2011 Kia Soul + on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.

Trump wants a trade deal, but South Korea doesn't want US cars

SEOUL - US auto imports from the likes of General Motors and Ford must become more chic, affordable or fuel-efficient to reap the rewards of President Donald Trump's attempts to renegotiate a trade deal with key ally South Korea, officials and industry experts in Seoul say. Meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in last week in Washington, Trump said the United States would do more to address trade imbalances with South Korea and create "a fair shake" to sell more cars there, the world's 11th largest auto market. "What we really want to say to the United States is: Make good cars, make cars that Korean consumers like." While imports from automakers including Ford, Chrysler and GM more than doubled last year largely thanks to free trade deal which took effect in 2012, sales account for just 1 percent of a market dominated by more affordable models from local giants Hyundai and affiliate Kia. Imports make up just 15 percent of the overall Korean auto market, and are mainly more luxurious models from German automakers BMW and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz, which also benefit from a trade deal with the European Union. "Addressing non-tariff barriers would not fundamentally raise the competitiveness of US cars," a senior Korean government official told Reuters, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject. "What we really want to say to the United States is: Make good cars, make cars that Korean consumers like." TASTE BARRIER In Korea, US imports are seen as lagging German brands in brand image, sophistication and fuel economy, industry experts say. US imports do have a competitive advantage in electric cars: Tesla Motors' electric vehicles are seen as both environmentally friendly and trendy, while GM has launched a long-range Bolt EV. US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had cited a quota in the current trade deal as an obstacle to boosting imports. The quota allows US automakers to bring in each year 25,000 vehicles that meet US, not necessarily Korean, safety standards. Should GM, for example, decide to bring in more than its quota of one model - the Impala sedans - it would cost up to $75 million to modify the cars to meet Korean safety standards, the company told its local labor union. Asked about non-tariff barriers, a spokesman at GM's Korean unit said removing them could expand the range of models the company can bring in from the United States. No US company, however, has yet to make full use of the quota, industry data shows.

Kia's quickest cruiser | 2018 Kia Stinger GT First Drive

The 2018 Kia Stinger is a provocatively named, turbocharged fastback sedan that arrives in America in a few months, and we've just been given a great snapshot of what to expect at Germany's notorious Nurburgring circuit. While the very final tuning is under way, the late-stage prototypes we drove are "99 percent there," says Albert Biermann, former BMW M chief engineer, now head of engineering for the Hyundai Group. Despite our first experience with the Stinger being at a famously technical track, Biermann and others stressed that the Stinger is very much a grand tourer. To be clear, just about no one will track the Stinger. So why then do we find ourselves in the Eifel region of Western Germany? Because Korea's new sports sedan signals a dramatic brand shift for Kia, and the Stinger GT is the first to reflect a new, more performance-oriented direction. Kia at the Nurburgring? If you want to make a point, this is one way to do it. Arriving this fall, the Stinger will have three powertrain options on offer globally, but only two gas-fueled turbocharged engines for North America. The entry-level Stinger 2.0T is rated at 255 hp and 260 lb-ft, but our impressions are based on the GT, motivated by Kia's brawnier 3.3-liter twin-turbo, good for 365 hp and 376 lb-ft. Peak power arrives at 6,000 rpm, and peak torque between 1,300 and 4,500 rpm. All engines — including the not-for-America 2.2-liter diesel — are mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission with shift paddles. Both rear-wheel drive and AWD configurations will be available. While the automaker has made some sporty-looking, attractive sedans such as the Optima Turbo, and Cadenza, it wants to "make them drive like they look," says Biermann. Throw the 'Ring's 73 corners, 17 percent incline, and 11 percent decline — all at speed — and you'll learn quite a bit about Kia's newest, very quickly. So how does the Stinger drive? If this was an exercise to understand the touring aspects of the car, it was lost on us. Lap one of our lead-follow drive on the 'Ring wasted no time in demonstrating this new, more dynamic direction. The pace car in front smashed the throttle and entered the 'Ring at speed, banking hard-left on the first turn. I followed suit, mashing the gas, flying into the first turn, tires screeching, the rear sliding out just a bit despite the GT's AWD. Immediately I'm surprised by the acceleration.