Auto News & New car review

Not two months after sister company Hyundai debuted a freshened Sonata, Kia followed suit with the midsize Optima. Though the cars shared architecture in previous years, they’ve been on divergent paths for some time now, Kia says. Where the upgraded Sonata’s new face found general acceptance, our reaction to the Optima is lukewarm. The car’s sheet metal went from Plane Jane to Frank Caliendo, meaning you can find a good impression of a lot of cars here: the grille and taillights look like those on the new and two-generations-old Accord, respectively; the headlights are all Camry; and the trunk and rear bumper remind us of the Malibu. Read the rest of this entry »

The Kia Koup is a sporty-looking two-door concept that features its share of show-car elements, like a neoprene floor, but it wouldn’t take much in terms of styling tweaks to turn the Koup into a production car. Read the rest of this entry »

Competes with: Chevy TrailBlazer, Ford Explorer and other such endangered species
Looks like: Unfrozen Dr. Evil came up with the product plan
Drivetrain: 262-hp V-6 with five-speed automatic or 300-plus-hp 4.6-liter V-8 with six-speed automatic; 3.0-liter clean-diesel V-6 to come
Hits dealerships: Summer 2008 Read the rest of this entry »

The Kia Rondo is an all-new vehicle. Kia calls it a five-door crossover utility vehicle.

The Rondo is capable of carrying seven adults. Yet it’s small, just 179 inches long. That’s 2.5 inches shorter than the six-passenger Mazda5. Sure, the Toyota RAV4 can seat seven, but it costs $3,000 more and offers less legroom in the third row. The Rondo gives you the size of the RAV4 at the price of the smaller Toyota Matrix; and we’re not big fans of the aging Matrix. Read the rest of this entry »

Heavy frost blanketed Broken Bow Lake, Oklahoma, where my sons and I bade farewell to 2007. Thirty hearty souls braved the sub-freezing night for a fly fishing adventure. Predawn light revealed our trucks standing sentinel over the smoldering remains of the previous night’s campfires. Through my billowing breath, I examined ice crystals forming a thousand little shrines on the SUVs’ sheet metal. A thought occurred to me: everyone that made the journey to our pine needle-carpeted glade did so in a heavy-bodied American SUV or pickup. In that early morning chill I wondered, is the Kia Sorento ready to join the club? Read the rest of this entry »

The Kia Sedona has just about everything the Honda Odyssey has, except the reputation, for a lot less money. Toyota and Honda have an edge on quality, ride and handling, but the Sedona is a compelling value in this class, offering convenience, comfort, style and performance.

From the outside, the Sedona looks classy and stylish. Inside, there’s seven-passenger seating with seats that easily collapse to create a vast cargo space. Every cabin convenience known to man is either standard or available. Storage space is everywhere you turn, and there are no fewer than 14 cup holders. Read the rest of this entry »

Kia Rio was setting new standards for subcompacts even before last year’s complete makeover. Now this roomy little car is better than ever. Rio has received Autobytel’s “Editor’s Choice for Most Improved New Car,” and ranked highest for initial quality in the subcompact segment in the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Initial Quality Study. Rio has also been recognized as one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the market by both the Environmental Protection Agency and by J.D. Power. Read the rest of this entry »

Most vehicles in this segment are powered by four-cylinder engines and consequently tend to be underpowered, especially with automatic transmission and 4WD. The answer is a larger V6 engine, as offered in the Ford Escape and Jeep Liberty. However, that adds several thousand dollars to the sticker price. Kia offers a V6 engine in the Sportage that ends up costing no more than a four-cylinder model from Honda or Toyota. That’s why Kia expects the V6-powered LX model to be the most popular model in the lineup. Read the rest of this entry »

Kia Motors UK is happy to announce that the new 2008 Sportage and Picanto models are now on sale throughout the UK.

2008 Sportage
The Sportage has been an SUV favourite for some time but the latest model adds to the driving fun. With production moved from Korea to Europe, to reduce shipping times and delivery levels of CO2, the Sportage has been given a Euro ‘make-over’ to improve driving dynamics.
Read the rest of this entry »