Kia Pregio

Value for money – Bought new in 2003 with cargo barrier, power windows, central locking and air con. Non which failed. Stereo was garbage and sheet metal window blanks needed addressing for rust with in first couple of years covered by warranty. Slow to get going but lasted well over 520000ks. The only major service was the fuel pump otherwise very little ever went… Read more

wrong. These vehicles are so simple and easy to maintain. Serviced every 7500-10000kms. Got abit slack with the servicing at around the 250 mark but it still never missed a beat. Never even replaced the glow plugs water pump, clutch. Just filters, engine oil, the odd belt and bulb. Never dropped oil. Sold in 2016 due to starting to look abit ugly from dents and rear main oil seal was just starting to get damp but a pretty easy fix. Never stored under cover and the paint held up well. I think regular oil changes on a pregio will reward you with reliability. Our mechanics were impressed. Have bought two used ones since which are still in use today.

good work/camper van – bought one a few years ago for working in own business heaps of room and over 1 tonne carry load non turbo motor is bit slow going but if you drive it accordingly it'll pull loads all day, just give yourself time and room when pulling out into traffic lol. Is a bit noisy too as others have mentioned. Serviced mine every 4000k's / 4 months just to… Read more

be sure on keeping it going and thats what it did for me, kept on going. Servicing is cheap. Decked it out also for camping and it performed great as there is so much room in the back. Could fit 3.6m lengths of timber from rear to front no problems Mine had windows all round so easy to see out of and no rust issues there. Would've prefered rear disk brakes on something so large as the drums could be a little useless tbh and much of the breaking did go to front breaks so the couple of times I had to break hard it wasnt a satisfying experience, but that can be vans. Remote button for locking was a bit non responsive at times and the retracting seat belt setup sucked a little but value for money it was ideal. No airbag either and the indicator cutoff mechanisms can fail but got one secondhand ok. The reverse light was absolutely useless so I ended up hooking up an LED spotlight under the rear bumper connected to the existing reverse light, problem solved hehe. New KYB shocks on the front seemed to help the wheel alignment and boatie handling. Sold it 3 years later for same price I bought it for. Sweet. Fuel efficiency was around 9.2L/100k's, loaded with gear ( around 250kg including me ).

Great little Van – I bought my Van a few years ago and I would guess it has had a few different owners. The noise in the cab can be fixed by just putting gear behind the seat. Has given me no trouble and as it was a pretty cheap van it has been good value for money.I have traveled the state and further into some interesting camping spots without any problems. Had a… Read more

few electrical issues when I bought it but soon got them sorted. All in all, I love this little Van . Its great to drive, easy to park, fast enough and good mileage as its Diesel.

Weak panels – I purchased this LWB van for plastering ,painting for 5000$ from ex laser electrical in Hamilton on trademe ,as a diesel mechanical son my old man a diesel HD fitter said strong reliable motor .but valve train damn noisy ,doors no springs ,weak sheet metal ,large areas dent easily ,paint work crappy ,camber alwAys 1.8 % out always changing tyres over ,no reverse lights ,no aircon ,no turbo .a few lemon issues .  Show details

Bullet Proof Reliable Vans, but Loud to Drive, Slow and Gearbox is Sticky – Some history about this van: What Kia did with the Pregio is they licensed the technology for the drivetrain (engine, transmission) from Mitsubishi. So while the engine has a Kia stamp on it, it's actually a Mitsubishi diesel engine from the 80s! It produces 81hp so it's slow, but it has a lot of torque to pull you up the hills. The van is… Read more

bullet proof as long as you take care of them. They were cheaper than the Toyota Hiace, and it was a lot bigger than the Mitsubishi Express. It even came with the diesel engine and power steering as a free upgrade, so we set on it.

When we went out of business I bought one and still have, and it has over 550,000km now. The diesel engines will last forever. My mate bought one, never changed or filled the oil and ran it until it was dry, seizing the engine, but that's his fault.

The problems you can get with these vans are with the camber on the front suspension, and the friggin doors don't stay open on hills. Leave it up to Koreans to design a commercial van where the doors don't stay open! And what happens with the wheels is that they can go pigeon-toe'd and wear unevenly on the inside. The other problem is that they only have 81hp, people get frustrated with them being slow and drive the engine up to redline.

But this van is built like a little road train. Everything is loud: the engine is loud, the transmission is friggin loud, the gearbox is difficult and clunky. It's all tech out of an 80s commercial van, and that's exactly what you get. But they are solidly built and go forever if you just change the oil.

