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2014 Kia Sorento garners five-star NHTSA rating

The 2014 Kia Sorento has just earned a five-start crash-test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as a Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
According to Kia, the new Sorento scored well in both frontal and side-impact crash tests, while also netting high marks in rollover testing. Orth Hedrick, Kia's American director of product planning said, "Already a compelling entry in the compact CUV category, earning a five-Star rating from NHTSA makes the Sorento an even stronger contender within its segment while underscoring Kia's overall commitment to delivering safety and exceptional value to our customers."
The Sorento joins the Sportage within the Kia range, and the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, Mazda CX-5 and Subaru Forester in netting a five-star score in the small, CUV segment. Take a look below for the official press release from Kia.

Kia teases handsome 2021 Sorento interior with design sketches

True, we've seen the fourth-gen, 2021 Kia Sorento uncovered on a commercial shoot, answering the biggest question we had about one of Kia's bestsellers. On top of that, an Instagram post revealed a couple of low-res interior shots. Kia's carried on with the tease campaign, serving up interior sketches that tell us more about the cabin than the photos. As with with exterior, the revamped passenger space leaves benign curves of the third-gen Sorento behind. Strong horizontal layering is broken up by vertically oriented vents. A 12.3-inch digital cluster lives behind the steering wheel, the screen blending almost seamlessly into a 10.25-inch infotainment display. Another screen for climate control sits dead center on the console, with a few buttons and toggles to improve ease-of-use. A large knurled knob stands atop the center tunnel, it being the rotary shifter that supplants the current gear lever. Behind that, another knurled dial could control the choice of driving modes. That smaller unit is accompanied by a number of buttons for features like auto stop/start, a parking sensor, and the electronic parking brake. The stitched leather upper on the instrument panel should be joined by upgraded fabrics, materials, and finishes throughout. There's also talk of a hidden rear wiper, but we need to wait for the reveal to understand what that's about. The Korean Car Blog happened upon an Excel spreadsheet with engines listed for the crossover internally codenamed MQ4. Globally, the coming Sorento's full complement of powertrain options will cover possibly four four-cylinder gasoline engines, Kia's new R diesels, an eight-speed automatic transmission, a six-speed auto, and — if we can believe our eyes — a four-speed manual. TKCB says the gas engines for the U.S. market should include a 2.5-liter naturally-aspirated four-cylinder, a 2.0-liter turbocharged four, and a 2.5-liter turbo four. Since we know the new Sorento will come in a hybrid flavor, expect the 1.6-liter turbo four this way as well. That seems like a lot of choice, though, what with the current Sorento offering only a 2.4-liter four-cylinder and a 3.3-liter V6. And on the spreadsheet, the eight-speed dual-clutch is only paired with the diesel engine; the gassers get the six-speed auto or the manual. The 2021 Sorento debuts in a little more than two weeks at the Geneva Motor Show on March 3. American audiences could greet it as soon as the New York Auto Show in April.

Hyundai, Kia add to 2.4 million cars recalled in U.S. over fires, engines

DETROIT — Hyundai and Kia have added more than a half-million vehicles to 3 1/2 -year string of U.S. recalls for engine failures and fires. Three recalls released Thursday by the government add new problems and vehicles to the Korean automakers' list of safety woes, which have brought hundreds of complaints about fires from across the nation. The companies have now recalled nearly 2.4 million vehicles for fire and engine failure problems since September 2015, and they are under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for potentially being slow to fix faulty vehicles. In addition, the companies are doing a "product improvement campaign" covering another 3.7 million vehicles to install software that will alert drivers of possible engine failures and send the cars into a reduced-speed "limp" mode if problems are detected. The largest of three recalls posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website Thursday covers nearly 379,000 Kia Soul small SUVs from 2012 through 2016 with 1.6-liter engines. Documents show that high exhaust gas temperatures can damage the catalytic converters, which control pollution. That can cause abnormal combustion and damage pistons and connecting rods. A failed connecting rod can pierce the engine block and cause oil leaks that can cause fires. In addition, Hyundai and Kia are recalling 152,000 Tuscon SUVs from 2011 to 2013 and Sportage SUVs from 2011 and 2012 to fix an engine oil pan leak that also can cause fires. Documents show that Kia had been investigating fires in Souls after the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety petitioned the government to look into the fires last year. In November, the automaker couldn't find any safety problem trends but it kept monitoring repair data and found the problem with the catalytic converters. All Souls with 1.6-liter engines made from July 8, 2011, through August 11, 2016, are being recalled. Dealers will replace a computer that prevents the catalytic converter from overheating. They'll also replace the catalytic converter and the engine if they have been damaged. Letters will be mailed to owners starting April 12. In the Tuscon and Sportage recalls, the fix for the oil pan problem is still being developed. Hyundai owners will be notified starting March 29, while Kia owners will get letters starting April 10.