2023 Kia Sorento Lx on 2040-cars

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2020 Kia Soul First Drive Review | FUNky

It's hard to believe, but the Kia Soul first went on sale a decade ago, hitting the market for the 2010 model year to challenge the new-to-America Nissan Cube and the wheeled box pioneer Scion xB. We're not sure, of the three, we'd have put our money on the Soul to outlast the rest, but here we are. The xB and Cube are long dead, and the Soul is on its third-generation, ready to take on the latest crop of subcompact crossovers that have replaced the old boxes. The new generation is completely redesigned from the ground-up, sporting bold but recognizable looks. Under the skin is a new standard engine, and the lineup features additional trim lines, each with unique styling. We tried out two versions of the new Soul, the crossover-inspired X-Line with a new naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine, and the sporty GT-Line with the optional turbocharged 1.6-liter engine. What we discovered was a spunky, funky hatch that's a great choice all-around in one guise - and a questionable choice in another. Kia Soul X-Line The Kia Soul X-Line is roughly a mid-level model, starting at $22,485, and it features the powertrain that the vast majority of Souls will have: a 2.0-liter inline-four making 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque coupled to a CVT. That's a $4,000 step up from a base, manual LX, and the price difference is attributable to styling tweaks – plastic fender flares and silver-painted trim meant to evoke skid plates – plus the addition of blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic warning. Despite the quasi-crossover looks, there's no extra ground clearance nor the option of all-wheel-drive. We don't think most buyers will mind, too much, since most Souls will probably never leave pavement anyway. The four-cylinder engine is about par for the segment. Acceleration is sluggish with plenty of noise, but throttle response is snappy, and the sounds it does emit is pleasantly growly. Fuel economy for most CVT-equipped Souls comes in at 27 mpg in the city, and 33 on the highway, which matches the old naturally-aspirated 1.6-liter model's city economy and improves on the highway by 3 mpg. That puts it ahead of the Toyota C-HR and tied with the CVT-equipped Subaru Crosstrek. The EX version of the Soul manages an impressive 29 mpg in the city and 35 on the highway, coming close to matching the Nissan Kicks that gets 31 mpg in town and 36 on the highway. Choosing a manual in the Soul brings fuel economy down to 25 in the city and 31 on the highway.

Consumer Reports says infotainment systems 'growing first-year reliability plague'

The Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability Survey (right) is out, and the top two spots look much the same as last year's list with Lexus and Toyota in first and second place, respectively. However, there are some major shakeups for 2014, with Acura plunging eight spots from third in 2013 to 11th this year, and Mazda replaces it on the lowest step of the podium. Honda and Audi round out the top five. This year's list includes six Japanese brands in the top 10, two Europeans, one America and one Korean.
Acura isn't the only one taking a tumble, though. Infiniti is the biggest loser this year by dropping 14 spots to 20th place. Other big losses come from Mercedes-Benz with an 11-place fall to 24th, and GMC, which declines 10 positions to 19th.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's not traditional mechanical bugs hauling down these automaker's reliability scores. Instead, pesky problems with infotainment systems are taking a series toll on the rankings. According to Consumer Reports, complaints about "in-car electronics" were the most grumbled about element in new cars. Problem areas included things like unresponsive touchscreens, issues pairing phones and multi-use controllers that refused to work right.

Kia recalls 9,700 new Sorento models for potential front axle failures

Kia has announced a recall on the 2014 Sorento due to an issue that could lead to a broken right front driveshaft on certain models. Only models equipped with the 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive are affected by the campaign.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that Sorento models built between January 7 through March 12 of this year may experience broken axle shafts that could lead to loss of power or cause the vehicle to roll if parked. According to the Detroit Free Press, a total of close to 9,700 units are being recalled, but that number is closer to 9,300 for customers in the US.
Kia says that it has had one incident with an internal vehicle that experienced a separated axle shaft in addition to 10 related warranty claims, but it says no accidents or injuries have been reported. The recall campaign will begin next month. Scroll down for the NHTSA recall notice as well as an official statement from Kia.