2012 Kia Soul Plus Hatchback 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Hyundai developing safety system calibrated for 'secondary impacts'

There is an inherent flaw with how traditional airbags are used and deployed: They can only reply to one impact. The Hyundai Motor Group wants to address this with a new "multi-collision airbag system" that focuses on impacts that occur after the first point of contact. Hyundai defines multi-collision accidents as "those in which the primary impact is followed by collisions with secondary objects, such as trees, electrical posts or other vehicles." In a press release, Hyundai noted that about 30 percent of roughly 56,000 accidents between 2000 and 2012 in North America involved these types of multi-collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)'s National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System division. The airbag systems in today's cars don't always go off when the first accident occurs, and when a car goes through a secondary impact, the airbags may no longer provide the best safety. Hyundai's new system can read the positions of the car's occupants and react in a more beneficial way. It can quickly recalibrate after the first impact based on readings from the vehicle and the people inside, which allows the second part of the crash to trigger the airbags. As of now the system is still in development, but Hyundai Motor Group is planning to use it in both Kia and Hyundai vehicles in the future. Which models and which markets it will apply to first are yet to be determined. Related Video:

2020 Kia Soul X-Line Review | At least it looks the part

The Kia Soul was always intended to be a city creature. When it was launched a decade ago, it was an answer to weird city cars like the Scion xB and Nissan Cube. It had funky styling, bright colors, and speakers with lights that pulsed to your music. The 2020 Kia Soul may be an evolution in terms style and size from that original version, but the market has changed to frame it in a different light. The JDM boxes are gone, succeeded by a variety of sub-compact SUVs like the Honda HR-V, Jeep Renegade and Hyundai Kona. The previous Soul competed very well with them, and the new version for 2020 does even better, offering a compelling recipe of value, space and style. It still doesn't offer all-wheel drive, but then, neither does the Nissan Kicks or Toyota C-HR. Nevertheless, all of these vehicles are supposed to be able to leave town once in a while, to perhaps get dirty (or carry things that might, like a mountain bike or kayak). That’s part of the appeal of the segment, to enable an Instagram-friendly lifestyle. ThatÂ’s why the 2020 Kia Soul X-Line was hatched. To find out how it does at satisfying its mission, I set out on a road trip from Portland into Central Oregon toward the towns of Redmond and Bend. ItÂ’s a trek made daily by countless Subaru Crosstreks, a vehicle Kia almost certainly hopes to poach some customers from. I even brought a current Crosstrek owner along for the ride. Outside, the Subaru playbook was consulted and the requisite black plastic body cladding applied to the fascias, rocker and doors. The grille has a more rugged mesh insert accented by foglights and tasteful alloy-look trim, which is also used on the rocker panels, mirror caps and roof rails that are only available from the factory on the X-Line. The halogen headlights are in the same place as they are on lower Soul trim levels, but the alloy-look trim draws more attention to them – they look a bit like big, old-school driving lights. In total, it does indeed make the Soul look like a little SUV – and an attractive one at that, especially when painted Undercover Green. Sadly, our test car was Gravity Gray. The interior, by contrast, isnÂ’t any more special than the base trim. There's handsome, textured silver plastic trim on the doors and it comes with "Black Woven Cloth" that's actually quite nice for a car that costs $21,000. There are no Jeep-like rugged details or decals.

Hyundai, Kia electric vehicles to use Tesla's NACS charging ports starting next year

Hyundai and Kia say that they're adopting North American Charging Standard ports for their electric vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, which will give the vehicles access to thousands of Tesla Superchargers across the two countries and Mexico. Tesla’s Superchargers are coveted by other automakers because Tesla has more direct current fast-charging plugs in the U.S. than any other network, and its stations are in prime locations along freeway travel corridors. Hyundai Motor North America said Thursday that new Hyundai electric vehicles in the U.S. will come with the NACS port starting in 2024's fourth quarter. It will begin in Canada in the first half of 2025. Hyundai's luxury brand, Genesis, will also start using the NACS ports. Kia said it plans to build the NACS port into new electric vehicles sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, also in the fourth quarter of next year. “Having this kind of sprawling access to chargers will no doubt boost customer satisfaction, elevate the EV ownership experience, and enable drivers to reach more destinations across the continent on electricity,” Seungkyu (Sean) Yoon, president & CEO, Kia North America and Kia America, said in a statement. Hyundai and Kia electric vehicles with NACS ports will be able to access more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. This will double the size of the DC fast charging network available to Hyundai electric vehicle customers. The Tesla network will be able to support the charging speeds on HyundaiÂ’s advanced Electric-Global Modular Platform vehicles, including IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 and the upcoming IONIQ 7. Tesla's electric vehicle plug has steadily moved closer to becoming the industry standard. In June SAE International, formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, said that it would set performance standards for TeslaÂ’s electric vehicle charging cords. The move by the key U.S. automotive industry organization came just weeks after Ford, General Motors and Rivian said they would join TeslaÂ’s large Supercharger network and adopt its NACS connector in new versions of their electric vehicles. Volvo Cars has also signed a deal with Tesla to join its charging network.