Five-year warranty packages will be launched by Kia next week. The South Korean car firm is planning to promise up to 100,000 miles of 'peace of mind' motoring on each of its new cars and every model it has sold here in the last three years.

From July 30, the importer will offer 12 months or two years of 'top up' cover that will extend the benefits of its basic three-year/60,000-mile package to either four years and 80,000 miles or five years and 100,000 miles.

Prices will be between £217 to £430 for the 12 months extension. And are likely to range from £386 to £665 for the two-year extension.

Kia Cars UK managing director, Mark Quinn said: 'We feel that adding extensions of 12 months or two years and increasing the mileage limits is an important development in helping establish the marque because it further underlines the confidence we have in the reliability of our products in the long term. We hope this move will help us get the message across that the brand is here to stay and that we're serious about getting a foothold in the market."