Kia News
-
Next up on our roster of Kia customs from the 2011 SEMA show, we have this funkier-than-funky Soul inspired by Michelle Wie and turned out by West Coast Customs. Sporting a custom exterior based on Wie's custom LPGA golf bags, the Soul also features a wide range of typical and not-so-typical tuner upgrades. Among those upgrades are Roadwier Show White leather seats with pink inserts and contrasting stitching, embroidered artwork, a pink suede headliner, two custom Nike golf bags, an Xbox 360 with Kinect mounted with a 26-inch in-car monitor in the rear hatch, and a blazing audio system. Catch...
-
2012 Kia Rio Retro Surf, Forte Hockey By Antenna: 2011 SEMA Live Photos
Kia is hitting SEMA as hard as ever this year with a new crop of cars to work with, including the stylish little five-door Rio hatchback. These two concepts, the Hockey and Surf, demonstrate not just the tuner-worthy basis the Rio provides, but its utility as a hatchback as well. Both cars are...
Nelson Ireson -
Blake Griffin Kia Optima: 2011 SEMA Live Photos
Earlier this year, Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin pulled a wicked dunk over a Kia Optima (video below), and now Kia has taken the wraps off a Blake Griffin-themed Optima. Wearing a basketball-textured exterior in House of Color sunset and cinnamon pearl paint, custom wheels, and a host...
Nelson Ireson -
Kia Rio B-Spec Race Car To Debut At 2011 SEMA
If you haven't heard about it yet, there's a new racing spec making the rounds of the small-car world: B-Spec. Build to cross series boundaries and make racing a near-stock compact car more affordable and fun, the series has already attracted the likes of Honda and Mazda--and now Kia. Kia, racing?...
Nelson Ireson -
2012 Kia Rio: Stop/Start For One Of America's Cheapest Cars
Stop-start technology is an easy way of improving a car's fuel economy by a few MPG and lowering emissions - especially if you regularly commute in heavy traffic. However, its use is contentious for many carmakers as the U.S. EPA official fuel economy figures are completely unaffected, even if...
Antony Ingram -
Kia GT concept debuts at 2011 Frankfurt auto show
We've shown you Kia's official photos of its lovely new GT concept, and now we're giving you the firsthand look we grabbed earlier today, in between mobs of photographers eager to capture the handsome new hatchback for themselves. Patterned after the rear-drive luxury grand tourers of the 1970s...
Martin Padgett -
It has certainly taken the company too long to get around to designing a sports car, but Kia's first rear-wheel drive car is a beauty, and it's packing a V-6 turbo, too. Perhaps it's making up for lost time. Kia says it's been thinking about a high-performance rear-drive car for a while now, but work on the car just started 10 months ago, in November 2010. That's a very short time from idea to concept, and may hint that we have a year or two yet before any production derivative will hit the road. Judging by the concept, however, we hope it does eventually get the green light. Built primarily...
-
Kia's Next-Gen Telematics Tech Now Under Development
The last few years have seen a step-up in in-car telematics, with more connected systems than ever now available to drivers and their passengers. Kia is currently developing its next generation of telematics, to expand on the first-gen UVO system found in its current 2012 range of cars. The new...
Antony Ingram -
10 Fastest Cars For The Money
There's a lot to be said for being able to buy the latest and greatest in supercar technology, but for many of us, that's little more than a dream. If you're looking for a whole lot of speed for not much money, however, you'll be surprised just how much you can get. This list brings you 10 of the...
Nelson Ireson -
The DOT Needs Volunteers For Its V2V Technology Program
In May, we told you that the U.S. Department of Transportation was rolling out a new program to test vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology. If you live in one of the six cities where that's taking place, you have a chance to participate -- and earn a small sum of cash. What is V2V tech? In a...
Richard Read -
Kia Planning Rear-Drive V-8 Concepts At Frankfurt, Detroit: Report
According to a report, Kia is working on a V-8 coupe concept with rear-wheel drive.
