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Hyundai, Kia consider body-on-frame SUVs aimed at Tahoe and Expedition

Hyundai and Kia are open to expanding their presence in the SUV segment by each releasing a body-on-frame SUV. Both models will be marketed as alternatives to the Chevrolet Tahoe and the Ford Expedition. "From a brand perspective, obviously that is thinkable. Now, whether it makes sense, and in what region, and with what particular concept remains to be seen," said Lorenz Glaab, Hyundai's head of global product management, in an interview with Australia's CarSales. "Nothing can be excluded. There is some dynamism in that segment you just described, and we are very much aware of that. We monitor it closely," he added. Hyundai and Kia sell the Palisade and the Telluride, respectively. Both are rather large, reasonably spacious, and relatively powerful, but they can't compete against body-on-fame SUVs like the Tahoe, the Expedition, and the Toyota Land Cruiser, among others. They feature unibody construction, so they're not as capable off-road. While neither firm has suitable underpinnings to build an SUV on, CarSales believes both new models will ride on a modular frame being developed internally, in part to underpin a pickup about as big as the Ford Ranger. Kia officials requested a bigger, more rugged SUV earlier in 2020. Damien Meredith, the chief operating officer of the firm's Australian division, said he wants "one or two bigger SUVs." He also confirmed Kia will launch a Ranger-baiting pickup, which lends credibility to the claim that the platform will also be used to underpin an SUV. Powertrain specifications are still up in the air. Rear-wheel drive will presumably come standard, and four-wheel drive will be either offered at an extra cost, or made standard on some variants. CarSales speculates a two-speed transfer case could be available, and it added the 3.0-liter turbodiesel straight-six developed for the Genesis GV80 will be the base engine in some global markets. It's reasonable to assume a hybrid option will appear, too. If the report is accurate, both SUVs could land in 2023, meaning they might be labeled 2024 models in the United States. They'd also be sold in Australia, where motorists have a healthy appetite for off-roaders, in the Middle East, where the Land Cruiser and the Nissan Armada reign supreme, and in Russia. Interestingly, posh spin-off Genesis could receive its own version of the SUV, much like Lexus gets a specific variant of the Land Cruiser. Deja vu?

2018 Kia Stinger GT Long-Term Review Update | A romp in the snow

After driving a slew of family sedans and crossovers, I was excited to take home our hard-charging, corner-craving 2018 Kia Stinger long-term car for a weekend of some sports car fun. Then Saturday came, bearing between three and four inches of snow and single digit temperatures. Lovely. But, the weather did offer an opportunity to put the Stinger through its first serious snow of the season, as well as the snow tires Nokian generously donated to us. And the big sedan hatchback did fine in the snow, but not exceptionally well. I appreciated the extra traction from the front wheels, which helped make crawling out of the deep snow in my driveway and accelerating through corners and at intersections easier. I didn't have much trouble breaking the rear wheels loose, either, confirming that the Stinger does indeed have a rear-wheel bias. Fortunately, it was pretty easy to control when the car would break traction, but it was easy enough that it felt as though the all-wheel-drive and traction control weren't doing much to optimize traction until the car really got loose. Then the traction control would quickly bring the car to a crawl to stabilize it. Cornering and braking were just OK, and it seemed to mostly be hampered by the Stinger's roughly 4,000-pound curb weight. I could feel that the car really wanted to keep forging straight ahead, and if I turned too fast or braked too late, it would take its opportunity to do so. Naturally this applies with any large vehicle, but it still feels surprising considering how agile the Stinger is on dry pavement. I hate to think what it would have been like driving the Stinger without the snow tires. On the low-profile all-seasons, I'm sure the traction control would be having conniptions, and I'd be crawling through corners and up to stops. Leaving my driveway probably would have taken a few forward and back attempts, too. Aside from the driving experience I was immensely grateful for the heated seats and steering wheel, both of which seemed to warm up quickly. Boy, though, I sure wish the Stinger had remote start. I'm sure it's not great for the environment, but oh how I wish I could have stepped out the door to an already toasty cabin this weekend. So there you have it. The Stinger GT definitely loses a lot of its fun character in the snow, but it will get you through it. And when things clear up, you'll be happy to have something sporty on hand.

Automatically efficient | 2017 Kia Optima Hybrid Quick Spin

Automakers are stuck between a rock and hard place with hybrid vehicles. On one hand, efficient hybrids are a necessary evil – for lack of a better phrase – to hit increasingly stringent CAFE standards. But on the other hand, low fuel prices mean it takes an increasingly long time for consumers to see a return on the investment of a hybrid's price premium. These factors have pushed automakers even harder to squeeze every mile per gallon possible out their hybrid offerings. That's inevitably led to powertrain innovations designed to maximize just how long and how far hybrids can run on pure electric power and how often the gas engine can shut down. Occasionally, this doesn't work out all that well – as is the case with the new Nissan Rogue Hybrid, for instance – but there are companies getting things right. Kia, with its 2017 Optima Hybrid, is one of them. Drive Notes Kia didn't try to get too creative with the Optima Hybrid's powertrain for 2017. There's a 2.0-liter, naturally aspirated, four-cylinder gas engine, a 38-kilowatt electric motor, and a 1.62-kWh battery pack. Total system output is 192 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque, with EPA estimated fuel economy ratings of 39 miles per gallon in the city and 46 mpg on the highway for a 42-mpg combined rating. That's all spiffy. But taking a six-speed automatic and replacing the torque converter with a clutch and the electric motor, Kia built a hybrid sedan that smoothly intertwines disparate power sources as well as a conventional hybrid like a Toyota Prius, while allowing the Optima Hybrid to take greater advantage of zero-emissions systems. Lift off the throttle and the four-cylinder engine shuts down and lets the 50-hp electric motor handle light, constant-throttle cruising below 62 miles per hour. Dig deeper into the gas, and the petrol powerplant quickly restarts and delivers the bulk of the Optima's power for heavy acceleration and higher-speed conditions. The Optima's back and forth is rarely disjointed – Kia's hybrid feels a lot like its conventionally powered model in normal driving. It's only under sudden, wide-open throttle situations, where the hybrid systems feel caught off guard, that the Optima Hybrid feels flatfooted. A less obvious benefit of the six-speed automatic, of course, is that it leads to quieter operation. There's no rubber-band-like revving like you'd get with a CVT because the transmission can actually shift up a gear.