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2019 Kia Sorento three-row crossover will start at $25,990

Kia's refreshed three-row 2019 Sorento will start at $25,990 and be offered in five trim levels, including all-wheel drive options, when it hits showrooms later this year. Kia first revealed the updated crossover at the L.A. Auto Show in November, showing off more refined exterior features including new front and rear fascias with updated grille, revised headlamps, new rear bumper, tail lamps and a revised lift gate. Seven-passenger seating and a 7-inch touchscreen interface with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration will both be standard in the 2019 model, while the optional 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine is no more. In its place is the carry-over base 2.4-liter inline-four with a revised six-speed automatic, plus an optional 3.3-liter V6 with a new eight-speed automatic transmission. A diesel version is also forthcoming. Inside the Sorento there's a new steering wheel, shifter knob and revised air vents and gauges. Options include the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems package on the EX, SX and SX-L trims, which bring lane-keeping assistance and driver-attention warning technologies, and a premium Harman Kardon surround-sound system. The fully loaded SXL trim starts at $44,690 for front-wheel drive and $46,490 for all-wheel drive and includes LED headlights with high- and low-beam assist, LED fog lights, wireless phone charging and front parking sensors, among other perks. A Magna Dynamax intelligent all-wheel-drive system is available on all trim levels except the base front-wheel drive L and features a 50-50 locking center differential and torque vectoring. The new Sorento's starting price is right in line with its 2018 predecessor and keeps it priced competitively with three-row crossover competitors like the Subaru Ascent, which starts at $31,995, and the Volkswagen Tiguan, which starts at $24,595. Sales of the Sorento fell 13 percent in 2017 to 99,684, making it Kia's fourth top-selling vehicle behind the Optima, Soul and Forte. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Kia Sorento: LA 2017 View 12 Photos Image Credit: Kia Kia Crossover kia sorento subaru ascent three-row

Kia's Super Bowl ads all seem to put Melissa McCarthy and the Kia Niro in peril

It seems that actress and comedienne Melissa McCarthy isn't going to catch a break in this year's Kia Niro hybrid Super Bowl commercials. The company previously teased an ad in which she runs in terror from something in an arid, possibly African landscape. The latest teaser shows her in much colder climates, and this time you can actually see a Niro. The problem is, it's stranded on an iceberg. In the teaser, she calls up Kia roadside assistance to ask just whether you actually need to be on a road to use it. No answer is given, so we'll probably have to wait for the full commercial to find out the resolution. Perhaps some polar bears, recognizing the Niro's environmentally-friendly 50 mpg rating, will push her iceberg to land so she can escape. We'll surely know when both this ad and the one set in the desert will air during the third quarter of the Super Bowl. Related Video:

2020 Kia Cadenza shows its new face in mid-cycle refresh

When we drove the all-new 2017 Kia Cadenza a few years back, our main takeaway was that "it's fine." There was nothing particularly remarkable about it, but it's a solid sedan. With the facelifted and refreshed 2020 Cadenza just revealed today, Kia looks like it's reaching a bit more, in an attempt to move beyond general goodness. The 2020 Kia Cadenza, teased last week, takes a stab at bold design. A concave V-shaped grille is the main styling element up front, as our eyes constantly drift to that funky chrome every time we examine the car. It looks like Kia was just riffing off the old grille, and decided to make it bigger while adding in a crease. Those headlights are new, too. They're much narrower and smaller than the old units, and we think they help the face of the new car tremendously. Kia attacked the rear of the Cadenza in a similar fashion. The taillights now stretch across the entire rear of the sedan, connected by an interesting dashed line coming in from both sides and meeting in the middle. It's just another example of Hyundai/Kia designing taillights with a sense of style. We're reminded of the new Hyundai Sonata that went in a bold new path itself at the NY Auto Show. Changes to the interior are relatively significant for just a mid-cycle refresh. There's a new, widescreen 12.3-inch touchscreen that forced a new air vent layout. Along with the rethought center stack, the center console gets changed up with a new gear shift lever and button/storage layout below that. It all comes off as a much more premium design than before. Adding further to that motif is a digital gauge cluster seen on this model. The Cadenza is supposed to be a luxurious sedan, and Kia is certainly answering the call with added tech on the interior. Unfortunately, we're still in the dark from a powertrain perspective. The Cadenza is currently offered in the U.S. exclusively paired to a 3.3-liter V6 and eight-speed automatic transmission. This reveal today was for the Korean-spec K7, (same as our Cadenza), so U.S. powertrain options remain unspoken. We'll expect details on the U.S. spec car to drop before the end of the year, and for this model to go on sale later in 2019 or sometime in 2020.