2014 Kia Rio Lx on 2040-cars

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Cut the Cute: The 2017 Kia Rio grows up

The last time the Kia Rio got a ground-up redesign was for the 2012 model year. That gave the Rio a crisp, modern look, but was also extremely cute-sy. For the 2017 model year, Kia tweaked the Rio with a leaner, meaner look. Relatively speaking, anyway. The South Korean automaker previously released design renderings of the Rio, and now come official photos of the car. Kia claims that much of the styling changes were made to emphasize width inside and out. The headlights are slimmer and more aggressive than the wide-eyed lamps of the previous model, and much of the gently curving sheetmetal has been removed in favor of more flat planes. Not only that, but the new Rio is slightly longer, wider, and shorter than its predecessor. Inside, Kia has spruced things up with what looks like a nicer mix of materials. The most unusual part of the interior is the infotainment system, which Kia describes as "floating." The infotainment system extends up and off the dashboard, a bit like the screen on the Honda Civic. The good news is that Kia kept physical buttons part of the interface. The bad news is that the design looks a bit odd, as some of the buttons extend up with the screen and make it look a little like Kia used a stereo that didn't quite fit in the dash. Kia didn't reveal any other specs on the car, but those details will likely come during the Paris Motor Show. This updated Rio is an important model for Kia, as last year it sold 473,000 units worldwide. While it isn't Kia's biggest seller in the US, it did have a slight increase in sales this year. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Kia Rio: Paris 2016 View 15 Photos Related Gallery 2017 Kia Rio Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Design/Style Paris Motor Show Kia Hatchback Economy Cars kia rio

Best cheap SUVs: You don't have to pay a lot to get a lot

Here's a news flash: Everything is a lot more expensive now! And that definitely goes for new SUVs, with prices that keep nudging higher and higher. Actually "nudging" might be too soft of a description for their motion. "Skyrocketing" is probably more accurate.  While higher prices and hefty interest rates have likely knocked a lot of people out of the new car market entirely, there are still quite a few cheap SUV choices. Better still, they're not terrible! Far from it, in fact. While the lowest price SUVs used to be drab, sorry affairs best left to the lots of Avis and Budget, that is definitely not the case today. Not only are there legitimately appealing cheap SUV choices, they offer genuine differences in character, capability and design. It's not just a series of anonymous boxes with different badges. Below you won't just find a simple list of the cheapest SUVs available. We are actually pointing out the best ones. They are listed from least expensive to most expensive, with none exceeding a starting price of $30,000. Most are subcompacts, but a few of our top choices in the compact SUV segment snuck on. Finally, please excuse the crummy photo quality. We sought out representative trim levels of the prices in question rather than just reusing pretty carmaker-provided photos of the most expensive trim levels. This is what the cars will actually look like. Kia Soul Why it stands out: Ample space and abundant features for the money; unique style; strong turbo engine upgrade Could be better: All-wheel drive is not available Starting Price: $21,315 Read our most recent Kia Soul Review The Kia Soul definitely didn't start off as a small SUV, and the term "crossover" is probably better applied to it. Still, what started life as an undefinable funky tall hatchback now finds itself in its third generation with numerous vehicles of similar shape and size that are dubbed "small SUV" or "small crossover." If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ... Call it what you will, but the Soul delivers the goods with tons of equipment and space for its price and size, an agreeable driving demeanor, and an even more powerful engine upgrade than the Kona's. We also think it's pretty cool. All of the above helped it win our subcompact SUV comparison test. Now, if there's one area where the Soul does not satisfy a typical SUV requirement, it's the lack of available all-wheel drive.

2015 Kia K900 debuts as brand's RWD flagship model

Despite the fact that executives at both Hyundai and Kia alike have said on numerous occasions that the two companies are separate entities (and largely, they are), there's still a lot that's shared between the two brands. Common platforms and powertrains are found in a number of different Hyundai and Kia products, though the end results have typically been cars that, to the consumer's eye, are quite different. So when Hyundai got its first rear-wheel-drive sedan, the Genesis, a few years ago and followed it up with the larger, more luxury-oriented Equus, it was only a matter of time before sister company Kia got a slice of the RWD pie. And the first product to use this architecture is this, the new K900 sedan that makes its debut at the LA Auto Show.
Kia will offer the K900 with both V6 and V8 power.
Think of the K900 as something of a mix between the Genesis and Equus. All three share the same platform, but the K900 share the Equus' 119.9-inch wheelbase, as well as its front and rear tracks measured at 63.8 and 64.1 inches front and rear, respectively. But unlike the V8-only Equus, Kia will offer the K900 with both V6 and V8 power, like the Genesis. In fact, the K900 will offer the same two engines, although tuned slightly differently, as the Genesis: a 3.8-liter V6 producing 311 horsepower (no torque output is listed as of this writing) and the company's 5.0-liter Tau V8 producing 420 horsepower (oddly, Hyundai rates the Genesis and Equus at 429 hp with this same engine, though that's with premium fuel). Eight-speed automatic transmissions are standard with either powerplant, with Eco, Normal and Sport shift settings.