Kia Mentor (1994 - 2001)
BY JONATHAN CROUCH
The Escort-sized Mentor saloon was the second model to be launched by the South Korean company in the UK back in 1994. The first had been the little Pride (a rehashed Mazda 121 from the 1980s). For this car, they'd used the same approach, borrowing the fundamentals from the larger Mazda 323 but mixing them up with a little handling help from Lotus. The idea was to show that the company meant business in the global market but too often, the Mentor was forgotten by UK customers in the small family sector. Still, it makes an affordable and reliable used buy if you're not worried about badge prestige or driving excitement. Worth considering if all you want is to get from A to B as efficiently as possible.
Inside, theres a surprising amount of space - far more in the rear than a BMW 3 series for example. Better still, there are plenty of standard fittings to offer the impression that youre in a far more expensive car. The GLX models for example, get powered windows all-round central locking, electric mirrors, tilt-adjustable steering and a four-speaker stereo.
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The 4-door 1.5-litre cars cost between £1,600 and £1,800 in SLX form on P and R-plates. The Mentor II was introduced in June 1999 and starts from £2,100 in 4-door S form with SX derivatives reaching £2,400 on 2001 X-plates. Pay £500 more for the automatic.
Not much goes wrong but a full service history is important.
(based on a 1.5S approx) Front and rear brake pads are around £35 per set each, a radiator is around £150, a starter motor around £120 and an alternator around £250. A replacement headlamp is about £80.
On the road, its very evident that the Mentor is designed for those wanting to get from A to B as comfortably as possible, rather than driving enthusiasts. To be fair, it's only when you begin to push it a great deal harder than most owners will want to that any deficiencies begin to show through. Having said that, the car is predictable, safe and easy to drive. For the kind of money you`re paying, theres not very much wrong with the ride quality or refinement either. Plus, the Japanese 1.6 and 1.5-litre powerplants are willing enough, the 1.
6 making rest to sixty in 11.8 seconds on the way to a maximum speed of 107mph. Probably thats about as much as potential buyers will probably want to know about the dynamics of the vehicle. Of far more interest will be the fuel consumption figures, which should see you averaging around 30mpg around town and 40-45mpg on the open road.
The Mentor has about as much enthusiast appeal as a domestic appliance - but that's not the point. Since it's reliable, cheap to run and costs about £1,500 less model-for-model than the equivalent Mazda 323 on which it's based, this car makes a sound used buy.