CANT COMPLAIN..GOOD LITTLE VAN – I'm the 2nd?3rd owner, its a campervan,now at 209,000Km,,easy to drive, good turning circle,only paid 7G 4 yrs ago 2013..its not a Ferrari up hills but Perth is quite flat. No probs yet, changed diff & gear oil ,& eng oil ev 10,000Km. city gets 9-10L/100k, country 7.5-8.5L/100k if you keep under 90kmh I put some soundproofing stuff over the… Read more

engine, & touch up any small rustspots..a tradie nearby has done 500Km in his van ! Inside front tyres wear down first, will swap with rear wheels later..cant do anything about the set camber.

Great strong no thrills Diesel – Having bought the van for $3000 a year ago I thought I had got a bargain, until I worked out that the seller had stuffed the engine with stop smoke, and the engine w only 160.000km was showing signs of blow by, I was devastated. I changed the oil to Valvoline Super Diesel, and now I get next to no smoke from the sump case. The engine is less noisy… Read more

and all is well, yes the van is a little rough and the previous owner didn't look after it, but I do, I change the oil every 7000km as I want this workhouse to go another 250000km and I don't push it past 100-105km/h (3000 rpm), just my personal believe. I run a mix of Diesel w waste vegetable oil and the engine runs fine. Love driving my noisy "truck" and have only had to change alternator (eBay $230 DIY) Auto electrician wanted $800+. Great workhorse w plenty of room, I have to get the drivers electric window fixed so it will open, and the heater, but the aircon works

Battery Hole – For the most part this Van is a dream to drive and handles really well, loud as its diesel and the engine is right under you. the battery cavity opening is too small to easily get the battery in and out, i suggest taking 10 minutes to remove the drivers seat from the car so you can access it easier and not destroy your clothes with battery acid... or tape the breather holes on the battery first cause you must angle the battery to get it in.  Show details

I love my van – I bought my preggio with 166,000 mm on the clock and are turning it into a camper to travel Australia. It runs beautifully. I had a full service done and the injected needed a little adjustment and it runs even better. You do sit very high in the driver seat and tall people will be looking through the blue tint in the windscreen. The door… Read more

won't stay open when you're trying to get in and the little step to get in. Is in an awkward spot. There is not a lot of room between legs and steering wheel.

But over all it's a great van and would recommend it :)

Great van – Had my 2004 pregio since new after 11 years and 580,000 K my van is going great. Sure u will fix the wear and tear items and the altinator isn't reliable as I've either repaired or replaced 8 in my time but after 580,000 I just replaced my first clutch. Very happy with it and am looking everywhere for another with low ks  Show details

9 years on – My first review of my van was not really fair to the vehicle as the problems were more to do with the dealer than the vehicle. Now I have owned this van for 9 years from new and after reading other reviews I felt I should say something more. Fuel economy has been brilliant, consistent and has not ripped the bottom out of my wallet. Mechanically it… Read more

has been rock solid. Tyre wear has not been a problem with all tyres being rotated regularly they wear evenly and give good service life, this may be a factor more to do with tyre manufacturer than the Kia Pregio as the initial set of tyres it came with were rubbish and all replaced at 13,000km after one catastrophic failure where the side wall of the tyre completely blew out. Since then I have only run Japanese TOYO tyres (recently learned no longer being made in the 8 ply though). I drive my van alternately with my Mazda BT50 - using the van when I do not need to go off good roads to get to fishing or fossicking spots, usually it is hooked to my trailer boat or loaded up with camping gear and the usual bits and pieces used to dig and sieve, not a maximum load but enough to make it work. The van handles it well and is extremely comfortable to drive long distances. I did install some extra sound proofing to the undersides of the engine access panels and around the front of the engine bay, cheap enough from ships chandlers such as Whitworths. This virtually eliminates the engine noise now if I could only reduce the noise of the air-conditioning fan LOL! Rear windows were fitted because the metal panels rusted away and left rust streaks down the body work, so that was one problem and I have just replaced the rear shock absorbers as they had become soft and all the rubbers had crumbled to powder, front struts still serviceable but not 100% so they will likely be the next maintenance step - had them tested and the mechanics said give them 6 months, but they were fine for the moment?

