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Kia's Detroit concept is called Telluride

Remember that Kia concept we told you about earlier this week? It's called Telluride – you know, like the ski resort town in Colorado. Kia just released this second teaser image of its big SUV concept, giving us a sneak peek of the interior. Design-wise, it looks cool, but there's more here than meets the eye. Kia is, as expected, short on details. But the automaker confirms many of the interior bits – including elements of the dashboard, door panels, and steering wheel – use 3D-printed components. We'll have to wait until next week's Detroit Auto Show to see exactly what Kia's talking about, though. In its short press release, Kia once again mentions its concept's "unique in-cabin health-and-wellness technology," but doesn't offer any more details. Maybe it's something similar to the Fit Driver stuff that Audi unveiled at CES this week. Look for the Telluride to debut during Kia's press conference at 2:15 PM Eastern on Monday, January 11, and click here to see the original teaser showing the SUV's shape. DETROIT CONCEPT TEASER #2 The boldly designed Telluride, set to unveil at the 2016 North American International Auto Show next week, pushes the boundaries of technology and luxury with unique in-cabin health-and-wellness technology. The concept highlights Kia's first use of 3D-printed components, which add a distinct, modern design element to the dashboard, door panels, and steering wheel.

Kia Rio hatchback facelift in Europe brings lots of new tech

Earlier this year, Kia put a fleet of Rio hatchback prototypes on the road in Europe wearing near full-body camouflage, which was a lot of secrecy for what was expected to be a minor facelift. The South Korean automaker has revealed the final product in Europe with an unforeseen bounty of changes to increase efficiency and bolster technology. The cosmetic formula doesn't deviate much, a narrower tiger grille sitting over a thicker bumper with reshaped fog light housings. At the corners, all Rios will come with full LED lighting. The color palette grows with the addition of Perennial Grey and Sporty Blue, the latter hue seeping into the cabin with a blue color pack that brightens up the dashboard, seat bolsters, arm rests, and contrast stitching. The GT-Line goes monochrome with a black interior offset by white piping and stitching, and a carbon-fiber-effect dashboard. Every model comes with a height-adjustable driver's seat, which is an optional upgrade for the passenger's seat. New 16-inch, eight-spoke wheels will also be available. Under the hood, Kia debuts an EcoDynamics+ powertrain with new 1.0-liter Smartstream mild hybrid gas engines in two outputs that replace the 1.0-liter Kappa engines. The Rio marks Kia's first application of a 48-volt mild hybrid system, the belt-driven integrated starter generator programmed to extend its shutdown time to increase fuel economy. The 99- and 118-horsepower outputs match the previous engines, but in the 118-hp version torque rises from 127 pound-feet to 148. Both mills will offer three drive modes, Normal, Eco, and Sport. Squeezing out more efficiency for buyers who stick with the standard manual transmissions, Kia engineers developed a clutch-by-wire. Instead of a mechanical linkage, electronics control the clutch actuation. Combined with an update to make the engine start/stop system dependent on pressing the brake and the clutch instead of just the clutch, manual-equipped Rios expand the time the engine is shut off when coasting to a stop. The other two engines in the lineup will be new versions of the 1.0-liter with 99 hp that will come with a six-speed manual transmission as standard instead of the five-speeder, and naturally-aspirated 1.2-liter with 83-hp. A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission will be optional.  Inside, the dash cluster fits a 4.2-info screen with higher resolution.

Did Lexus make a BMW? Or did BMW make a Lexus? This and other 2017 surprises

It's that time of year again. The calendar is about to reach its end, Star Trek Cats 2018 is about to take its place, and I'm reflecting about all the cars that graced my driveway this year or summoned me to exotic places. You know, like Stuttgart or Phoenix. In 2017, I drove at least 57, and as I perused the list of them, I started to notice a common refrain: "This car surprised me." Most were pleasant surprises, but there were a few head scratchers and facepalms for good measure. In both cases, it was generally the result of car companies seemingly trying to break out of an existing mold. Nowhere was that more apparent than the pair of Lexuses slathered in Infrared paint: The LS 500 that left me this week and the LC 500 that was my favorite car of 2017. Though Lexus has been trying to shake its crusty, gold-packaged reputation for some time now, its efforts always seemed like an old man choosing Hollister to redo his wardrobe after realizing it hasn't been updated since 1987. I fell in love with the LC, genuinely floored by its near-perfect take on the GT. It's characterful in sound, appearance and tactility. It was at home in the city, in the mountain and on the open road. It was both comfortable and thrilling, and after driving the mechanically related LS 500, I can report that the LC's talents aren't an outlier. The LS 500's turbo V6 may make different noises than the LC's naturally aspirated V8, but it nevertheless invigorates the cabin when the car is placed in Sport+ mode. The steering is truly communicative, body motions are kept in miraculous check, and I absolutely forgot I was in an enormous luxury limo ... and a Lexus one at that. It was everything that the BMW 530e was not. I drove that on the exact same roads and was utterly bored the entire time. Generally doughy, lifeless steering, more distant than Planet 9. And no, the plug-in hybrid powertrain had nothing to do with that. At least it shouldn't. The Porsche Panamera S e-Hybrid I also drove this year proves that, as do the Hyundai Ioniqs, which are surprisingly adept and fun little cars regardless of what powers their wheels (Hyundai + hybrid = fun really blew me away). I would drive that Lexus LS F Sport over the BMW 5 Series any day of the week, which seems like a shocking thing to say in relation to either car. While Lexus is seemingly breaking out of its old crusty mold, BMW seems to be climbing into one.