2023 Kia Rio S on 2040-cars

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2014 Kia Soul

Rounding Out The Market's Best Box
As a car critic, you can tell a lot about a new car just by looking at a map. That's because more often than not, the geography of where a vehicle is initially launched will tell you a surprising amount about how the automaker feels about its new baby. Manufacturers want their models to be shown in the best light - dynamically and socially - so they put a lot of thought into where they first let members of the media slip behind the wheel. Luxury cars nestle up closely to swank hotels in the globe's trendiest locales, high-performance cars are let loose on breathtaking mountain roads with adjacent racetracks, and so on. It all makes for a tough life, as you can imagine.
So consider it telling that when Kia first launched the Soul way back in 2009, it did so in Miami. Trendy? Check. Billiard-table level, arrow-straight smooth roads? Frequently snarled with traffic? Check and check. You see, good as it was, the original Soul wasn't a particularly thrilling driver. Competent, sure, but its simplistic suspension, modest power and upright dimensions didn't exactly afford it entertaining driving dynamics. Which is exactly why Kia launched it in an environment utterly devoid of potholes and curves (save those conjured by the area's robust plastic surgery community), instead choosing a city loaded down with pedestrians and slow-moving motorists.

Kia shows sketches of sleek new 2019 K900 sedan

Kia has released two new sketches of the upcoming redesigned K900 sedan, after showing the car's profile last month. No longer resembling a scaled-up Optima, Kia says the design is a joint effort between its global design office in Namyang and the U.S. design studio in Irvine, Calif. The new upscale K900 will gain lines that have definitely been inspired by German manufacturers' luxury offerings — perhaps its design head Peter Schreyer's touch is showing through. The current generation has been with us since 2012, and the new generation might be a strong enough design to improve the K900's modest sales. Kia says the K900's design is based on a concept called "Gravity of Prestige," which certainly has resulted in a restrained, tasteful sedan without gimmicks. Even if the sportback Stinger positioned below the K900 looks good, it's a far more aggressive and whimsical design than what we see in these images. Kia mentions the new "Quadric Pattern" front grille on the K900 as having 176 "jewel-like" cells, which create an illusion of energy much like the spindle grille on the Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept; the headlights in turn are inspired by "the trajectory of light," and are called Duplex Comet lights. These teaser images aren't far from the finished product, as Kia says the K900 will already go on sale on the second quarter of 2018 in selected markets. So a full reveal is surely happening soon. It could be a good candidate for the New York Auto Show, since it's both a U.S. location that would make sense for a car partly designed in America, and it's one of the last big shows before the second quarter of 2018. Related Video:

Only 3 new cars cost under $20,000. Here’s what you should buy used instead

Looks like some more people have realized something we pointed out late last year. There are only three new cars under the magic $20,000 price limit currently for sale in the United States. Those three vehicles are the Nissan Versa with a starting price of $16,925 (all prices here include destination fee), the Kia Rio at $17,390 and the Mitsubishi Mirage at $17,650. Should push come to shove, so to speak, we'd probably pick the Nissan as our top choice among those three due to its practicality, comfort and overall polish when compared to its similarly priced peers. But really, as we've suggested before, there are better options. Our top pick for a used vehicle under $20,000 remains the Chevy Volt. It's stylish, comfortable, practical and, above all else, efficient, assuming you can plug it in at home. If you don't have access to a plug at home, you'll likely be able to find a very gently used car for the same price as one of the budget options above. We'd check out the Honda Fit, Kia Soul, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Corolla hatchback and Volkswagen Jetta from the  model years and aim for something with under 20,000 miles and with a year or two left of its factory warranty. A quick inventory search shows that some of those cars, notably the Impreza and Jetta, can even be found Certified Pre Owned in most parts of the country. For a more thorough breakdown of some of the available used-car options we'd recommend, check out our guide to the Best Cars Under $20,000. For what it's worth, with the average new car transaction price hovering alarmingly close to $50,000, we wouldn't expect to see any more options coming any time soon for well under half that sum. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Green Kia Mitsubishi Nissan Car Buying Used Car Buying Sedan