Test drive Kia Shuma 2001 - 2004 sedan

Talking name

I finally realized that all attempts to beat the name of the car will lead to a creative crisis before I have time to come up with a title. Shuma, the noise to portray such a thing so as not to be too banal, but at the same time exactly and sharply?

And in that direction I am moving at all? After all, the almost Russian name of this Korean machine is not at all its brightest feature. Kia Shuma II deserves attention not only because of its name. This car also has a modern appearance, a frisky engine and a comfortable salon, but about everything in order.

Not far from my house is a university hostel with a motley international living in it. And, watching the inhabitants of this student hive, I drew attention to how Korean youth dresses: their outfits may look somewhat catchy, but at the same time neatly, stylish and apparently comfortable. Shuma is just such a student who wants to look fashionable and not get lost in a crowd of classmates who came from other countries. This one will not be lost! The design of the car is emphasized: slightly frowning headlights with double optical elements rest on the wide nose of the radiator grate, formed by oblique substetricians on the hood. Appearing at the front bumper and climbing the sloping hood, the swift line runs through the windshield and then the roof falls on a heavily tilted fifth door, jumping back onto the road. The car moves without even moving!

Inside, the car is more boring than outside, but it is not worth it to regret it: despite the general grayness and a modest environment, the car’s interior is able to cause sullenic nit -dodgy rather than constructive criticism. New solutions are zero, but there is a successful rethinking of the old. Not a fake under, but a rethinking: let everything be no worse than others.

And really no worse! The driver’s landing after the minimum adjustment of the chair is optimal for himself. The steering wheel, albeit harsh, is quite convenient, you can only regret the absence of longitudinal adjustment of the steering column. The pedal node, it seemed to me, is a little shifted to the left, but, as it always happens, you get used to an unfamiliar location of the pedals after the first few traffic lights.

The back row is surrounded by a large amount of free space spacious to both legs and the heads of passengers. If, in addition to the driver and his neighbor on the right, there is no one else in the car, then in favor of the trunk you can donate the rear sofa, he is laid out in a 2: 1 proportion.
The noise engine is very energetic, but the transmission with long -playing gears cools its ardor, forcing for a long time to linger at each stage. But, as is often enough, the good moments of the engine allow a long ride in their favorite programs: at the disposal of the driver there is always a tangible supply of traction. And although the accelerated dynamics of the machine, of course, does not affect the imagination, Shuma is perceived as a rather lively car with an active life position. Positive in general the picture is overshadowed only by noticeable vibrations on the lever of the box.

Like most of its compatriots, the car will find complete understanding with a person, for whom confidence and calmness is more important than short -term adrenaline fever, the more so on public roads. Shuma will not provoke, will not surprise and fail. The machine has transparent steering control, but only in the near -Stolium zone. Then, when turning the steering wheel to a larger angle, the reactions are losing clarity, rolls appear from nowhere, but the machine still follows the intended trajectory. Moreover, KIA refers to those cars that in corners effectively steer not only by the bagel, but also with gas.

Speaking about the few shortcomings inherent in noise, you should always keep in your head its cost: in the basic configuration, the price of a car is about $ 11,000. True, by the modesty of the equipment, such shuma almost rival the list of standard equipment with domestic vases is limited to steering hydraulic control, immobilizer and audio training. But, on the other hand, the Korean guarantee (5 years or 120 thousand kilometers of mileage), and most importantly, a bright dynamic appearance, will certainly include. And for some reason, for some reason, the words of a noise-moss are spinning all the time. But this is definitely not about the noise.
Text: Kirill Brevdo
Photo: Roman Ostanin
 
 
   
 

Source: Wheel magazine [No. 69/2003]