World Car Review: Kia

Saturday, April 23, 2011

All-New 2012 Kia Rio 5 Hatchback

Kia’s brand-new Rio small sedan was joined by the hatchback version of the sub compact model named Rio5 at this week’s New York Auto Show. Unlike the four-sedan that received its world premiere in the Big Apple, we got our first taste of the Rio5 at the Geneva Salon in March. The only visible styling changes over the European model, concern the colored turn signals up front and the market-specific trim options inside.
The 2012 Rio5 is available with a 1.6-liter GDI four-cylinder engine with the option of either a six-speed manual transmission or six-speed automatic. The direct-injection four-pot delivers 138 horsepower, and thanks to the addition of Kia’s ISG start-stop technology, it returns 30 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway.
Kia’s newcomer will be offered with a choice of three trim levels, LX, EX and SX. The base LX includes 15-inch steel wheels with 185/65R15 tires, driver's seat height adjuster, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), a four-wheel Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Hill-start Assist Control (HAC) and Vehicle Stability Management (VSM), which coordinates the car's ESC and ABS.
Moving up to the EX gets you standard power windows with automatic up/down on the driver's window, Bluetooth wireless technology connectivity with steering wheel-mounted voice activation controls, 60/40 split folding rear seats and leatherette door trim and power door locks with keyless entry.
Finally, the range topping SX trim adds 17-inch wheels with 205/45R17 tires, fog lamps, LED daytime running and rear combinations lamps, dual chrome tip exhaust, outside heated mirrors with turn signal indicators, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, maplight with sunglasses holder, illuminated vanity mirrors, trip computer, cruise control, UVO powered by Microsoft in-car hands-free communication and entertainment system with rear camera display, and chrome-coated accents throughout.
Pricing and availability in the States will be announced at a later date.

GALLERY

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Friday, March 4, 2011

New Kia Cadenza Sedan in California

An undisguised example of the new Kia Cadenza sedan has been spotted by a carsandtec reader rolling around in California for the second time since the beginning of the year. This one was caught by Sanjay Patel. "Saw this Kia Cadenza with Michigan plates going 55 North in Orange County, California,"

The sleek looking sedan which is already on sale in South Korea as the K-7, is longer and wider than the Amanti it will replace. It is expected to be revealed this year in U.S.-spec with sales to follow before the end of 2011. In its home market, the K7/Cadenza is offered with three gasoline engines ranging in output from 165HP for the four-cylinder unit to 295HP for the 3.5 liter V6.

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Friday, February 11, 2011

Kia Rio 2012

Kia's product assault continues with the presentation of the all-new Rio subcompact, which will receive its world premiere together with the new Picanto at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show in the beginning of March.

The latest car to be revealed by Kia boasts a far slicker exterior design than the current Rio bringing it in line with the rest of South Korean company's passenger model range. There are no photos of the interior, but Kia says its newcomer "will deliver a high level of quality previously associated with larger models" along with a wider selection of trim options.
The Korean firm's Ford Fiesta-sized vehicle features a wheelbase extended by 70 mm (to 2,570 mm) compared to the outgoing Rio thus promising to offer improved passenger space together with an increased cargo capacity to 292 liters for the hatchback body style. Exterior dimensions changes include: +55 mm (overall length), -15 mm (height) and +25 mm (overall width).

In Europe, the firm's B-Segment contender will be offered with a comprehensive range of petrol and diesel engines including a 1.1-liter diesel unit delivering 70-horsepower and CO2 emissions from as low as 85 g/km.

But the big surprise is the announcement of an all-new 1.2-liter Turbo Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) that will be available from 2012, and which will offer the Koreans a significant advantage over its Japanese rivals.
Soon-Nam Lee, Director of Overseas Marketing for Kia, commented: “This new model is a big step forward. The Rio has always been successful, and with this new incarnation we have a car that people will want to buy for its looks.”
The new Rio will go on sale in Europe as a 5-door model this fall, with a 3-door to be introduced into the range in early 2012. Pricing and full range details will be announced nearer the on-sale date.

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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

2012 kia picanto

Kia has released images of the domestic market version of its Picanto city car, which will be sold as the Morning in South Korea. From the looks of it, there won't be any notable differences between the local and European market specification Picanto, which will receive its world premiere at the Geneva Salon in the beginning of March. You can read our previous post for more details including the powertrain options here. For the high resolution image gallery and the official brochure of the KDM Morning, follow the jump below.

photos and video

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Friday, January 14, 2011

2011 Kia KV7

Friday, November 12, 2010

KIA Super Sport Cars Proport To The Fan of Sport Cars (Super-Sport Cloth)

As we all know KIA is more into making family cars, but if the brand ever makes its mind to build a Super sport cars, it would somewhat look like this. It's almost a common thing to see designers around the world create all kinds of futuristic concepts that have close to zero chances to enter production even in prototype form. In fact, most of these are the result of pure imagination and car companies don't even hear about them, although Internet users praise the designs and ask for a production model.

KIA Super Sport Cars Proport To The Fan of Sport Cars (Super-Sport Cloth)

The brainchild of Mohammad R. Shojaie who has considerable liking for the super sport cars, this vehicle has been designed on the basis of the current design language of KIA. Dubbed the KIA Proport, which is the amalgamation of Pro plus Sport without the “S” character which means the fan of sport cars, the vehicle isn’t about designing a new style but KIA in a super-sport cloth. The vehicle has some of the famous elements of the KIA design and it seems an imagination worth commercialization.

This is exactly the car of the so-called Kia Proport, a sports car which goes way beyond what a Kia fan would expect from the South Korean manufacturer. In fact, it looks so good that it's hardly possible to see such a vehicle manufactured under Kia's badge. KIA Super Sport Cars Proport To The Fan of Sport Cars (Super-Sport Cloth). We're not the biggest Kia fans, but we really see the Korean brand more of a consumer oriented company, rather than a firm looking to build supercars.