Otherwise I really cannot complain, the van served well when I was still working and using it for business, and it is still serving me well in retirement. In fact if I were to be realistic I would have to say that the Kia Pregio I have is worth a heck of a lot more to me now than it was when I bought it new, if I had to buy a new van now it would cost me double the price I paid for it. Great van at any price! BTW it now has almost 800k kilometres on the clock and still runs like a well oiled machine should - never even had to replace a light bulb.

decent van – I have owned a 2002 model for a year now and travelled 25000 km , which has brought it up to 235 000 km and have only replaced the clutch. Had full service history and no heavy loads so I know it has been looked after. I did only pay $3500 au dollars for it and it was money well spent . If you want a van that isn't going to give you problems all… Read more

the time buy a hi ace , and I know they are 3-5 grand more but that's for a reason. So if your electrics give problems or your sun visor is not what u want , next time spend $10000 more and get exactly what u want . I also know its not nice if stuff starts going seriously wrong with it but that's most lightly due to.someone not looking after it . I like my van , it drives alright , it is a non turbo diesel so.it is slow , but its fuel economic , will last along time if serviced regularly , gets my tools safe , and has so far been100 percent reliable . So if your in the market for 1 , get a mechanic to come with and look over it , should cost about $200 and just know it is a cheaper van for a reason and either u suck it up and put more money in or live with a window that once in a while doesn't open , seatbelts that are some what floppy , and I'm sure many other various faults , but all I can say to all , under no circumstances , driv through sand cause your gonna get bogged..... reliable if looked after. cheap with nice extras like powe windows , aircon , power steering. only what you want there to be.

Good – Pleasantly surprised at the car like ride and value for money. A bit noisy and thirsty at highway speeds, more at home around town. Feels very solid. Support from local Kia dealer has been very good. Cheap to buy, comfortable on the road, the sealed cabin area makes the heating/cooling much more effective and reduces noise although engine is quite… Read more

noisy. More awkward to get in & out of compared to similar vans. Have had some electrical problems and the brakes are DANGEROUS ! The immobiliser/keyless entry has a mind of it's own.

not bad for the cash – i bought mine with 120k on it and just clicked over 200k now they have a problem with the diffs going on them , don't buy a new one or 2nd hand they do the same thing just get the bearings replaced with japanese ones, cost me only $550 not $1280 for a new one , motors are bullet proof if you service them regularly , im a plumber and carry a fair… Read more ·  2

bit of weight and i get just over 600klm out of a tank thats 75ltr brakes are soft but they work fine, its not a toyota but they are cheap and for the $$$ they have a few issues but all cars do they are not a power house by all means, but the get you there and back the A/C are ice cold they do tub out front tyres on them but if you get your rear leafs re set with a extra sring that helps you front tyre life price, and the motors are bullet proof no real adjusment for front wheel allignment, drivers seat are made for koreans not Aussie's

Terrible – As an Electrician that is employed by a company that has a fleet of vans which include Kia Pregios and Mitsubishi Express' the Mitsubishi's are a far better van. The most worrying thing about Pregio's is apparently the camber angles of the front wheels can't be adjusted so the inside of front tyres get worn down to the wire while the outside of… Read more

the front tyres look new. I have seen this on alot of Pregios. Driving for over half an hour makes you feel like screaming to block out the Diesel chatter. Plenty of loading area, CD player, electric windows. Engine is awful, very noisy, gutless, camber angle of front wheels.

Bad – I have owned this vehicle for 4 year ( 160,000 plus kilometers ) and would not buy a diesel van again. I bought it new as a fleet vehicle and at the time was value for money against other branded van - about $9000.00 cheaper. It has good pulling power for city / urban delivery work of loads around 1 tonne but as mentioned sadly lacks consistency… Read more

in open highway conditions. The price of diesel in Australia has outstripped unleaded fuel and it is becoming an expensive exercise now to fill the 70ltr tank with diesel. good load space - tracks well and starts first time every time - returns about 100km for every 10 litres of fuel. Good forward visibility - turning circle small enough for most suburban streets. Keeps up with the traffic flow in city driving without to much effort especially on level road ways. Drivers door won't stay open by itself when getting into and out of the vehicle. Safety bars across load side of bulk head inhibits clear view of mirror mounted on rear hatch when reversing. At night reflection in internal window mounted in bulkhead limits view in rearview mirror (internal) vehicles own headlight beam reflects as mentioned as well as oncoming vehicles headlights. Vehicle is downright dangerous on open road at highway speeds when confronted with steep hills or even long gradual inclines as van at times will not maintain road speed even when dropping from overdrive to 4th gear. Danger is caused by following vehicles not realizing the van cannot travel at open road speed under these conditions even with throttle wide open. Brakes need fair amount of pressure to operate effectively but manufacturers handbook advises to use gear changes to augment safe stopping as required.

Poor quality components – Sun visor is impossible to use without completely blocking your vision of the road (and i'm an average size guy 175cm) Electrics all broken - heater unusable , fan broke , mode switch broke Awkward to get to parts to fix them Radiators corrode very easily Parts are expensive Carpets are low quality Had an sudden failure with the alternator ,… Read more

it was giving too much voltage to the battery.Sulphuric smell everywhere in the car , battery was part melted by the time i got to it.

