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Archive for the ‘Kia’ Category

Labor Day Weekend is here and for some of us that means its time to go car shopping. So, what kind of deals can you get on a brand-new car during Labor Day Weekend 2019? Well, some automakers are offering model-specific deals that can earn you some really steep discounts. Others have simply dropped interest rates on financing or offer a little bit of cash back. Either way, we’ve put together a short guide to get you in the spirit and prepared for your shopping expenditures this weekend!

For those who want the Ceed hatchback, but wrapped in a higher-riding, crossover-like package and with a hint of extra sportiness to its design, then the Kia XCeed is what you’re looking for. Its underpinnings are pretty much identical to those of the regular Ceed, but for some buyers, the fact that you sit higher off the ground in combination with the more rakish design will make it an irresistible proposition.

Kia markets it as “a sporty alternative to traditional SUVs” and while it’s certainly sportier than typical, tall SUVs, it’s not actually a sporty car. I will grant Kia this, though – this is the best looking member of the current Ceed family, which to my eyes is even more handsome than the Proceed wagon, thanks to its unique fascias and that very well executed fastback-style hatch.

And if at first glance you’re thinking “this looks quite different to all other Ceed models,” you are actually right. The only body panels the XCeed shares with the rest of the Ceed lineup are the front door panels – everything else is bespoke and really quite distinctive. The automaker has also tried to spruce up the interior, although here it only changed a few bits of trim to match the car’s more lively exterior – the dashboard, controls, seats and, well, pretty much everything is identical to what you see in the Ceed hatch.

Kia South Korea has unveiled the Mohave a few weeks after the SUV’s official release in its motherland. The production model’s looming arrival comes a few months after the Korean automaker unveiled the Masterpiece, the concept SUV from which the Mohave is based on. There are striking similarities between the Masterpiece and the Mohave, though, more importantly, the new SUV’s design is a massive departure from the outgoing model, which is on its last legs after an exhausting 11-year run. The most significant upgrade, however, can be found inside the SUV. The changes are significant, to say the least. That bodes well for future owners of the Mohave in South Korea, though not so much for us here in the U.S. because the likelihood of the Mohave returning to the American market — it had an uneventful one-year stint in ‘Murica as the Borrego in 2009 — isn’t something that we’d bet on.

Kia South Korea has unveiled the Mohave a few weeks after the SUV’s official release in its motherland. The production model’s looming arrival comes a few months after the Korean automaker unveiled the Masterpiece, the concept SUV from which the Mohave is based on. There are striking similarities between the Masterpiece and the Mohave, though, more importantly, the new SUV’s design is a massive departure from the outgoing model, which is on its last legs after an exhausting 11-year run. The most significant upgrade, however, can be found inside the SUV. The changes are significant, to say the least. That bodes well for future owners of the Mohave in South Korea, though not so much for us here in the U.S. because the likelihood of the Mohave returning to the American market — it had an uneventful one-year stint in ‘Murica as the Borrego in 2009 — isn’t something that we’d bet on.

Like most automakers out there, Kia took the SUV market by storm and launched a handful of vehicles in recent years. But even though it already has nine crossovers spread over various markets, the Korean brand isn’t ready to stop just yet. According to Kia Europe’s head of product planning, the firm could add yet another SUV in the near future.

This is the forth Ceed brother in the Kia lineup. There’s the Ceed Sportwagon, Proceed Sportwagon, Ceed hatchback, and now the XCeed. I will go on a limb here and say that the XCeed Xceeded (I had to) my expectations when it comes to its exterior look. This pseudo crossover is a bomb. Somewhat based around the ProCeed layout, the Xceed successfully employs the swept back roof design of the coupe and takes a few unique styling touches compared to any other Ceed currently available. Considering that crossovers like this sell like crazy, I am not even mad that Kia made it better looking compared to any other hatch in its arsenal. Regardless of its looks, the Kia XCeed is just a regular compact with the same tech you can find in any other Kia or Hyundai hatch. It does have some unique touches though! Here they are:

Just like every other mainstream manufacturer, Kia has launched a crossover based on its compact hatchback. Dubbed the XCeed, it is exactly what its name implies – a taller and slightly more off-road-capable version of Kia’s Ceed hatchback.

