I have had well over 40 Hyundai Getz's, and I have wrecked about the same amount, purchased 8 one day from Pickles, 5 I repaired and 3 for parts, I can say from my experience that even the worst one I have owned were still a good car.
I have found that as long as you service them (oil and filter as a minimum) and do the timing belt, they are pretty much bullet proof and will last even if being abused on a regular basis .
My last one that I had was a red 2006 manual 5 door, it was a personal run around, parts getter and loan car for whoever needed it in the street, it had 290,000ks on the original motor, the body had its peeling clear, the trim was neat and the mechanicals were near perfect, it used a little oil, but it drove the best out of all the other Getz I have ever had, It had a tow ball and was used on many occasions for towing a trailer full of crap to the tip, loads of sand etc, even towed another Getz on a dolly (two wheeled car trailer) around on many occasions (well over its recommended tow rating shhh
), I still sold it for $2200 last year.
I would buy a new Hyundai no problem, and seeing Kia is pretty much the same underpinnings, if the car appealed to me I would definitely not discount it as a contender.