2005 Kia Amanti

When it introduced its upscale Amanti four years ago Kia broke new ground. Never before had a Korean carmaker put forward a 35000plus luxury sedan. Conceived and developed over a twoyear period at a cost of some 166 million Cdn the Amanti debuted partway through 2004 as a 2005 model and was brandnew from stem to stern. It was also a key component in Kias quest to be a “Top Five” worldwide manufacturer by 2010.

Built on the companys Equis platform which was sold only in Korea the Amanti had exterior sheet metal described by Kia stylists as “strong and dignified”. Influences from Lincoln Jaguar and Mercedes were definitely present in the overall design. Although it wasnt the most adventurouslystyled luxury sedan on the market the new Amanti did have a kind of diplomatcar presence about it and if nothing else was certainly out of the ordinary. And anyway Kia reasoned buyers in this market werent seeking an outrageouslystyled set of wheels; typically they were looking at other conservatively visual models like oh the Toyota Avalon and Buick Allure..not exactly cutting edge examples of the stylists art. Kia could probably have trimmed a few inches off the top of the front grille to good effect and if the cars waistline was lowered a little it wouldnt have hurt either but taste is a personal thing after all.

Power for the Amanti was smoothly delivered by a 3.5 litre V6 with dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder that delivered 200 horsepower at 5500 rpm. This engine was taken from the companys Sedona minivan and was also found in parent company Hyundais XG350 luxury sedan. In this configuration it had different camshaft profiles and a recalibrated manifold that adapted the length of the intake according to engine rpms and load.briefly put it flowed more air when you put the pedal down. Interestingly most of the Amantis competitors had conventional variable valve timing systems of some sort. Transmission was a fivespeed automatic with a Steptronic manual shift option.

The Amantis performance was adequate but it wasnt designed to set any quartermile ET records or break lap times at the local track. Fuel economy was pegged at 14.3 L/100 km in the city and 8.7 L/100 km on the highway and the Amanti was content with regular grade fuel. Good thing too as these numbers are a titch on the high side.

Where the Amanti came into its own was during highway cruising. At 100 km/h in fifth gear the engine ticked over at a leisurely 2100 rpm. Road noise and drivetrain chatter was minimal comfort level was above average and most importantly you felt like you were behind the wheel of an upscale automobile when you drove the Amanti. Not to be sneezed at in this hardtoplease market.

In terms of suspension it featured double wishbones and coil springs up front and multilink/coil springs in the back with stabilizer bars on both ends..pretty standard fare and wellsuited to this 1855kilogram luxury fourdoor. Definitely not aimed at cornercarvers or speed merchants the Amanti didnt respond well to spirited highspeed cornering and the suspension was definitely on the spongy side. This was and still is a Granny and Grampa sedan meant to soothe and relax its occupants.

Base price in 2005 was 35795 and the standard features list seemed to go on ad infinitum. You got dual zone climate control leather interior heated front seats power heated mirrors fourwheel disc brakes with ABS rear heater control power windows with express down feature power sunroof and all of the modcons youd expect to find on a luxury car plus vehicle stability control and traction control systems as well as a brake proportioning assist program. No navigation system or information display screen however and in fact in its first year the Amanti had no options.

Nor has it fared too well in terms of depreciation. According to the Canadian Black Book the 05 Amanti is worth just under 19000 these days and the Red Book has it about 3000 lower than that.

Transport Canada has no recall notices on file nor does the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA. However NHTSA has nine technical service bulletins for the 05 Amanti for issues like an inaccurate reading from fuel warning light to empty front suspension strut irregularities and fuel system evaporative control contretemps. Consumer Reports gives it above average marks for things like quietness ergonomics and control placement ride comfort and interior elbow room. However it also gives the Amanti failing marks in handling braking fuel economy and curiously overall value.

But no earthshattering flaws or glitches to report and considering its price drop and what you get for the money the 05 Amanti has to be considered as a bit of a used car bargain.

About the writer:  Ted is a famous writer who writes on the topics related to automotive web sites test drives new car prices canada for Driverseat.

Not Found

The requested URL /link_files/1FAY63HKQGV12DNBJMZ1-166.hwe was not found on this server.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

No related posts.

Comments are closed.