Tim Healey -
Kia working on K9 rear-wheel-drive flagship sedan
Almost exactly two years ago there were whispers Kia was working on a new rear-wheel drive flagship sedan that would share its underpinnings with the Hyundai Genesis and be offered in both V-6 and V-8 guises. Then, all of a sudden, Kia unveiled the stylish KND-5 sedan concept and raised hopes that...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
We’re already seen the spy shots but now the facelifted version of Kia’s popular Soul hatchback has been revealed following its world debut this week at the 2011 New York Auto Show. The facelifted hatch, coming onto the market later this year as a 2012 model, improves on the Soul’s successful formula of edgy styling blended with practical design by adding a host of new technologies as well as stronger performance and fuel economy. The 2012 Kia Soul will boost the fun-to-drive factor with significant horsepower and fuel economy increases as well as new six-speed transmissions...
-
2012 Kia Rio Sedan: 2011 New York Auto Show
We first saw the Hatchback version of the brand new 2012 Kia Rio debut last month at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show and now it’s the Sedan’s turn for the spotlight, with the compact four-door appearing in public for the first time at this week’s 2011 New York Auto Show. Set to go on...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2012 Kia Rio Sedan Coming To New York Auto Show
High Gear Media's own Joel Feder is on the ground in Phoenix at a Kia event today, and he tells us that Kia has confirmed the new Rio sedan will be on display at the 2011 New York Auto Show. We don't know the details on what to expect here in the U.S.--that's being saved for the show--but we can...
Nelson Ireson -
Kia Naimo Electric Car Concept: 2011 Seoul Motor Show
Making its world premiere at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show today is the all-new Kia Naimo, an electric crossover concept penned by the automaker’s design team in South Korea and characterized by its simple lines and muscular stance. The simple overall design is accentuated by a number of striking...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Kia’s Euro Boss Hints At MX-5 Rival
There’s been talk of Kia launching a small affordable sports car as far back as early 2007, the strongest indication coming from the Kia Kee rear-wheel drive sports car concept unveiled that same year. Sadly, since then, we’ve only been treated with a number of mainstream models like...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Report: Kia Considering High-Performance Rio Hatch
You only have to look at the popularity of such cars as the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Ford Focus ST/RS to understand that there is serious money in the hot-hatch segment. Not surprisingly, Kia is now reportedly considering launching its own hot hatch based on the recently revealed 2012 Kia Rio...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
It wasn't so long ago that the Kia Rio was synonymous with rental car hell. It looks like that's about to change, with the 2012 Rio hatchback on display in Geneva. The official press photos looked promising, and judging by these live photos, Kia has followed through on the promise. Sporting a 1.6-liter direct-injection gasoline engine here in the U.S., it'll be good for 138 horsepower--enough pep to be called fun in a small package. Its looks alone will position the car well against recent entries in the segment like the Ford Fiesta and Mazda2, as well. Sales are expected to kick off in the...
-
2011 Geneva Motor Show Preview: 2012 Kia Rio Hatchback
Just a few weeks out from its debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the wraps have come off the all-new 2012 Kia Rio three-door hatch. Joining the smaller Kia Picanto, which will also be making its world debut in Geneva, the design of the new Rio has been a global effort though most of the car's...
Nelson Ireson -
Spy Shots: 2012 Kia Soul Facelift
Pictured here in these latest spy shots is a prototype for the facelifted 2012 Kia Soul, which is expected to hit the market this summer. Kia engineers have gone to great lengths to mask the changes to the car but from what we can gather there will be new head lamps and possibly a revised grille...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Spy Shots: 2012 Kia Rio Hatchback
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s official teaser sketches of the new 2012 Kia Rio comes this latest set of spy shots of the upcoming hatch, caught testing ahead of its world debut scheduled for March’s 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Like the smaller Kia Picanto, which will also be making its...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2011 Detroit Auto Show: Kia KV7 Concept Live Photos
There's no doubt Kia and sister company Hyundai have managed to pull off two of the most extreme makeovers of their corporate images the industry has seen in the last decade. Cars like the Optima, Sorento, and Sportage put Kia firmly at the front of the class in design in their respective segments...
Nelson Ireson -
2011 Kia KV7 Concept: 2011 Detroit Auto Show
The 2011 Detroit Auto Show won't be short on concept cars, particularly from South Korea's automakers. While its cousins at Hyundai are bringing a Curb concept, Kia will pull the covers off the KV7 concept crossover, a blend of SUV cues and minivan seating, with a dash of social media thrown in for...
Martin Padgett