2014 Kia Sorento Limited on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Kia brings four jump-ready Tellurides and a modified Stinger to SEMA

Kia dropped the curtain on the Forte GT today at SEMA, but the Korean automaker also has a full plate of modified cars it will be showing there too. Four heavily modified Telluride SUVs, a Stinger, Forte and K900 are all making appearances in Las Vegas. All of the Tellurides look a bit different, but they share the same suspension modifications. It starts with KW Motorsports long-travel shocks with remote reservoirs and three-way adjustable damping. Then Kia fabricated new heavy-duty lower control arms, widened the track by three inches and added King hydraulic bump stops. Why did Kia add such an awesome suspension setup? Well, it plans on jumping these Tellurides all week long at a demonstration track outside of the SEMA show. We think that's a good enough reason. All the Tellurides are also sporting Black Rhino wheels shod with 32-inch Milestar Patagonia mud terrain tires. A straight pipe exhaust has also been fitted. Telluride Horizon Roamer This Telluride has a snorkel for deep-water fording and a large LED light bar on the roof. Kia says this one was designed for conquering the Rubicon trail. The orange paint ensures you won't be missing this big SUV on the rocks either. Telluride Cadet Leader Kia says this one was aimed more toward the trailblazing kind of off-roading. It has flat military style green and black paint and Rotopaks for gasoline on the rear quarter panels. Telluride Desert Drifter Painted to blend in with the desert, this Telluride might be our favorite looking of the bunch. The front LEDs actually blend in nicely with the paint, giving this tough looking off-roader a sense of style. Telluride Baja Glider Here's the only Telluride of the bunch without a massive brush guard. Instead, it gets a front tube bumper to go along with its skid plate. The black paint gives it a much more subdued appearance as well. 2019 DUB Kia Stinger GT DUB certainly went all-in on this Stinger, mounting massive 22-inch wheels and a wide body kit. There's a custom exhaust and intake for extra noise, and the engine bay gets a full dress-up kit. Air-ride suspension brings it all closer to the ground, while the brushed steel and carbon fiber wraps give it an even flashier appearance. A completely custom red/black leather and suede interior make the Stinger unique on the inside too. 2019 DUB Kia K900 The K900 seems like more of a DUB-style car to customize, and this example here is not lacking in the glam department.

Kia Sportage makes a funny face in Frankfurt

The all-new Kia Sportage has made its big debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, introducing sheet metal inspired by the brand's previous concepts. Our first post on the new model only featured a trio of exterior images, we now have shots of the redesigned cabin. As we said originally, both the Provo and Niro, a pair of 2013 concepts from Geneva and Frankfurt, inspired the exterior design. We still aren't sold on the new fascia, which reminds us of the old Subaru B9 Tribeca. Perhaps it'll grow on us. As for the interior, which we're seeing for the first time, it's, well, kind of exactly what we expected. The quality appears to be good and the overall design conservative. Conventional instruments flank a small color display that looks to be no more than four inches, while a larger touchscreen sits atop the center stack. Its main functions are controlled via a series of buttons found below the screen and above the HVAC controls. While the model on display in Europe sports a manual transmission, we'd expect no such gearbox to be offered in the US. Here, the smart money is on a six-speed automatic being standard, and we're betting there won't be any huge changes in the engine lineup. That should mean a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder in the base and volume models, while the range-topping SX will likely offer Hyundai/Kia's popular 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, just like today's Sportage. We've got a full gallery of live images of the new Sportage available at the top of the page. Have a look and let us know what you think of Kia's work.

2020 Kia Soul gets fuel economy ratings boost

Federal fuel-economy ratings are out for the all-new 2020 Kia Soul and show that the switch to the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine also found in the Forte sedan has turned the boxy compact crossover into more of a fuel-sipper compared to its predecessor. When operated in Eco driving mode, the EPA rates the Soul fitted with the 2.0-liter engine at 35 miles per gallon on the freeway and 29 mpg in the city for a combined 31 mpg. Otherwise, the same model is rated at 27 mpg in the city, 33 on the highway and a combined 30 mpg. Versions fitted with the 1.6-liter turbocharged seven-speed top out at 27/32/29 mpg, while the 2.0-liter offered with a six-speed manual delivers 25/31/27 mpg. The outgoing Soul fitted with the 1.6-liter engine maxed out at 28 mpg combined, while the more powerful outgoing 2.0-liter version was rated at 27 mpg combined. The ratings for the 2020 Soul easily outperform the 2019 Jeep Renegade, another compact crossover, which is rated 22/30/25 mpg in its top configuration, but are short of the 2019 Nissan Kicks, which gets 31/36/33 mpg. Kia is pairing the 2.0-liter engine with its Intelligent Variable Transmission, its version of a CVT, for the 2020 Soul as well as the six-speed manual. It offers 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque. The turbocharged 1.6-liter twin-scroll four-cylinder mates with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and offers 201 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. The standard version of the 1.6-liter makes 130 hp and 118 lb-ft. Still to come, and not yet rated, is the Soul EV, which borrows its electric motor and 64 kWh battery pack from the Niro EV and Hyundai Kona Electric, offering 201 hp and 291 lb-ft of thrust. It's expected to have a driving range of more than 200 miles, accommodate DC fast charging and go on sale sometime later this year. We still don't have pricing for the gas-powered versions, which are set to hit showrooms in the first half of this year.