Door handles break too easily

Seatbelts do not retract but hang floppy which is annoying when you try and close the doors

Seatbelt holders continually get in the way when you try and work on the car (putting the seats down required you to reach over and make sure the holder is out of the way)

And worst of all : no workshop manual.Thats right they never released a workshop manual for this vehicle.Go on try and find one , you won't.

All in all a total lemon , avoid avoid avoid.

Bad – Cheap for a reason, not really great value when you consider how much fuel it uses. Bad build quality, and electricals are a joke. Just try to get that bloody keyless entry to behave in a normal way!! Cheap and good comfortable ride How the hell do you change a headlight globe!!!Keyless entry works when it feels like itCabin window reflection is… Read more

terrible and dangerousBrakes WAY too spongyBloody door-open gong annoyingPassenger seat angle non adjustableRadio/CD player pathetic (CD's constantly jump)Uses too much fuel for a dieselTerrible tyre wearExtremely noisy engineMOST OF ALL : It seems you have to disassemble the entire front end just to change a headlight globe! Does anyone know how to do this?

Excellent – I would have no hesitation in highly recommending this vehicle 2005 model Kia Pregio too any tradesman,who requires a real hard working horse,reliablity and comfort,its a real shame they stopped making them,get back to that drawing board Kia, ill be back for your next new van,thanks Mark Hi there,look as a courier driver, i have found this vehicle… Read more

to be one of the most hard working machines i have ever worked with,mechanically my van has been bullett proof,comfortable to be in all day,good strong gearbox,excellent suspension,great turning circle,power steering is a breeze for ready tight parking,love the air con and totally enclosed cab area, has really good loading space,good strong tradesman vehicle. passagers seat is non adjustable,tilt.side door doesnt have a lock in position device to keep it open if you are on a slight grade, thats it

OK – If there was no cons like what i mentioned up above it will be a great van. They don't make them any more i think there working on a replacement modal i can't wait to see that. I drive one for work campany van. If i was in the market for a van i would consider buying one. Its got electric windows, cd player nd a couple of nice finishing… Read more

touches. I Love the bulkhead (the wall that seperates the copit to the cargo) its a good idea not meny other vans have em that i know of. I don't like the look of the previous model but with the same body with a face lift and new tail lights it made it into one of the best looking vans in my opinon. I would love to see one that has had work done to it like fancy panit and chrome mags etc. It lacks in simple features like air bags, electric mirrors, no rear brack light besides tail lights, no way to block the aircon vents and thats all i can think of. Its very noisy to drive because its diessel. The door mirrors don't adjust to where i want them. The bracks aren't to good. Its slow but that proberly because its a van. Features aren't at your finger tip like you have to reach over to change radio stations the power soures or cigeret light is righ under the dash had to find. The panels are pretty flimmsy. I don't think they sold that well.

OK – I had noticed a very annoying "rattle" right on 2,000 rpm - it seemed to come from the region behind the glove box. So I asked the people at the Kia dealership where I bought the vehicle (brand new) - they could not locate it (I wonder if they even tried) - so I drove around with this rotten rattle driving me crazy - I enlisted numerous people to… Read more

sit in the passenger seat and try to pinpoint the rattle - everyone agreed that it was coming from behind the glove/map compartment. Eventually I could no longer stand it (the 2,000 rpm coincides with the 60 kph road speed in 4th gear - so you can imagine how persistent it was in city/suburban driving)- I made up my mind to remove the dashboard to find this pesky thing - armed with tools I started the engine and screwed the hand throttle up until the engine was running at 2,000 rpm - there was the rattle and I went to the passenger side - opened the door and prepared to attack the thing - but as I lent in to get at the first screws I noticed the sound was not coming from behind the dash but lower down - then I investigated the underbody around the air cleaner cannister - finally I placed my hand on the cannister and the rattle stopped - ahah I thought - the dang thing must be loose - but a check showed it was all secure and solid. Then I ran my hand over the top of the cannister - nestled in the indentation on top was a chunk of rock approx. 30mm square! I removed it and that was the end of the rattle. Was that rock deliberately placed there by some person with a warped sense of humour? It was there from the minute I drove the vehicle out of the dealership and not discovered in the three returns to the dealership to complain about it. But there is an even more serious side to this - while examining the air cleaner cannister I found that the air intake hose had rubbed through from contact with the body work - directly allowing grass and large quantities of dust to be sucked into the air cleaner. Thankfully it was not on the engine side of the cannister. So anyone with a rattle at 2,000 rpm - check to see if there is a rock on top of your air cleaner cannister.

