2012 Kia Soul Automatic on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Kia K900 looks, sounds snarly with forced induction in SEMA preview

Kia is getting all set for this year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas, and among its vehicles is something that seems pretty mean.
The Korean company is keeping details quiet about what's under the hood of what it calls the High-Performance K900, but from listening to this video it certainly sounds fantastic with quite a meaty growl. There might be some form of forced induction going on, though we can't say for sure. Elsewhere on the car, Kia isn't being so tight-lipped. The High Performance wears a custom shade of gray paint with a one-off body kit, featuring carbon fiber inserts. It also sports 21-inch gloss black wheels and black chrome trim.
Honestly, we were left scratching our head a little when LeBron James signed on to be the "luxury brand ambassador" for the K900. However, if he were driving this around Cleveland, the endorsement might make a little more sense. Check out the video above to glimpse the concept for SEMA, and read the little that Kia is saying about it in the release below.

The 2018 Kia Rio makes a quiet debut in New York

While the 2017 New York Auto Show might be dominated by another variant of the Dodge Challenger, the new 2018 Kia Rio sedan proves that the show isn't all about horsepower and quarter-mile times. We saw the latest iteration of the littlest Kia last fall in Paris, but we all know how much America loves sedans, so the Korean automaker saved the four-door debut for the US. The Rio gets a ground-up redesign for what will be its fourth generation. The design predictably looks like a shrunken version of the midsize Optima. Its handsome, if not exactly groundbreaking. All Rios ride on 15-inch wheels. Although they provide plenty of sidewall to soften the ride, they look just a little too small for the car. Both the sedan and five-door models are slightly longer than the previous models, meaning there's a bit of extra leg and trunk space than before. Inside, like the current Optima, expect a stark improvement over the previous generation when it comes to fit, finish, and interior materials. From the A pillar forward, the Rio sedan is essentially the same as the five-door. Notably for the segment, top-trim Rios have a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Power comes solely from a 130 horsepower 1.6-liter inline four, a decent amount of power for this class. Drivers have the option of either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic. Fuel economy numbers haven't been announced, but expect it to meet or exceed the previous model's rating of 27 city and 36 highway. The sedan and five-door models are set to go on sale later this year. Related Video:

2021 Kia Seltos First Drive | The Soul-ful CUV

To understand the 2021 Kia Seltos, you first have to consider its soul, the Kia Soul. Between the fun-and-funky styling and the compact, practical body style with tons of cargo room, the car that has defied traditional segment labels for a decade (and won an Autoblog comparison test) is a great all-around daily driver for folks who don’t want something that's obviously a crossover. ThereÂ’s just one problem: A lot of people really, really want crossovers. With this in mind, Kia decided to see if the Soul could be made more like one of them. Now, the simplest way to do that could've just been to introduce an all-wheel-drive Soul derivative, but somewhere along the line, the Korean automakerÂ’s product planners decided that would've been a half measure. They considered the fast-growing small crossover segment too hyper-competitive to simply trot out some half-assed Soul "Cross Country" model. Well, besides the X-Line. Instead, the 2021 Kia Seltos was born, a completely different vehicle in its own right, yet one that wears its soul on its sleeve by packing subtle hints to that trademark styling and some of its interior options. If offering all-wheel drive as standard helps cement its identity as a crossover, then the fact its all-wheel drive system comes with a locking center coupling truly seals the deal. In fact, despite our best efforts, we could find only one glaring omission in its CUV bona fides — towing capability. It has none. Sure, Kia offers a “Lifestyle Hitch” accessory for the Seltos, but that's only good for plugging in something like a hitch-mounted bike rack. Those with jet skis, you're out of luck. Trying to further pigeonhole the Seltos quickly becomes difficult, as the baby crossover space is so crowded with new entries in search of a niche that itÂ’s almost impossible to strictly define how it is segmented. You could easily count 20 vehicles of varying size and capability as competitors for the Seltos, from the front-wheel-drive-only Nissan Kicks and Toyota C-HR to the off-road-ready Jeep Renegade. Sister company HyundaiÂ’s Kona and smaller Venue could be considered, too, and then there's the Soul for those who don't need all-wheel drive and obvious crossover image.   Among them all, Seltos falls on the larger end of this evolving spectrum of subcompact “utility” vehicles.