Cheap and ... luxurious: Kia Clarus

We all love Korean cars for their bright design, excellent quality and rich electronic "stuffing". The undisputed leader of the Korean automotive industry is Kia. Now this car manufacturer is able to compete with such brands as Audi or Ford. But what were the Kia models before?

A very interesting page in the history of the company was the car Kia Clarus (in Korea - Credos). The car was produced at the border of two centuries. It is worth noting that the model has achieved incredible success and has become one of the most successful developments of Koreans for many years.

For the first time Kia Clarus was introduced in 1996. The car was positioned as a middle-class sedan. The interior design and flowing lines of the hull gave the impression of a premium car. Nevertheless, it was enough to touch the cheap materials of interior trim, and this impression disappeared. Strangely enough, but this is what the sedan bribed. It looked expensive, and the price was quite acceptable. At the same time, the quality of technical units remained at a high level. And more than an ordinary car owner and do not need.

Kia Clarus was developed jointly with specialists from Mazda. Therefore many features of the car were adopted from the "Mazda" model 626. And the engines that were equipped with Clarus, were similar to the power plants Mazda 626.

Specifications

There were models with engines in volume of 1,8 and 2 liters. Their capacity is 116 and 133 liters. from. respectively. These engines were offered 2 types of transmission: a 5-speed "mechanics" or an electronic 4-speed automatic transmission. The car can be called "gluttonous" - for 100 km it "eats" more than 10 liters of gasoline. The maximum speed is about 215 km / h.

The suspension was designed perfectly. It was rather rigid, but at the same time it remained comfortable. In addition, the shock absorbers could boast of great endurance.

Interior

The interior of the car creates the illusion of luxury, although there is nothing special about it. Finishing materials are the simplest and cheapest. Nevertheless, everything is done neatly and without excessive force, which can not but rejoice. The salon is spacious enough. And in the back seat and at all you can feel yourself, as on a home couch.

On the instrument panel everything is located quite conveniently and clearly.

Another plus was the trunk of Kia Clarus. The owners' responses are often met at motoring forums, and in each of them there will be a mention of the huge luggage compartment. The volume is really considerable - 425/765 liters.

Restyling

In 1998, it was decided to refresh the exterior of "Clarus": changed the design of the body, lighting equipment, increased the size. And the station wagon appeared. Five and seven-seat variants were available. This model was called Kia Clarus Kombi. The technical equipment remains the same.

Equipment

In 2000, it was possible to buy a Clarus sedan for only $ 13,650. For this money, the buyer received power steering, power windows, airbag, central locking, air conditioning and an audio system with four speakers.

The cheapest station wagon cost 15,000 dollars. True, there were already 2 airbags, ABS and a roof rack (arc).

The most expensive station wagon cost slightly more than 17 000 dollars. The kit included automatic transmission, alloy wheels, a 2-liter engine and other "bells and whistles."

End of the "Clarus" era

Despite the success of the model, the company "Kia" decided to remove the car from production, and the successor to Kia Clarus 2000 was Kia Magentis. The new sedan was already created on the Hyundai Sonata platform . In 2010, the model was again renamed, now it bears the name Kia Optima.