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Kia Trail'ster Concept brings traction for the Soul in Chicago

Kia teased its hybrid all-wheel drive Trail'ster concept prior to the 2015 Chicago Auto Show debut, but the company kept some of this off-road Soul's biggest features a secret. Designed both to go off the beaten path and drive efficiently in the city, the company's designers in California added 2.5-inches of extra ground clearance and aluminum skid plates to give the hatchback a more rugged appearance. Drivers can also let the weather into the cabin thanks to a retractable canvas roof. However, the Trail'ster's most intriguing feature is its drivetrain. With a platform still based on the production Soul, up front there's a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with stop/start churning out 185 horsepower and 185 pound-feet of torque through a six-speed automatic gearbox. The gas engine exclusively runs the front axle; at the rear there's an electric motor with 35 hp and 100 lb-ft with a 1.2-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery under the cargo floor providing assistance. The whole system produces a total output of 220 hp and 285 lb-ft of twist, and the Kia claims, the concept could even run two or three miles purely on electric power. There's no physical connection between the internal combustion engine at the front and electric in the rear. Under low-throttle situations, the electric motor runs exclusively, but under most driving conditions, the all-wheel drive system provides extra traction and a bit more acceleration. Kia claims that if it put this layout into production it would offer 25-30 percent better city fuel economy and a 5-10 percent improvement on the highway compared to the current 2.0-liter powertrain in the Soul. That works about to about 30 miles per gallon city and 34 mpg highway, based on the maximum figures. The automaker isn't saying anything official yet, but it's at least hinting that a system like this could end up in the Soul one day. "The Trail'ster concept is a near-future look at how the production Kia Soul would logically evolve into an AWD-capable version that's built to escape the city streets and roam into the mountain wilderness," Tom Kearns, chief designer at the Kia Design Center of America, said in the model's announcement.

2014 Kia Sorento garners five-star NHTSA rating

The 2014 Kia Sorento has just earned a five-start crash-test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as a Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
According to Kia, the new Sorento scored well in both frontal and side-impact crash tests, while also netting high marks in rollover testing. Orth Hedrick, Kia's American director of product planning said, "Already a compelling entry in the compact CUV category, earning a five-Star rating from NHTSA makes the Sorento an even stronger contender within its segment while underscoring Kia's overall commitment to delivering safety and exceptional value to our customers."
The Sorento joins the Sportage within the Kia range, and the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, Mazda CX-5 and Subaru Forester in netting a five-star score in the small, CUV segment. Take a look below for the official press release from Kia.

Redesigned Kia Sorento lineup to include hybrid, plug-in models

The next generation of Kia's mid-size crossover will be electrified, a company executive confirmed Friday. The redesigned Kia Sorento, due in 2020 as a 2021 model, will be offered in both hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants. Kia's European COO, Emilio Herrera, confirmed the new green models in an interview with Automotive News Europe. They will join the Niro (which is offered both as a PHEV and a pure EV) and the delayed 2021 Soul EV in Kia's stable of electrified crossovers.  Details are still slim, and while the U.S. is the largest potential market for the Sorento, American buyers have been hesitant to jump on larger hybrid models. At this point, it's not clear whether the two hybrid models will be included in the variants available with the new Sorento launches, or whether they will be added to the lineup later in the crossover's product cycle.  Autoblog has reached out to Kia for clarification on timing and availability and we will update this story if we learn any pertinent information.  We do know that the new Sorento is due in 2020, and will share its fundamental architecture with sister brand Hyundai's new Santa Fe. Hyundai has not announced formal plans to offer hybrid variants of the Santa Fe here in the states, but electrified powertrains were hinted at for Europe when the crossover was originally unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show back in 2018.  Like Hyundai, Kia has been working hard to overhaul its crossover and SUV lineup here in the United States, where customers are migrating to taller vehicles in droves. The introduction of the larger Telluride has made some room for the stretched Sorento to shrink back into its primary role as a two-row mid-sizer. Related Video