Great Wall Haval H5

Kia had had to work on their shifters for a long while, too, and many still find them unacceptable. I owned a 1999 Kia Sephia sedan and a 2001 Kia Sportage 4X4 and both had 5-speed standard transmissions. I found them both acceptable, though.

micodelija is right, how you drive, how you maintain and stay aware of your rig and what it needs is very, very important. I mean, sometimes you're just struck by a untimely recall or a technical service bulletin, but refinement takes time, and, like I said, some still don't feel like their shifters on their '12 Kia's are smooth enough. A poster on a Kia blogsite I go to all the time just bought a 2012 Kia Rio hatchback with a 5-speed and he said his 2011 Ford Fiesta shifts smoother than the new Rio. So there ya go. They may never get it right.

But what I'm saying is I still loved both my '99 Kia Sephia and my '01 Kia Sportage 4X4. I took good care of them and they treated me right. They were built with solid powertrains and the build quality of the interior was forthright...it held up to my dog's abuse and daily grind of carrying things, never a tear anywhere. Loved my Kia's!

Great Wall and Hover will get better with time but I'll bet they're pretty close to decent right now, though. I'm just sayin'.