2012 Kia Forte Ex on 2040-cars

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Kia reveals Sportspace concept ahead of Geneva

If you were wondering why Kia kept the back end of its upcoming new European concept hidden from view in the previous teaser, one look at these latest images should tell you why: Though the show car is tipped to preview the replacement for the Optima, this one's packing a wagon body-style. Dubbed the Sportspace concept, this D-segment/midsize estate was penned at Kia's European design studio in Frankfurt and is set to bow at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. The Korean automaker isn't telling us much about it, except to emphasize that it was designed as a grand tourer "without sacrificing the performance, sustainability and economy that Kia is known for." We wouldn't be surprised, then, to see some sort of high-output hybrid system in place under the hood. The design bears all the hallmarks of a modern Kia, with the tiger-nose grille up front and clean lines throughout, but tapering back to a wagon's tail that reminds us of the Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon – which is no idle praise. Whether that means the next-gen Optima will be offered in wagon form in Europe (where they're in particularly high demand) or anywhere else, however, remains to be seen. Kia SPORTSPACE concept to be unveiled at Geneva (SEOUL) February 17, 2015 – Kia Motors Europe will unveil an innovative new concept, the Kia SPORTSPACE, at the 85th Salon International de l'Automobile in Geneva on 3 March 2015. Created for long distance driving, the SPORTSPACE has been designed for fast and efficient travel with maximum comfort and minimal stress, in the best grand touring tradition of the weekend getaway. Designed at Kia's Frankfurt design studio, under the direction of Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer Europe, the SPORTSPACE features a unique and captivating body shape. The car is born out of a commitment to provide stylish and exciting transportation for four which is also spacious and functional, without sacrificing the performance, sustainability and economy that Kia is known for. Recognisably a Kia due to its signature 'tiger nose' grille, finely judged proportions and simple, clean surfaces, SPORTSPACE has a bold, dynamic shape with real road presence. At the same time, it offers a high level of interior comfort and substantial practical load space.

2017 Kia Forte5 Quick Spin | Sporty compact, lots of bells and whistles

A few months ago, we drove the Honda Civic Sport and found it to be a surprisingly fun and frisky hatch thanks to quick steering, a snappy shifter, and a willing turbo engine. It's also somewhat unusual in being a driver-focused compact, available with a manual, but not solely concerned with performance; sort of a warm hatch as opposed to a hot hatch. Kia's own warm hatch, the Kia Forte5 SX, is a close match for the Honda in some ways, and even better in others – for a price, that is. The Forte5 SX starts on the right foot with its punchy turbocharged four-cylinder. It's the 1.6-liter unit, which you'll also find in the Elantra Sport and Veloster Turbo, and makes a healthy 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque that nearly matches the output of the sportier-than-the-Sport Civic Si. You'll never be waiting for that power either, as the turbo hardly lags, and any lag that is present is masked by how smoothly boost comes into play. The throttle is fairly responsive, and the revs don't get hung up between shifts like they do in the Civic Sport. The Kia continues in the right direction by offering a manual transmission, as our tester had. In fact, the turbo-equipped SX trim is the only way to get a shift-for-yourself transmission on the Forte5. It features reasonably short, light throws, and the gates are a breeze to find. It's a tad rubbery at times, and isn't quite as precise as the Civic Sport's lever, but you won't be disappointed by it. The responsive engine also makes it easy to rev-match downshifts, but the pedals could be a bit closer together for heel-and-toeing. This drivetrain is packaged in the crisp, clean hatchback body of the Forte5. It's refreshingly free of extraneous vents and badging, leaving the body tasteful and classy. It's a body that is happy to change directions, too. It turns in quickly and neutrally, with only mild body roll. The steering itself is also quick and accurate with virtually no dead zone. There are a couple of handling gripes, though. The helm feels a bit overboosted and fairly numb, the ride somewhat unrefined. The body feels less controlled than it should over bumps, and the tires aren't very grippy. Inside the Forte5, things are a bit dour. The only color on the dash aside from black are the modest number of chrome appointments strewn about. Some of the plastic has a faux carbon fiber texture, but it almost makes the dash look cheaper, or cheesier, than it could be with better material finishes.

Kia Soul EV spied, shows over 250-mile range

The upcoming Kia Soul EV has been spied again at the Nurburgring. This time, it was wearing substantially less camouflage, revealing a shape very similar to conventionally powered Kia Soul prototypes. We also get our first look at the compact hatchback's interior. The interior reveals that the Soul EV should have impressive driving range, too. We'll get to the design aspects of this prototype in a moment, but first we want to address the car's range, which is shown on the infotainment display. It clearly shows that this car had 92 percent of its charge remaining, with an estimated range of 437 kilometers, or about 271 miles. That's a lot of range, and it's also in keeping with the European range estimate for the Hyundai Kona Electric, which was 292 miles. We don't expect quite that much range in the U.S., since the Kona is rated for 258 miles under EPA testing. But this makes us think the Soul could have roughly the Kona's U.S. range, which would be impressive. This could also suggest that the Soul EV will have the same 201-horsepower electric motor as the Kona and the Kona's cousin, the Niro EV. It isn't just range that's revealed with this prototype. This example gives us the best look we've had yet at the little electric. It shows us that the Soul EV shares the same boxy shape, boomerang-shaped taillights, and full-width headlights of the gasoline models. There are some unique deviations, though. While the wide headlight section is the same shape as the internal combustion model, it actually appears to house the main illuminating lights. The other version puts the lights for forward illumination lower in the front fascia. On the Soul EV, these lower light pods are still there, but they appear to be for accent lighting, maybe turn signals or possibly fog lights. The large lower grille of the gasoline Soul is also virtually gone except for a small opening at the bottom. It will be interesting to see what Kia does with all this extra space. The interior is an evolutionary take on the current model. The biggest difference appears to be a revised infotainment system with a wider screen and buttons placed underneath, rather than on each side. This being the EV model, it has a little rotary knob for shifting rather than a lever, and the instrument panel shows a speedometer and a dial that provides power information. The doors seem to have some interesting metallic trim with swoopy patterns.