Kia edges up some UK prices

Kia is adjusting some of its prices upwards by three to four per cent with effect from the beginning of April. Some of the company's more recent models, the Sorento, the Venga and the Soul, are excluded from the rise, which the company is attributing to increased production and shipping costs, as well as currency movements. Kia's UK cars are produced either in the company's home market, Korea or at its new state-of-the-art plant at Zilina in Slovakia.

The starting price for the Sportage 4x4, which is soon to be replaced, had one of the bigger increases, from £15,210 to £15,995, establishing a higher base for pricing of the handsome next-generation version when that arrives in the UK.

On the other hand, the capable Kia cee'd 5-door will rise in price from £12,150 to a still keen £12,595; that means it will continue to be several thousand pounds cheaper than big-selling rivals such as the Vauxhall Astra and Ford Focus.