Compact sedans are few and far between these days and Korean sedans are particularly rare. Kia has nonetheless introducedone that should be very kind to your family-motoring budget. Lance Branquinho attended the local launch where he drove the Pegas 1.4 EX 5-speed manual.

The Pegas is not what you would expect from Kia. It brings a “4-door car with a boot lid” (what?) to the company’s local product portfolio, and we know what you are thinking: “that’s an Uber car.” Kia thinks otherwise. Although the government represents 21% of the demand in the affordable-sedan segmentand rentals have evaporated, the telling statistic is that 68% of sedans are purchased privately. Why?

Well, it appears there are enough security-aware South Africans who want a vehicle with a lockable boot, because manyhatchbacks’ rear screenshave come to grief as a result of theft out of parked cars.

The business case for this new Kia appears sound, but what is it like to drive? We made a briefacquaintance with the Pegas,the 1.4 EX manualversion – to be precise, on some coastal roads in the Cape.

What’s the Kia Pegaslike inside?

Kia’s infotainment system is class-leading in this segment.

Volkswagen has proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt,that cabin trim and perceived interior build quality is everything in the affordable car market. The Pegas’ exterior might not be the purest execution of Peter Schreyer’s immense design legacy at Kia, but there is certainly clever parts-bin utilisation on the inside.

The Pegas is equipped withKia’s familiar 3-spoke multifunctional steering wheel. On the 1.4 EX derivatives, the ‘wheel rim has a leather finish, with ergonomically shaped thumb grips.

Cast an eye to the left of the tiller and you’ll see the Pegas’ party piece: that 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Korean UX engineers are global leaders, thanks to the country’s immense smartphone and electronic device industry. The Pegas’ infotainment system will faithfully mirror your smartphone’s screen and functionally; itis fully compatible with Apple CarPlay andAndroid Auto.

The Pegas’ rear bench affords more than adequate legroom.

At the price, thefunctionality of thetouchscreen infotainment system will strengthen the Pegas’ purchasing proposition for many potential owners.

Ergonomics? There’s no reach adjustment on the steering column, but the height-adjustable driver’s seat has a fair wedge of upper seatback paddingto support a slightly forward-leaning driving position.

We all have multiple keys, access cards, parking tickets and all manner of retail-incentive kiddies toysthat litter the inside of our cars. Kia’s cleverly spaced a quartetof utility storage slots in the centre console, all with a slight knurledsurfaceto prevent things from moving about annoyingly when you are driving.

The boot is huge (Kia claims it has a 475-litrecapacity) and it’s lined witha quality rubber floor, which helps to keep things where you place them, even if your journey includes a lot of stop-start moments.

Detuned Rio drivetrain in a sedan. Does it work?

The Pegas is lighter than the Rio and uses a slightly detuned version of its 1.4-litre engine.

This new Kia sedan is only available with a single engine option: the Korean firm’s proven 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. Rio owners will be familiar with it, but in the Pegas, you get slightly lower outputs of 69 kW and 132 Nm of torque.

Do themissing 4 kW and 3 Nm make any difference? Not really, since the Pegas is 100 kg lighter than its Rioequivalent.The milder state of tuneshould also, in theory, make the Pegas’ motormore durable and tolerant of South Africa’s wildly variable fuel quality.

One rarely encounters a manual gearbox on any new model, but the Pegas’ 5-speed shifts accurately, with a light clutch action. Throttle response is… what you’d expect from anaturally-aspirated 1.4-litre.

The gearbox configuration is also worth noting. It has a straight-gate reverse gear, which sits directly belowthe fifth ratio. If you need to execute that rapid 3-point turn after misjudging yourself in a parking area or driving to a dead-end, there’s no need to dealwith a push- or pull- ofthe shift knob, or shoving it away and up from you (for that matter)to engage reverse.

The on-road refinement of Kia’s newcomer is better than you might expect…

Although the Pegas isn’t padded with an abundance of sound insulation (hence, its low kerb weight), the sophisticated 1.4-litre engine helps it to retain a low overall mechanical noise coefficient.

Ride and handling? Well, it is obviously not a “baby Stinger”, but the ride comfort is better than you’d expect from a car rolling on tiny 14-inch wheels. Tyre sizing definitely helps here, with the 175/70 set-up giving Pegas a lot of air volume and sidewall cushioning to smooth out bumps.

It is a light car and with four-wheel disc brakes and ABS (boosted by EBD), there is no anxiety about slowing down either.

Lastly, aword on sedans and stability. The compact 4-door market might be a shadow of what it was 2decades ago, but a boot does help a little with vehicle stability/road-holding. Why? The airflow tapers and balances better over the longer sedan body shape than it would with a similarly sized hatchback…

Rivals and value

The 3-box segment is small, but Kia seems interestedin grabbing the lion’s share of it.

The EX-specification Pegas has a decent line-upof standard equipment, including power windows and electrically adjustable side mirrors. What’s more, that aforementioned 7-inch infotainment screen allows for a reverse-view camera, which is curiously handy if you aren’t that familiar with driving a sedan anymore.

What about its rivals? Honda’s Amaze has a 55-litre smaller boot, no reverse-view camera or touchscreen infotainment system.

Suzuki’s Dzire has an even smaller boot, which has 97 litres less capacity than the Pegas and also doesn’t offer touchscreen infotainment. Then there’s the Ford Figo sedan, which doesn’t have a reverse-view camera or touchscreen infotainment, but comes closest to the Pegas in terms of boot space, being only 30 litres less capacious.

Kia has a strong entrant in the budget-sedan market. The Pegashas a sizeableboot, itsstandard touchscreen infotainment system makes all the difference in a smartphone-obsessed world, plusits 5-year/unlimited kmmanufacturer warranty (includingroadside assistance) and4-year/60 000 km service plan sweeten the deal.

But what about the long-servingVolkswagen Polo sedan? The platform might be a generation old, but VW is the only car in this segment that offers electronic stability control. And it is an important safety feature, although there is a cost aspect to it, making the Polo sedan range more expensive than Kia’s Pegas.

Korean Uber car or sensible family transport with great device multitasking ability? In truth, it’s mostly the latter.

2021 Kia Pegas Specs & Price