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Music-inspired Kia Souls overload our senses

SEMA has been pretty mellow this year in terms of over-the-top mod jobs. Sure, there have been some questionable choices, but none have been quite as questionable as the vehicle you see above. This is one of five versions of the redesigned Kia Soul that have been rolled out for the show, all of which take their inspiration from music.
The Vans Warped Tour Soul is the airbrushed vehicle you can see above. Its questionable paint job is accentuated by eight eight-inch Infinity speakers in the side windows, a slide-out barbecue and a 50-inch flat panel monitor on the roof. We imagine this is what happens when you let Xzibit near your Kia Soul. The Vans Warped Tour car also features LED ambient lighting, and the wheels are moderately sized for a SEMA vehice - just 20-inches.
The Amped Soul (above, left) isn't a car, so much as a car-shaped enclosure for several very big speakers. The passenger-side B-pillar has been removed, and the rear door has been replaced with a suicide door, allowing the driver to put the massive stereo on display. LED lighting and four twelve-inch Infinity subwoofers have been fitted, as well as a JBL Pro Live "club-sized stereo." Those gold wheels are 22-inch Forgiato, three-piece items.

Kia Stonic is a compact crossover with a weird name

With Hyundai on the verge of revealing its new Kona subcompact crossover, it isn't surprising that Kia has one to show as well. It's called the Stonic, which is a fairly bizarre name with an equally odd origin. "The name 'Stonic' combines 'Speedy' and 'Tonic,' which refers to the first and last note in the musical scale," Kia explains. "Thus, 'Stonic' suggests that the vehicle is agile and offers something new and fresh in the compact SUV segment." It will be interesting to see if Kia sticks with the name, especially considering it's only one letter away from the name of a certain Chevrolet. Funky name aside, the Stonic looks like it will be fairly handsome, if a bit conventional-looking for a segment that includes the Nissan Juke and Toyota C-HR. The renderings show the car adheres to Kia's design language with organic curves and the corporate Kia grille. It then adds chunky features like beefy fender arches and a thick, raked C-pillar, all of which are bolstered by prerequisite black plastic cladding and aluminum-look faux skid plates. The interior doesn't get any more adventurous. In fact, comparing the rendering with the interior of the new Kia Rio, they look just shy of identical. The only visible differences are a slightly different dash pad over the passenger air bag, and slightly altered air vents. Though the base vehicle isn't exactly revolutionary in its design, it does sound as though owners will be able to personalize it a bit. Kia says the Stonic is "the most customizable Kia ever." Exactly how this will be realized is yet to be seen, but expect many options for interior trim, exterior colors, wheels, and more. We'll also learn the details soon, since Kia says the car will go on sale later this year. Related Video: Kia Crossover Economy Cars hyundai kona

Automatically efficient | 2017 Kia Optima Hybrid Quick Spin

Automakers are stuck between a rock and hard place with hybrid vehicles. On one hand, efficient hybrids are a necessary evil – for lack of a better phrase – to hit increasingly stringent CAFE standards. But on the other hand, low fuel prices mean it takes an increasingly long time for consumers to see a return on the investment of a hybrid's price premium. These factors have pushed automakers even harder to squeeze every mile per gallon possible out their hybrid offerings. That's inevitably led to powertrain innovations designed to maximize just how long and how far hybrids can run on pure electric power and how often the gas engine can shut down. Occasionally, this doesn't work out all that well – as is the case with the new Nissan Rogue Hybrid, for instance – but there are companies getting things right. Kia, with its 2017 Optima Hybrid, is one of them. Drive Notes Kia didn't try to get too creative with the Optima Hybrid's powertrain for 2017. There's a 2.0-liter, naturally aspirated, four-cylinder gas engine, a 38-kilowatt electric motor, and a 1.62-kWh battery pack. Total system output is 192 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque, with EPA estimated fuel economy ratings of 39 miles per gallon in the city and 46 mpg on the highway for a 42-mpg combined rating. That's all spiffy. But taking a six-speed automatic and replacing the torque converter with a clutch and the electric motor, Kia built a hybrid sedan that smoothly intertwines disparate power sources as well as a conventional hybrid like a Toyota Prius, while allowing the Optima Hybrid to take greater advantage of zero-emissions systems. Lift off the throttle and the four-cylinder engine shuts down and lets the 50-hp electric motor handle light, constant-throttle cruising below 62 miles per hour. Dig deeper into the gas, and the petrol powerplant quickly restarts and delivers the bulk of the Optima's power for heavy acceleration and higher-speed conditions. The Optima's back and forth is rarely disjointed – Kia's hybrid feels a lot like its conventionally powered model in normal driving. It's only under sudden, wide-open throttle situations, where the hybrid systems feel caught off guard, that the Optima Hybrid feels flatfooted. A less obvious benefit of the six-speed automatic, of course, is that it leads to quieter operation. There's no rubber-band-like revving like you'd get with a CVT because the transmission can actually shift up a gear.