The powertrain I want is a manual transmission.

Toyota builds pretty inefficient v6 and v8 engines last time I looked into it, but they’re very reliable.

Kia does not have that reliability record. I’m not sure that the Toyota buyer is going to consider KIA, even with hybrid drivetrains.

I'll stick with my 20 year old chevy 5.3 which will still be on the road when this kia is at the scrapyard

Toyota hasn't made good trucks in years either

That truck looks amazing and I want nothing to do with whatever engine they're putting in it. Someone needs to drop a Toyota engine in there and it could legitimately be awesome

I kinda like the look of it, not gonna lie. I don't know about reliability, but if they keep offering the 10/100 warranty and the price is low, it might not be a bad entry option. Kias and Hyundais are pretty simple, so maybe it will be easy to mod?

When I worked as a tech for a Hyundai dealer, the engines (other than the 2.4L) weren't really that bad reliability-wise. The most common issue I saw (again, other than the recalled 2.4L) when the cars got older was to me the interior felt cheaper/more worn out than other cars might have given the same wear and tear. But even the '09 Equus was still pretty nice once it was 10 years old.

I do remember I didn't really like whatever V6 they put in the Azera. At cold starts the timing chain would slap around even on brand new ones. Just bad design IMO, because the timing chain tensioners didn't have enough spring force to prevent the noise at start up once oil pressure bled out of the tensioner. It didnt really do anything for premature wear, just made noise at cold starts because the oil pressure builds pretty fast. During my time at Hyundai, I only ever had to replace one V6, and it was in a Santa Fe. Owner had replaced it already once with a used engine from LKQ, and that one finally blew up and they wanted me to put in another LKQ used engine. Weird customer, but its their car.