I had the 2007 SW Ls 1.6 CRDi 113 for 2 years before changing to the 2010 face-lift SW 3 CRDI 113 last November. Before Oct. 07 I had a Focus C-Max 1.6 Zetec TDCi.The Focus ride was much more comfortable and much softer than the Kias. I can take a large sweeping bend in the Kias at 70mph quite confidently, that made me feel a little uneasy at 60mph in the C-Max. I have not really not noticed much difference in the ride between the 2007 & 2010 Kias;they are both quite sporty and hard. The traction control and ESP on the new model does seem to make a little difference.
Fuel consumption on the C-Max was better, but it had already done 12,000 miles when I bought it. As the mileage on the 2007 SW increased, so the fuel consumption improved and at 18,000 miles was almost as good as the C-Max, although I was using more of its better performance. The acceleration in 2nd and 3rd is rapid, and putting your foot down at 70mph in top (5th) is quite an eyeopener for a 1.6 diesel.
The 2010 car ( 6 speed manual) has now done 5000 miles. On a 140 mile run (A1, M1, M25, M4) recently, I averaged 54.7 mpg sitting at 72+ in cruise control. The were a couple of stretches of 50 mph speed limit through roadworks, which obviously helped consumption on the 2hr 20min journey. In top, 2000 rpm gives 68 mph, 3000 rpm gives about 100 mph, I should imagine ;-). The acceleration in 6th from 70 mph is quite surprising. My previous experience leads me to believe that as the new engine loosens up, I should get even better fuel consumption results. Using the OGS (optimum gear selection) indicator recommendations would be the sensible thing to do. If only I could restrain my right foot and the car's urge to go.