2020 Kia Sportage Lx on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Kia teases next-gen K5 in South Korea, foreshadows our Optima

Now that the redesigned Hyundai Sonata is down the road burning gas, Kia's loading the next-generation Optima into the chute. The automaker teased the South Korean-market K5 — our Optima — on Facebook, revealing a sedan that will bring a new attitude to the midsize competitor. The sketches largely line up with spy shots we got a couple of months ago, starting with the clamshell hood running down to a narrower, wider tiger nose grille. Two creases in the center of the hood bracket the Kia logo. We can't know what trim is on display in the rendering, but the pictured upper and lower grilles give up the mesh pattern on the current car for horizontal strakes. A pair of DRLs frame the front fascia, the Z-shaped light signature longer and more abstracted than that on the Cadenza sedan.  The profile includes a couple of signature strokes that create a wholly different impression. Moving the side mirrors to the doors emphasizes the sharp takeoff point for the greenhouse, emphasized with a chrome trim strip that could have come off a stretched Aston Martin DB11. Instead of the rear glass behind the C-pillar picking up from the edge of the backlight as on the current car and forming their own profile, the sketch show a faster glass design angled back to follow the shape of the roof. Lower down, the character line in the sketch rises from the front wheel arch to the rear door, then falls sharply to the rear wheel arch. We can't make out this line in any of the spy shots, though. The rear gets a lot edgier. It's possible the chrome greenhouse trim dips around the bottom backlight to form a single line around the car. A short decklid is backed by an integrated lip. A single taillight of dashed LEDs runs across the width, bookended by a tight V shape.  Wholesale change inside stresses the horizontal span. A slightly modified steering wheel sits ahead of a digital dash cluster. A second widescreen sits atop an instrument panel cut by wide, narrow vents and marked by fewer buttons. On the center console, the shifter's replaced with a rotary knob.  A debut could come before the end of the year, the sedan likely a 2021-model-year offering. Engines should mirror Sonata powertrains, consisting of a 1.6-liter four-cylinder and a 2.5-liter four-cylinder shifting through an eight-speed transmission, and a more powerful turbocharged four-cylinder expected to join the lineup.

Kia Niro EV concept coming to CES

Kia announced that it will show a new electric concept car at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. The announcement didn't explicitly say what the vehicle is, but that's fine, because the teaser images above reveal the car's "secret" identity. At the back of the car are bright glowing letters spelling out the name "Niro EV." Even without seeing the name, the images make it pretty clear this is a Niro of some sort. The profile fits the production hybrid and plug-in hybrid production cars, especially the upright and wide rear hatch. It also has the Niro's distinct hood with twin creases above the headlights. There are a number of styling changes, though, mainly up front. The headlights look to be more swept back and have LED strakes for style. The taillights mirror this design, and they add a center portion between the main elements to make the lights full width. Additional three-pointed fog lights are also added front and rear. The grille at the front is no longer a grille, instead now featuring a bunch of little lights. This may have something to do with the "motion graphic" lighting technology Kia will show on the car, since it looks like the pattern and intensity could change. The shape of this faux grille panel also looks wider and slimmer than that on the production Niro. On the topic of production Niros, we wouldn't be surprised if this full EV Niro makes it to market. The Niro is based on the Hyundai Ioniq, which itself offers normal hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and full electric variants. And since the Niro is already available in hybrid and plug-in versions, a full EV would round out the model nicely. It wouldn't be without work, since the electric version of the Ioniq has a torsion bar suspension rather than the multi-link setup in the hybrid Ioniqs and Niros in order to fit the larger battery pack, but it's far from impossible. Stay tuned for more info on the concept and any news on a production version. Related Video:

Lucid Air and Maserati MC20 unveiled | Autoblog Podcast #644

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd. Before they get to the juicy news of the week, they chat about the cars they've been driving, including a Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R, Audi A6 Allroad, Mazda CX-9 and Kia Niro. It's been a busy week in the news department, with GM investing in Nikola, Lucid Motors launching the Air electric sedan, Maserati unveiling the MC20 mid-engined supercar and a farewell to the Lexus GS. Then they talk about having a newfound respect for the Fox Body Mustang and the Mazda CX-9. Autoblog Podcast #644 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R 2020 Audi A6 Allroad 2020 Mazda CX-9 2020 Kia Niro GM buys $2 billion stake in Nikola, will build Badger hydrogen-electric pickup Update: Short-seller accuses Nikola of fraud and Nikola threatens to sue Lucid Air production electric luxury sedan is a dream revealed Lucid Air's modular powertrain opens up serious performance possibilities Lucid Motors teases electric SUV at Air debut Mid-engined, 621-horsepower MC20 inaugurates a new era for Maserati All future Maseratis will borrow styling cues from the MC20  2023 Maserati MC20 Folgore planned with three-motor electric powertrain Lexus GS dead for 2021 Respect to: Fox Body Mustang Mazda CX-9 Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: