2002 Kia Sportage Base Sport Utility 4-door 2.0l Low Miles on 2040-cars

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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.

Kia Stonic not coming to America

Related: We obsessively covered the Frankfurt Motor Show — here's our complete coverage FRANKFURT, Germany — At this year's Frankfurt auto show, Kia showed off its new Stonic subcompact crossover, the Stonic. It features all of the hallmarks of the typical affordable little crossover. It has lots of customizability in the form of many two-tone paint options. It has chunky, lifted looks with plastic cladding. It also comes with class-competitive engines making 147 and 175 horsepower. It's also based on the same platform as the compelling little Kia Rio. It seems like a shoo-in for the American market, but when it goes on sale in Europe this year, it won't be doing the same on our shores. This was confirmed by a Kia representative. His official statement was that there are no current plans for selling it in the U.S. Considering how hot the crossover market is right now, even attracting corporate cousin Hyundai with its Kona, it seems surprising Kia wouldn't be interested in fielding its own take on the segment. Perhaps Kia has concerns about it cannibalizing sales of the highly successful Soul and the all-new Rio. We wouldn't count on the Stonic staying away from the States forever, though. All that was said was the Stonic isn't planned for the U.S. That's not an outright "no, it will not come here, period." It could just be that Kia isn't ready to announce the car's introduction here, or perhaps it's still gauging interest. Maybe Kia has other small crossover-esque plans, after all, as successful and competitive as the Soul has been, it's starting to age a bit. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Kia Soul now has more turbo and 201 hp

Back in May, Kia revealed in a new hamster commercial that we would be seeing a turbocharged version of the Soul sometime this winter. After months of waiting, we finally get our first look at the Soul Turbo in the form of the European-market Soul SX. Obviously, the most important part of the newly-boosted Soul lies under the hood. There you will find the familiar turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder from the Veloster Turbo and the Elantra Sport. Unsurprisingly, it makes the same 201 horsepower as its corporate cousins. But that's still a healthy 37-horsepower improvement over the naturally aspirated 2.0-liter. The engine is bolted up to a new 7-speed dual clutch transmission. Kia didn't say anything about a manual option, but we certainly hope they'll offer one. The company claims the Soul SX has a 0-62 mph time of 7.8 seconds and a top speed of 124 mph. Aside from the engine, there are subtle exterior and interior tweaks that distinguish this quicker Soul. The front bumper gets a larger, more aggressive grille, and the side sills are slightly wider. The car also receives exclusive 10-spoke, 18-inch wheels, red accents and Soul badge, and a twin-tip exhaust. Inside, the Soul SX has a black cloth and leather interior featuring orange stitching and the obligatory flat-bottomed steering wheel. Kia also revealed that the Soul SX is now available for ordering. However, this is just the European model. We still have yet to see the final US-spec version, but we'll probably see it very soon. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Kia Soul SX: Paris 2016 View 12 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Paris Motor Show Kia Crossover Hatchback Performance 2016 paris motor show kia soul turbo