It is now the fourth available Ceed body style, after the regular hatchback, the Ceed Sportswagon, and the ProCeed shooting brake model. However, it doesn’t actually share any exterior body panels with any of them and, while the all the vehicles in the Ceed family were already pretty handsome, the new XCeed takes up a notch further. It’s even better to look at and you hardly notice it sits any higher off the ground.

As I photographed the 2020 Kia Telluride in a Maryland park, a fellow visitor peeled off from his family to ask about the car. It made sense. Full-size crossovers like the Telluride are the chariot of choice for many families today, thanks to their three rows of seats and long lists of amenities. And the all-new Telluride had just hit the market. But as it turned out, the man wasn’t eyeing the Telluride for himself. It was his teenage daughter who’d sent him across the parking lot to check out this newly released SUV. It looked cool, she told him, kind of like a Range Rover. And she wanted one.

Kia has unveiled the name of its latest crossover that is due to be launched later in June. Moniker’d the Stelos, err, Stilletos, no! Seltos, yeah, Seltos, the baby crossover from Kia has been in works for quite some time now. Although not as funny as the Sylphy, the Seltos was not what we were expecting. But lately, Kia has been giving weird names to its vehicles. Remember Telluride? Why name a vehicle after a ski resort in Colorado? Anyhow, Kia has unveiled sketches of the crossover, and it sure looks quite impressive.

So, Kia’s looking into entering the pickup truck market. It’s not exactly ground-breaking news, but it remains interesting for the simple reason that the Korean automaker has never even come close to sniffing this segment in the years that it’s been around. But times have changed and so have consumer preferences. Pickup trucks — compact, midsize, heavy-duty — are growing in popularity once again and Kia wants a piece of the action. No less than the company’s chief operating officer and executive vice president at Kia Motors America, Michael Cole, admitted that at the 2019 New York Auto Show in a conversation with Motor Trend. Cole believes that “there’s enough opportunity” in the pickup market for Kia. More importantly, Kia’s already started the process to put a pickup into production. So, this is happening. But just because it’s happening, it doesn’t mean that Kia’s got it all figured out. The automaker is a neophyte in the pickup truck market, and if it hopes to succeed in this segment, specifically in the U.S. market, it needs to make sure that it knows and understands what it’s getting itself into.

Proudly sitting as the main attraction at Kia’s 2019 Chicago Auto Show stand, the new 2020 Kia Sportage introduced us to a number of novelties, most important of which is its amazing standard safety pack. The subtle facelift touched the 2020 Kia Sportage’s front and back end and gifted low-end models with even more tech. While this is basically all that’s important on the newest Sportage, it seems that this compact SUV really doesn’t need more improvement. It is a value-centered compact SUV, and it does all it should really well. After all, it does have some legacy to defend. And, with that in mind, we’ve decided to make it our wallpaper of the day. We’ve placed a number of cool wallpaper images below for you to choose from so go ahead and take your pick.

Kia’s been on a roll with its concept vehicles lately. A month after unveiling the “Imagine by Kia” Concept and its 21 digital screens at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, the Korean automaker took its traveling concept carnival to New York where it unveiled the Habaniro, a concept it claims is the world’s first-ever ECEV, as in “everyday car, electric vehicle.” The Habaniro is a bold concept. It’s also imaginative in terms of Kia’s vision for the future. Kia didn’t explicitly say that the Habaniro will never see the light of production day, but don’t expect it to arrive anytime soon. For now, the Habaniro is a concept that previews the direction Kia wants to take with its electrification and mobility efforts. Whether that future includes a production version of the Habaniro remains to be seen, but it’d be nice to wish for it, right?

The Kia Stinger GT has really been impressing reviewers and buyers alike ever since it was launched with its blend of bold styling, great quality and, last but not least, a rewarding, sporty driving experience. Now Kia intends to make the latter even better as it’s just introduced a more exclusive Stinger GTS at the 2019 New York Auto Show.

