first cars?
Picanto
Many first-time car buyers will gravitate towards the compact KIA Picanto for their first car. This affordable and cheerful little runabout has all the right features to make it a great little first car. Light on fuel, the Picanto is claimed to return a combined fuel consumption figure of 5.0 l/100km whether you choose the 1.0-litre engine or the 1.2-litre option. Its compact size means that negotiating traffic and congested areas is that much easier.
Picantos come with ABS and EBD and have two airbags across the range. Higher-end models have automatic headlights and fog lamps but all versions get ISOFIX mountings for child seats. Spend a little more on the higher trim levels and you get access to KIA's ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) which includes blind-spot warning, forward collision avoidance, lane keep assist and driver attention warning amongst others.
All Picantos, except Start trims, are fitted with an 8-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so that distractions can be limited and navigation can be used in the car.
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Rio
Stepping it up a notch, the KIA Rio is a slightly larger offering that provides additional space and more in the way of features. It remains a compact vehicle, easy to drive and park. If you choose the 1.2-litre engine version you can look at getting 5.7 l/100km while the 1.4-litre engine isn't far off, based on the manufacturer claims, with a fuel consumption of 5.8 l/100km.
Al models have ABS and EBD and 2 airbags. Tec versions get additional side and curtain airbags as well. Auto lights are available from the entry-spec model and higher-spec models get fog lamps in addition. ESC (stability control) and hill start assist are available on LX grade and up.
An 8-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is standard across all models and they all get multifunction steering wheels for added convenience.
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Sonet
If you're looking for something a little more versatile, then the KIA Sonet is for you. This compact crossover is proving to be popular and we can see why. This very agreeable offering gives you a large boot with 392-litre of space and lovely creature comforts. Available with a 1.5-litre engine, the Sonet is claimed to return fuel consumption figures of as low as 7.0 l/100km for the manual version and 7.2 l/100km for the automatic.
Safety isn't a concern here either as the Sonet comes with ABS, EBD, ESC, Hill Start and 2 airbags. Park distance warning is found on the EX models and a reverse camera will help you see behind you when reversing on both LX and EX trims.
It's an 8-inch colour touchscreen that does infotainment duties in the Sonet on both trims and this is bundled with Apple CarPlay and Android auto for safer mobile use while driving.
KIA Sonet 1.5 EX Auto (2021) review - affordable motoring has never looked this good!
Seltos
The Seltos is a further step up from the Sonet, offering even more space than you get with the others. The Sletos offers you a boot with 433-litres of space and a ground clearance of 190 mm. While it's not offered with AWD or 4x4, there's still enough clearance there to take to all sorts of amazing places.
The Seltos will give you 6 airbags across the range as well as ABS with EBD, ESC and Hill Hold on EX+ and GT-Line derivatives, parking sensors at the rear and a reverse camera across the range.
You get to choose from a 1.6-litre petrol, 1.5-litre turbodiesel or a 1.4-turbo in the GT-Line version. Fuel consumption is claimed to be as low as 6.9 on the 1.6 petrol, 5.1 on the 1.5-litre diesel, and 6.3 l/100km on the 1.4T GT-Line model.
All versions get a comprehensive 8-inch colour touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
KIA Seltos EX+ (2020) review - Big Car Feel, Small Car Money
Verdict
We've only listed a few of the models on offer from KIA but these are the ones we would recommend looking at if you're in the market for a first car. Naturally, your budget will dictate how much you can spend and how high up this ladder you're able to go but all of these models will do the job admirably.
While the AA Kinsey report doesn't list KIA as being the most cost-effective to maintain, service and consumables are respectably priced and readily available should you run into any problems.