Something else that had bothered me was a constant feeling like I had a flat (or under inflated) tyre - many times I stopped and walked around the vehicle only to find all tyres were at correct pressure. Then on a trip one of the rear tyres literally exploded - the vehicle was not over-loaded and speeds were well under excessive. No apparent reason for this almost new tyre to explode - no rocks or sticks - it just went BANG!.

At the next town I bought a new tyre - the dealer did not have the same brand/type as the ones on the van so rather than drive around with unmatched tyres I decided to buy a complete new set even though the factory fitted KUHMO tyres had only done around 22,000 km.

All I can say is that some things happen for a reason - since I changed the tyres to a different brand (the new ones are manufactured in Japan) the vehicle rides so much better and no longer gives the impression that there is a flat tyre.

My initial feeling about the Pregio has changed markedly since I found the rotten rattle and fitted the different tyres - maybe it deserves more than the low score I was going to give. Agree with most if not all comments and need to add to some

Kia Pregio Van – Re March 16th post, wow!, detailed and most complete posting, best ever! BUT.... s/he missed a few things :... MORE POOR-DESIGN BAD THINGS No left-foot rest No buzzer-warning for headlights left on Rear door gas-struts leak oil [they are upside down too] Radios fail in them [common problem, mines been ok though] Seat belts retract lose… Read more

tension to rewind

Drafts on your feet, getting in somewhere

No first aid or warning triangle supplied [Should be for ALL vehicles by law]

When using the drink-holder you cannot change HVAC controls [blocked]

Should have a pen holder [simple drill hole is all is required]

Cannot lock [child proof style] passenger window up/down botton

REC air does not work unless u use the A/C

Centre seat has no shape to it [just flat]

Paint is poor quality, rust-spotting is forming already

Cannot close dash air vents

No MP3 friendly radio

No adjustment of dashlights brigthess

Top of fuel Diesel gun hits onto top of filler slot body  [cannot get nozzle all the way in]

Dealers don't keep spare-parts in stock

If parking with tyres cocked to right makes exit difficult [u hit it]

Hard & bad to get in/out of

Needs "captains-chair" ie LHS arm-rest

Radio backlight is not bright enough

Seeping of fluids/oil/liquid? underneath [to be investigated]

Non key lockable glovebox

Head rest does not go high enough

No rear floor tie-down points

Requires rear mounted 12volt cig. lighter socket

Radio speakers not loud enough [because of noise inside] Fair for price But to many negatives

OK – I like the van i would buy one again,but the service needs to improve 100% the dealer at mornington and frankston dont care you can call twice on the same day and get a diffrent price each time.I feel like they are ripping me off. I have had the van for a year and have done 72000 ks its nice to drive and have had no real problems. front right tyre… Read more

wears to quick,radio jumps stations,ball joints broke after 40000ks,brakes are very bad to soft.but the pads last a long time.the service centre i go to are really bad forget to book you in the cost is excessive upto 500 dollars every 7500ks needs thicker carpet on drivers side, mines worn off to the metal.

OK – Overall this Van is a you get what you paid for and since your only paying $24k or so for it your only going to get the basics. The Kia Pregio leaves much to be desired, for the price this Van is a bare basics commercial van, as always you pay for what you get, and since this van is nearly $10k cheaper than any of it's competitors your going to… Read more

get a van that has $10k's worth of stuff missing out of it. I think this van is great for the cost of a brand new van, we haven't had any probs with loading it up with tons of cable. Low quality and very bare basics but all in all great value for money. The middle seat could have been designed much better with no real additional costs

Terrible – If you dont have enough money for a new mazda,ford or toyota then keep saving cause the disapointment of this van far out wieghs the savings in cost and all the fruit eg. electrics are just smoke and mirrors to make you think your getting value for money.... dont buy one - absolute LEMON! nothing really except the price. the windscreen is too low… Read more

obstructs your view. brakes are way to soft. engine noise is very high for a diesel. if you have the fan turned on for the heater when you start the van the aircon comes on by its self. carpet/felt floor not good for a commericial vehicle hard to keep clean and is starting to wear after only 14000kms. cargo panel window reflects especially at night. needs more power its very gutless. the fuel consumption has increased by 23% since new on city/hwy driving. exhuast has started to rattle. steering wheel squeels. no factory fitted floor mats are available and you can only turn on the cargo area lights from the cab. I WANT MY FORD ECONOVAN BACK!!!!!!