2004 Kia Spectra on 2040-cars

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Hyundai and Kia set aside $412 million for false mileage claims

We still don't know how the whole fuel economy ratings debacle is going to play out for Hyundai and Kia, but both automakers are preparing to make good on their promises to reimburse vehicle owners for lower-than-promised mileage figures. According to Automotive News, Hyundai and Kia have set aside a combined total of $412 million ($225 million for Hyundai and $187 million for Kia) as compensation, which will be sent out on a case-by-case basis via debit cards depending on the vehicle and the mileage driven.
Announced back in November, the exaggerated miles per gallon claims affect around 900,000 Kia and Hyundai products produced for the 2011 through 2013 model years sold in the US and Canada. This whole deal has had plenty of action ranging from suspected whistleblowing from a rival US automaker and even insider trading, but it has probably been most frustrating for vehicle owners who, in most cases, saw their vehicles' city and highway ratings drop between one and three digits.

2014 Kia Sorento

For most new car shoppers, three-row crossovers are little more than a way for the family-minded to avoid succumbing to the minivan stigma. Admit it - the only things that differentiate most larger CUVs from minivans are their lack of sliding side doors and - on most of them - the option of all-wheel drive. Having blossomed into a popular segment with thicker profit margins, though, automakers have plenty of incentive to keep their offerings fresh, and that's exactly why Kia is presenting its 2014 Sorento so soon.
At first glance, the crisply styled utility vehicle seen here appears to be nothing more than a mid-cycle refresh - and not a particularly extensive one, at that. But that's not the case at all. Despite looking very similar to the second-generation vehicle that came on the scene for the 2010 model year, this is an all-new Sorento. Or, more precisely, it's about 80-percent new. Kia says less than 20 percent of the parts have been carried over from the 2013 Sorento, and that's a pretty typical amount for an 'all-new' vehicle generation.
Since we've yet to spend quality time with the "Made in the USA" Sorento for more than a short First Drive in Arizona last February, we snagged the keys to a 2014 model in the all-new SX Limited trim level for a lengthy backroad sojourn from Florida to South Carolina.

Next-gen Kia Sedona drops more camo, shows KV7 cues

It was just two weeks ago that we saw our first glimpse of the 2015 Kia Sedona testing in full camouflage, but now Kia has stripped away some of the heavy cladding to give us an even better idea what its new minivan will look like. As we pointed out before, the next Sedona doesn't use as many design cues from the 2012 Kia KV7 as we initially hoped, but it should be interesting enough to stand out from the current crop of minivans.
Even though most of the body is still covered with the black and white pattern and the side doors still have cladding, these spy shots show off plenty of details about the new Sedona. Starting up front, Kia gave its minivan a more upright shape that we've seen a lot of on current Kia designs, while the reduced camo also makes the van's new side window shape more obvious. This pinched daylight opening (DLO) along the side is the same as what we saw on the KV7, and the window line dips back down again for the liftgate glass. While we're focused on the rear of the Sedona, that liftgate spoiler looks a lot like what we're used to seeing on the back of a Porsche Cayenne.
Kia has still yet to announce when its new minivan will be unveiled, but as things seem to be pretty far along in development, we'd expect to see something on the 2015 Sedona fairly soon.