Most of us in the U.S. are familiar with Kia’s new large SUV, the Telluride. But just because the Telluride has arrived, that doesn’t mean we should completely ignore Kia’s other large SUV, the Mohave. It’s easy to forget about the Mohave because it’s not sold in the U.S. It was back then as the Borrego, but Kia discontinued that line when it introduced the Sorrento in 2011. But the Mohave SUV has lived on in other parts of the world, including in Kia’s home country of South Korea. It just so happened that the Seoul Motor Show was the site where Kia unveiled the next-generation, concept-form Mohave, called the Mohave Masterpiece Concept. The new concept shared the stage with the Kia Signature Concept and the Imagine Concept that made its global début at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show in early March. The Mohave Masterpiece Concept took center stage, though, in part because it signals the arrival of another full-sized SUV that may or may not arrive in the U.S. market. There’s no timetable for when the production version of the concept hits production, but based on how the concept it looks like, the Mohave Masterpiece Concept looks like it’s ready to hit the streets of the world anytime soon.

One year after introducing the SP Concept at the Delhi Auto Show in India last year, Kia now presents the SP Signature version at the 2019 Seoul Auto Show. Both preview the South Korean automaker’s upcoming compact SUV that was originally slated to go on sale in India only but will now be sold globally, including in the U.S. The production model will be assembled in India, and it might make its world debut in production form as early as next month when the New York Auto Show kicks off.

The market is still crazy about crossovers and SUVs of almost any kind, and every manufacturer wants a piece of the action. Kia is becoming stronger and stronger in some regions of the world like Asia and the Middle East, but the company would like to grow its global footprint. One step in that direction might just be this new compact crossover SUV, rumored to be called ’Tusker’ once it hits production, although it might be sold under other monikers too (like Trazor or the SP2i). It will most likely be powered by a 1.5-liter, four-pot, some markets getting the option of a diesel unit. The engine will probably be mated to an automatic transmission although a manual isn’t off the table right now. Kia’s new vehicle will rival the Hyundai Creta (also known as the ix25) in India, a model we never got in the U.S. because it was deemed as too conservative as we were offered the Hyundai Kona.

The Kia Soul is a car that looks tall and boxy, but it doesn’t really look like an SUV. It melds excellent practicality with a good drive and quirky looks to attract buyers, and the all-new 2020 Soul continues this tradition, only it does it better in every single area. The car debuted at the 2018 Lost Angeles Auto Show, and it is just now starting to hit showrooms.

The Kia Soul is a car that looks tall and boxy, but it doesn’t really look like an SUV. It melds excellent practicality with a good drive and quirky looks to attract buyers, and the all-new 2020 Soul continues this tradition, only it does it better in every single area. The car debuted at the 2018 Lost Angeles Auto Show, and it is just now starting to hit showrooms.

Kia caused a stir in the weeks leading up the Geneva Motor Show with a teaser image that featured no less than 21 digital screens in its concept. Judgment day finally arrived and the concept, called Imagine by Kia, turned out to be quite the contradiction in it of itself. On the surface, the concept looks the part of a real concept, and a beautiful one, too. It’s emotional in a sense that it makes you feel something about, which, I suppose, is what Kia was going for in the first place. But just as the concept’s exterior looks the part of one, the interior takes the concept-car ideology to a different. At the end of the day, Imagine by Kia is the automaker’s first EV concept. That still counts for a lot of things from an automaker that’s slowly building upon its electrification plans for the future. How that future will look is up to Kia. But if Imagine by Kia is a sign of things to come, color us intrigued, if not a little confused.

Kia reports that it has sold over 270,000 Niro crossovers since it launched the compact crossover model in 2016, and some 100,000 of those sales were to European customers. It’s the brand’s fifth-most-popular model in Europe, so that’s why it’s chosen to reveal the refreshed versions of the Niro hybrid and Niro plug-in hybrid at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, one of the most important auto shows on the Old Continent.

The race to showcase the fanciest concept interior at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show is heating up, and Kia might be sitting in pole position already. The automaker’s first pure electric four-door passenger car — the name hasn’t been announced yet — is headed to the year’s biggest auto show with 21 screens in tow. That’s not a typo, nor is it a joke. The concept really has 21 screens in the interior. Fortunately, the concept isn’t all about these screens; the exterior also features a unique lights signature, specifically in the front end of the concept. More details are expected to be revealed once the 2019 Geneva Motor Show kicks off on March 7, 2019.