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2020 Kia ProCeed is a gorgeous wagon with a spunky turbo engine option

The 2020 Kia ProCeed wagon has finally been unveiled, and it looks pretty much like the concept from the last Frankfurt Motor Show. It has the almost-fastback roofline of the swoopy concept, the wide taillights, and the signature chrome window trim with a dorsal fin highlight at the back. According to Kia, it's also the longest and lowest member of the Ceed compact car family. It's an all-around striking wagon that should stand out in the parking lots of Europe. Still, while it is attractive and distinctive, the ProCeed's design has been a bit compromised in the shift to a production car. The taller body and less dramatic curves detract a bit from the radical roof. The concept also had distinctly rear-drive proportions with the front wheels pushed far forward and plenty of space between them and the base of the windshield. Since the production ProCeed is based on the front-drive Ceed, the long, lean nose is truncated and less elegant. These are nitpicks, though, as the car is far sleeker than the regular Ceed Sportswagon, and we applaud an automaker anytime they come close to delivering on a beautiful concept. The ProCeed is more than just a pretty body, though. Despite being lower and sleeker than the regular Ceed Sportswagon, it only loses about one cubic foot of cargo space. Under the hood, a couple of small-displacement turbo gas engines and a turbo diesel are available, but the really interesting engine is the 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that's shared with the Veloster Turbo. Just like in the force-fed Veloster, it makes 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque, and it can be coupled to a 6-speed manual or 7-speed dual-clutch automatic. The engine is only available in the ProCeed GT trim, which Kia notes had its ride and handling tuning overseen by former chief engineer at BMW's M division, Albert Biermann. While the ProCeed GT has unique suspension tuning, all models benefit from fully-independent suspension and sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires. Pricing hasn't been announced yet for the ProCeed, but it will go on sale early in 2019. Of course, it won't be coming to the U.S., since we don't even have the regular Ceed. Interestingly, it appears it will only be available in Europe, since the press release says it will go "on sale exclusively to European drivers." So even Kia's home market of South Korea may not get the wicked wagon.

Kia will launch a fully autonomous car by 2030

Kia promises to have a fully autonomous vehicle on sale by 2030, and the South Korean automaker will provide an early preview at that next-gen tech by launching the Drive Wise sub-brand at the Consumer Electronics Show. The new branding will encompass all of the company's advanced driver assistance systems and innovations in the human-machine interface over the next 15 years. Before Kia's fully driverless vehicle hits the street, the company thinks that partially autonomous Drive Wise technology could be ready by 2020. These early steps are largely what the company has on display at CES. Tech like Highway Autonomous Driving and Urban Autonomous Driving use sensors and GPS to allow a model to control itself. An Emergency Stop System can automatically get the car off the road if there's a problem, and an electronic valet would even allow a vehicle to park without a driver inside. Kia took a major step toward its autonomous future in December 2015 when it received permission from Nevada to test driverless tech on public roads there with a Soul EV (pictured above). The company and Hyundai have also pledged $2 billion in research through 2018 to help bring these advanced systems into production. Kia also folds future in-vehicle tech under the Drive Wise branding, and its I-Cockpit concept shows some of these solutions off at CES. This demonstrator of a next-gen vehicle cabin supports gesture controls and can detect an owner's fingerprint to adapt the interior to the person's preferred music and climate settings. Autonomous tech is one of the hottest parts of the auto industry right now, and a host of companies are ready to challenge Kia's coming innovations. For example, General Motors plans to test a network of driverless vehicles with ridesharing service Lyft, and Ford and Google might form a similar partnership. BMW also could show of a concept with a nearly production-ready solution early in 2016. Kia Motors introduces new 'DRIVE WISE' sub-brand for autonomous driving technologies - Kia 'DRIVE WISE' encompasses future Advanced Driver Assistance Systems - DRIVE WISE intelligent safety technologies exhibited at 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas - U.S.

Kia Optima could be renamed the K5 here in the U.S.

We recently showed you the Korean version of the 2021 Kia Optima, which is called the K5 there. And if a report is to be believed, the midsize sedan could carry that nameplate here, too, when it debuts. Korean Car Blog reported earlier today that Kia plans to replace the Optima name with K5 in its overseas markets, including the United States, saying it got confirmation from company officials in South Korea. Autoblog sought similar confirmation from Kia here in the U.S. but haven't heard back. Further, Motor1 reports that Kia was granted trademark protection in the U.S. for “K5” in 2012 and again this year. Reports have also swirled that the brand has applied for a trademark protection in Korea for a new logo that is similar to the stylized Kia badge shown on the “Imagine by Kia” electric sedan concept from Geneva in March. It appears Kia has submitted at least 50 trademark registrations since May with the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service, with a modernized script in both red and black versions, both set against a white background, that look almost like “KN” with the N being backwards. It can be seen as an attempt to spiff up the existing no-frills logo of a brand that has made major strides in the quality and refinement of its vehicles. Many will note there's already an alternate Korean-market Kia logo that customers frequently apply to their cars here in the United States.  At any rate, the new Optima/K5 features aggressive, muscular new styling and a powertrain likely to mirror that of the new 2020 Hyundai Sonata, with a choice of either a 191-horsepower naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine or a 1.6-liter turbo-four making 180 hp, both mated to an eight-speed automatic. Going on sale this month in Korea, the K5 grows nearly 2 inches longer to 193.1 inches, and an inch wider, to 73.2 inches. It also gets a longer wheelbase, and the height drops by nearly an eighth of an inch to 56.8 inches.  Despite the overall decline in sedan in the U.S., the Optima still sells respectively, with 89,482 sold through the first 11 months of the year, a drop of 5%.