2008 Kia Sportage Lx on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Kia Stinger will be getting more power for 2021

The 2021 Kia Stinger will get more oomph when it arrives later this year, but a new report says the tweaks will come from modifications to its existing powertrain, not a new option atop the range. The report from Australian site CarSales, which cites anonymous sources close to the automaker, appears to throw cold water on rumors that the Stinger would get the 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 from the new Genesis G80 sedan, which delivers 380 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque. The report says that the G80's 304-hp 2.5-liter turbo-four will not be coming to Australia as a replacement for the Stinger’s base 255-hp 2.0-liter turbo-four, and we would doubt it would for the United States, either.  In its range-topping models, the Stinger's 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 offers 365 hp and 376 lb-ft. CarSales reports that engine will be juiced for more power by tweaking its bimodal exhaust. Unspecified design and equipment changes are also reportedly due. Now in its third year on the market, the Stinger turned a lot of heads when it debuted in 2017 at the Detroit auto show, and a long-term test version of the 2018 Stinger GT impressed Autoblog editors. It has failed to catch fire with buyers, but a performance-oriented premium sedan/hatchback made by Kia was always going to be a sales success long shot.  During the first three months of 2020, Kia sold 2,560 Stingers in the United States, down nearly 21%. Sales in 2019, when there was no global pandemic to skew numbers, totaled 13,861, down 17.5%. Kia discontinued the Premium trim packages for 2020. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2020 Kia Soul earns highest Top Safety Pick + rating from IIHS

The completely redesigned 2020 Kia Soul has finally been crash tested by IIHS, and the results are quite good. The subcompact crossover earned the organization's highest rating of Top Safety Pick +, which topped the previous generation's plain Top Safety Pick rating. The main reason for the higher overall rating is because of an improved passenger-side small overlap crash test result. The new model is now rated "Good" rather than "Acceptable" for the previous model. The rest of the new Soul's crash test results also got the top "Good" rating. Performance in other IIHS test categories are about the same as they had been. The Soul gets the top "Superior" rating for forward collision prevention. The system could stop the car completely before a collision at speeds up to 25 mph. It should be noted that automatic emergency braking is only available as a standard feature on S, EX and GT-Line models. The system with pedestrian detection is only available as a standard feature on the turbocharged GT-Line. Headlight performance was rated "Good" for models with LED headlights, also helping give the Soul the Top Safety Pick + rating, but the halogen headlights that come with lower trim levels were rated as "Poor." The LATCH anchor points for child seats are continued to be rated "Acceptable" for ease of use and access.

Kia, Hyundai testing big crossovers, and one looks like the Telluride

Big things are coming from Hyundai and Kia in the near future, and we mean literally. One of our spy photographers caught the companies each testing full-size crossover SUVs out in the snow. The Kia caught our attention in particular, because it looks quite a bit like the Kia Telluride concept from 2016. At the front of the Kia, the entire fascia looks boxy with nary a curve in sight. It also has low-set, squared-off headlights at the far edges; both prominent features on the concept, too. That theme carries over to the back, where the metal portion of the hatch looks plain and flat and is almost perfectly vertical. The glass area leans forward a bit. The taillights also look like those on the concept, with thin vertical portions that make a 90-degree turn inward at the top. A neat design touch not found on the concept are the slight glass extensions into the roof on each side of the windshield. When the concept Telluride was revealed, it was based on the Sorento platform and had a combined 400 horsepower. This power came from a 270-horsepower V6 and a 130-horsepower electric motor, which Kia claimed would provide 30 mpg in all-wheel-drive form. We expect that the Telluride will mainly be offered in non-hybrid forms, and perhaps in diesel form, since this prototype was testing alongside a Volvo XC90 diesel. But we also wouldn't necessarily rule out a hybrid variant like the concept. Kia and Hyundai both are getting serious about hybrids and electrification, and if Kia is targeting something like the XC90, which itself offers a hybrid powertrain, it would make sense that Kia is planning to offer a competing product. A Kia executive said news about the production model is coming "soon," so we'll probably learn more about the production Telluride sometime this year, probably no earlier than the New York Auto Show. View 16 Photos As for the big Hyundai, it will likely take the space the newly downsized Santa Fe has vacated. We're not sure what it might be called, but the last time Hyundai had a crossover bigger than the Santa Fe, it was called the Veracruz, so the name could make a return. Styling-wise, the front of this full-size crossover is right in line with the rest of Hyundai's new-generation crossovers. It has the split headlight design that first showed up on the Kona, with the lower lamps providing primary illumination, and the thin, scowling upper lamps working mainly as daytime running lights.