2014 Kia Optima Ex on 2040-cars

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2021 Kia Seltos prices possibly leaked

An anonymous tipster sent Motor1 a list of MSRPs for all six trims of the 2021 Kia Seltos. We can't know if the prices are all correct, but Motor1 seems to have solid underground connections into Kia's back rooms lately, and if nothing else, the numbers give us a reference for when official pricing drops. When the Seltos debuted at last year's L.A. Auto Show, the carmaker said the all-wheel drive variant of the base-model LX and the front-wheel drive version of the S will both start under $22,000. Based on the anonymous figures, a $10 bill makes Kia an honest source, both trims starting at $21,990 before destination. The reported $1,120 fee for handling takes the sum to $23,110, and puts the Seltos $2,000 under the similarly sized but more powerful Sportage. Claimed pricing for the entire lineup after destination runs: LX AWD $23,110 S FWD $23,110 S AWD $24,610 EX AWD $26,410 S 1.6L Turbo $26,610 SX 1.6L Turbo $29,010 At the time of writing, Kia has the Seltos on its U.S. website, but the information isn't all laid out yet. The starting MSRP is listed as $21,990 at the top of the page, but near the bottom of the page, the SX Turbo is listed for that price, which can't be correct. The relevant links all lead to broken pages. The base LX packs the base 2.0-liter with 146 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque running power through a CVT, yet clearly isn't a stripper model; it adds adaptive cruise control, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and 17-inch wheels to its all-wheel drive system. The S forgoes the all-wheel system to plump up on options. Installing AWD to the entry-level motor requires an additional $1,500. The upgraded 1.6-liter with 175 hp and 195 lb-ft shifts through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and only comes in AWD, and it takes the surcharge to $3,500. As Motor1 also notes, the Seltos LX AWD and S FWD are more expensive than FWD and AWD versions of the Hyundai Venue and Kona, Nissan Kicks, Ford EcoSport, Mazda CX-3, and Toyota C-HR. When it comes to practical concerns like fuel economy, though, the Seltos fares well. Looking at front-drive competitors, only the much more expensive Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid and the smaller, cheaper Nissan Kicks and Hyundai Venue top the Kia, and the Buick Encore ties it. With all-wheel drive, the Seltos is also competitive. The non-hybrid Subaru Crosstrek's 30 mpg combined beats the Seltos by just one, and the more expensive Honda HR-V is tied with the Kia.

2021 Kia K5 First Drive | Comfy, cool, but not quite king

Despite the sedan market continuing to lose market share to crossovers and SUVs every year, it’s still a segment that sells millions of units a year. ItÂ’s also one of the most hotly contested segments with strong offerings from Honda, Toyota and Mazda among others, which means itÂ’s hard to stand out. But the 2021 Kia K5 aims to do exactly that. It discards the long-running Optima nameplate for the model's Korean-market alphanumeric designation, and adopts the most dramatic styling Kia has ever used on a midsize sedan. Kia has coupled that with a stylish, quality interior, and a driving experience that is exceedingly comfortable. It's not particularly engaging to drive, which prevents it from being the segment's best, but itÂ’s a strong competitor thatÂ’s worth your consideration. Like the K5Â’s Optima predecessor, the K5 is mechanically related to the Hyundai Sonata, and shares powertrains with it. But this time, itÂ’s a bit choosier. The only engine available at launch is a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 180 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque coupled to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Sonata's naturally aspirated four-cylinder is nowhere to be found. Fuel economy comes in at 27 mpg city, 37 mpg highway and 31 mpg combined for most trim levels, with the base LX basically getting 1 mpg better. 2021 Kia K5 GT-Line View 11 Photos The K5 will also offer all-wheel drive with this engine, again differing from the Hyundai. Later this year, a much more powerful 290-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter engine shared with the Sonata N-Line will be offered on the K5 GT. This version will be front-wheel-drive-only and get an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic instead of a traditional torque-converter unit. Kia is promising a 0-60 time of 5.8 seconds, which would be blisteringly quick for a family sedan. In the EX and GT-Line models we tested out, we found the standard engine had plenty of torque throughout the rev band, so it will comfortably haul you around, but never really excite. ItÂ’s mostly quiet, but pushing it hard will elicit some buzziness. The transmission is quite smooth and chooses gears well enough, but gear changes in manual mode are sluggish. Again, weÂ’re hoping the GT will liven things up a bit. Not being exciting is not necessarily a bad thing, though. It wonÂ’t be long before you discover that the K5Â’s advantage is its superb comfort.

2014 Kia Cee'd GT

Kia may be an automaker with a lot going for it these days, but it's not yet one that takes pains to appeal to performance enthusiasts. Aside from its Pirelli World Challenge team, it doesn't support any major racing programs to speak of. And despite having showcased such concepts as the GT4 Stinger and the Provo, it doesn't really offer much in the way of performance models.
That is, at least not in North America. But at the Geneva Motor Show last year, Kia got itself into the Euro hot hatch game with the launch of the Cee'd GT (and its three-door compatriot, the Pro_Cee'd GT). It's based on the Korean automaker's European-market Volkswagen Golf rival that's now in its second generation and which, in its previous base iteration, served as the Reasonably Priced Car that celebrity guests drove on Top Gear before it was replaced by a Vauxhall Astra. Now with a GT moniker attached, the Cee'd has warmed up to the point that it'd potentially be better suited towards a proper romp down twisting B-roads than serving as a celebrity punching bag.
Since Kia's first genuine performance model (like the model upon which it's based) isn't offered Stateside, we jumped at the opportunity to drive it while on a recent trip to the UK. Read on to see what we found.