Dennis
Active Member
Something where the Big Brands always had! Surprise KIA seems to have their independent facility for such tests too.
THERE’S a reason why your nan’s Picanto starts every morning.
It’s the same reason why Kia tops dependability surveys (alongside Volvo) and why every new Kia has a seven-year warranty.
It’s because they are bullet-proof.
Every tiny part is engineered and then tested to withstand anything Jimmy God can throw it at — from minus 40C in the Arctic freezer to blistering 40C desert heat.
That’s why you find me here at Kia’s top-secret testing station in the Mojave Desert.
(It’s two hours north of Los Angeles, next to Edwards Air Force Base and a working goldmine.)
Here, Kia bakes steering wheels, dashboards, consoles, seat covers, headlamps, bumpers, you name it, to see if they melt under the scorching Californian sun.
Some parts are monitored in Nasa-like pods that track the sun. Others are just screwed to work benches and left outside in the elements.
Full disclosure. The whirligig washing line in the big picture is NOT from Kia’s £1.5million weather test facility.
We bought it on Amazon to catch your eye and stop you turning the page. If you’re reading this, it worked. But everything else is very much real.
Lab technician Tim Martinez said: “Those pods are like incubators. They are fitted with fans and curtains as temperatures can reach 90 to 110C inside there, following the sun 12 hours a day.
“Basically, we dose car parts with UV and total radiation to see if the sample is going to deteriorate, blister, fade or fail.
“We call it ‘accelerated weathering’. We can get five years’ wear and tear here in just six months.”
So, has anything ever caught fire? Read more: We test the £31k Kia Stinger GT in the brutal heat of California's Mojave Desert
THERE’S a reason why your nan’s Picanto starts every morning.
It’s the same reason why Kia tops dependability surveys (alongside Volvo) and why every new Kia has a seven-year warranty.
It’s because they are bullet-proof.
Every tiny part is engineered and then tested to withstand anything Jimmy God can throw it at — from minus 40C in the Arctic freezer to blistering 40C desert heat.
That’s why you find me here at Kia’s top-secret testing station in the Mojave Desert.
(It’s two hours north of Los Angeles, next to Edwards Air Force Base and a working goldmine.)
Here, Kia bakes steering wheels, dashboards, consoles, seat covers, headlamps, bumpers, you name it, to see if they melt under the scorching Californian sun.
Some parts are monitored in Nasa-like pods that track the sun. Others are just screwed to work benches and left outside in the elements.
Full disclosure. The whirligig washing line in the big picture is NOT from Kia’s £1.5million weather test facility.
We bought it on Amazon to catch your eye and stop you turning the page. If you’re reading this, it worked. But everything else is very much real.
Lab technician Tim Martinez said: “Those pods are like incubators. They are fitted with fans and curtains as temperatures can reach 90 to 110C inside there, following the sun 12 hours a day.
“Basically, we dose car parts with UV and total radiation to see if the sample is going to deteriorate, blister, fade or fail.
“We call it ‘accelerated weathering’. We can get five years’ wear and tear here in just six months.”
So, has anything ever caught fire? Read more: We test the £31k Kia Stinger GT in the brutal heat of California's Mojave Desert
