I HEARD A SHUMA (some text hidden) --NONE--

BY ANDY ENRIGHT

Introductionword count: 115

If value counts for everything and getting a lot of metal for your money is a priority, it's difficult to do much better than a South East Asian car. Of the three major brands, Kia are probably the most affordable. The company has been making ever more sophisticated cars of late but the Shuma II isn't one of them. Still, if you like to keep things simple, the Shuma offers no nonsense transportation. Pick up an example that's a couple of years old and you'll have overcome the steepest part of the depreciation curve and your motoring will be so cheap you won't care that it doesn't wear a more illustrious badge on its bonnet.

Modelsword count: 15

Models Covered: (5 dr hatchback 1.6, 1.8 litre petrol [S, L, SX, LX, SE, ICE])

Historyword count: 100

The Kia Shuma was launched in this country in September 1999, taking over from the virtually ignored Mentor. Unfortunately for Kia, the Shuma didn't really grab the public's imagination and Kia stepped in two years later with a set of revisions, dubbing the facelifted car the 'Shuma II'. Better equipped and safer than its predecessor at little appreciable increase in price, the Shuma II was only a moderate success. By the start of 2004, the Shuma range had been scaled back to one solitary model - the 1.6-litre Shuma ICE - in preparation for the arrival of the new Cerato.

What You Getword count: 370

One thing is certainly beyond doubt. The Shuma II is a car that cares about the sanctity of your savings account. To put this into sharp relief, the Shuma II is a car that makes a Daewoo Nubira seem expensive and a Hyundai Elantra positively plutocratic. If you crave the most convincing value proposition, you're looking at it right here. That's not to say you won't spot where corners have been cut. Even in Korea there's no such thing as a free lunch and many of the interior fittings in the Shuma II are built from the same hard, thin plastics that European manufacturers gave up on at the start of the nineties. Nevertheless, Kia do manage to cram in a surprising array of standard equipment. What's particularly refreshing is the fact that some time appears to have been spent in considering what equipment should be fitted as standard and what should be left on the options list. Later versions such as the Shuma II ICE are supplied as standard with twin front airbags that are depowered to reduce injuries and anti lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution, something which still resides on the Ford Focus options list. The Kia system automatically calculates how much cargo and how many passengers are aboard and directs the braking force accordingly. Buyers also get air-conditioning, electric windows all round, remote central locking, power and tilt adjustable steering and a height, tilt and lumbar adjustable driver's seat. There are some neat touches such as cup and bottle holders, autoroute toll ticket clips in the sun visors and a handy damped-action storage tray in the fascia. It would be an impressive showing at a sticker price £2,500 up on the Shuma II's. The Shuma's shape has been tidied up to admirable effect, the front headlamps of the Shuma II feature a dual scalloped shape not unlike the BMW 3 Series. The wheels still struggle to fill the arches, but the rear is the car's best angle, the neat bootlid design and big rear lights looking agreeably contemporary. If you were expecting something slightly clunky in appearance, think again. The Shuma II is no more or less attractive than a Mitsubishi Carisma or a Nissan Almera.

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