In 1997, the debut of the hatchback Kia Shuma. In technical terms, this car is a twin sedan Kia Sephia II, which in turn repeats the previous generation Mazda 323. Shuma is a "full-size" representative of the golf class with front-wheel drive. The silhouette of the car turned out quite swift and easy. The rear part features a highly tilted glass and a slightly “blown” rear door in combination with large and catchy rear lights.
Inside the Kia Shuma is not much different from the Sephia II. The cabin is quite beautiful, the finishing materials, although of low quality, are fitted perfectly. Cozy and discreet interior. Comfortable driver's seat with three adjustments - longitudinal, back angle and lift the front of the pillow. At the proper level of ergonomics car.
The dashboard is pleasant contemplation. The style in which the dashboard and steering wheel are made is very close to Kia cars in general. By the way, the steering wheel has a height adjustment. Passengers of the second row will appreciate the capacity of the rear seat, it can quite comfortably accommodate three adults. In the interior design, you can feel the sight on the American market: an expensive Alpine radio cassette with four speakers, double digitization of combination scales, leather upholstery (option) and gearshift knobs, small boxes throughout the cabin. By the way, as an additional equipment on the car can be installed anti-lock system.
The first-generation Kia Shuma is a rather interesting Korean car with no claims of aristocracy, but with some charm. The car attracts with a spacious and comfortable interior, the ergonomics of which does not cause any complaints, but the brightest quality of this car is excellent controllability. But progress does not stand still, and Kia engineers have created an even more convenient and stylish - Kia Shuma II. Debut, which took place in 2001. Kia's latest developments have allowed for even greater elegance, power and safety. As a result, changed the appearance and finalized and updated engines.
The company decided not to stay away from the latest trends in the global automotive industry and gave the Shuma II a more sporty and swift appearance, as indicated by the rally air intake and the grille, which is more massive than before. All optics are combined into single blocks, which, in combination with “foglights,” organically complement the shape of the front end of the body. The interior is still practical. Inside, a lot of compartments for storing all sorts of little things. The seats, covered with black leather with silver accents (in the top configuration), are harmoniously combined with the front panel and doors styled “under the metal”.
The level of comfort is quite high (for a middle-class car): climate control and a 140-watt audio system with a CD player and a “cassette” come as standard. Interestingly, despite the increase in the total length of the car from 4425 to 4525 mm, the wheelbase remained unchanged - 2560 mm. Salon also did not become more spacious. It would be logical to assume that the trunk has increased, however, and this is not so - its volume amounts to the former 440 l. It can be concluded that the increase in total length by 10 cm was due to a more rapid front end and a change in the shape of the bumpers - this, of course, did not add capacity, but elegance won quite significantly.
In the range of engines consisting of two petrol power units, there was one replacement and one modernization. The 1.5 liter (88 hp) was replaced by a more powerful 101-horsepower 1.6-liter “sixteen-valve”. The 1.8-liter engine was refined, due to which its capacity increased from 110 to 115 liters. from. In combination with the increased torque, this increased the maximum speed of the Kia Shuma II from 188 km / h to 196 km / h. Each of these engines can be aggregated with both a four-step “automatic” and a five-speed manual gearbox. For passive safety, Kia Shuma II meets all modern requirements.
Standard equipment includes front airbags for the driver and front passenger and belts with pretensioners.
