An unidentified source within Kia has said that the company will begin exports of the Soul to both the U.S. and China by March, though Korean analysts have said they expect the car to hit American shores in the early part of 2009.
First shown as a concept at the Detroit Auto Show in 2006, the Soul is a five-seat small car built to take on the likes of the Honda Fit and the Toyota’s Scion products. The car appeared again in Geneva in a trim closer to production and sporting a new-look “tiger nose” grille.
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The Kia Sportage is a perfect example of the progress that the Koreans are making. We found the Sportage to be very useful, with plenty of space and decent power from the V-6 engine. Some of us, though, would still rather opt for a comparable small SUV from Honda or Jeep.
Click through the jump to read our impressions of the Sportage and click the images to open a high-resolution gallery.
Kia debuted its Koup concept this morning, advertising a design that is likely to make its way into future products.
The Koup has got the wild wheels and glass roof that one might expect from a concept of this ilk, with an aggressive stance and a front end that’s vaguely reminiscent of Honda’s latest European Civic. There are also no shortage of carbon fiber bits, the material can be found on the side mirrors, rear diffuser, even as part of the Kia badge. Less impressive is the car’s hood, which seems a little ill-fitting and broad, with raised character lines that give it a bit of a peaked appearance.
(Click on the thumbnails below to launch live and stock galleries of the Kia Koup or on the jump to read more, including the official press release.)
Although we still haven’t seen the finalized production car, Kia continues to tease us with concept versions of its upcoming Soul crossover. Taking the approach oft used for the SEMA show, Kia brought three tricked-out versions of the Soul - the Burner, Searcher and Diva - to this year’s Geneva Motor Show.
The “hot” hatch of the three, the Soul Burner takes a tuner-type attitude to the five-door, donning a matte-black exterior with flaming red accents. The Burner sports 19″ wheels with similar accents, aggressive LED lighting, and a red-on-black interior, complete with flashing lights mounted within each door’s speaker grilles.
(Click through to read more about the Soul Train’s stop in Geneva.)
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has rated the redesigned 2009 Nissan Murano as this year’s Top Safety Pick among the nine four-door midsize SUV models. The Murano was the best overall performer in the front, side, and rear crash tests.
The 2009 Nissan Murano is the only vehicle to earn “good” ratings in all three categories. It was also one of two vehicles that earned a good rating for protection against whip-lash injury in rear-end crashes. While usually not life threatening, whiplash injuries were reported in 2 million insurance claims last year, costing $8.5 billion, according to the IIHS.
Kia released this teaser shot today of what it’s calling the Soul Burner (very hardcore) concept. We don’t have any details on the car, except for what we can see, but the Burner has the hot wheels, graphics, and cool light clusters that the kids all seem to like so much these days.
The Soul Burner will be joining two other Soul mods in Geneva that will show off the small car’s range of personalization options.
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America wants fuel efficiency and Kia is ready to deliver. In this new spot by the Korean automaker, we’re lead to believe that the Spectra is so thrifty, we just might forget where the gas goes in. Not terribly likely if you live anywhere near our Ann Arbor, Michigan offices these days, where to stand outside just a moment longer than necessary is to risk death from the cold.
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Kia revealed the Borrego SUV at this year’s North American International Auto Show. Borrego is a midsize SUV that packs Kia’s first-ever V-8 engine.
Exterior styling is derived from the Mesa concept shown at the 2005 North American International Auto Show. Inside, Borrego offers luxury features like Sirius satellite radio, a 600 watt Infinity audio system with USB and iPod support, and Kia’s first DVD-based navigation system.
The V-8 is claimed to produce more than 300 horsepower and displaces 4.6-liters. The V-8 powered Borrego should be able to tow 7500 pounds and will be offered with two- or four-wheel-drive. A 3.8-liter V-6 engine will also be offered for those who don’t require V-8 power.
Kia Motors America has signed a one-year deal to be the official car of the National Basketball Association. The deal marks Kia’s first with a major sports league.
Though its new official position is unlikely to net the Korean automaker many new NBA players as clients, it will have a presence at many high profile events. In addition to playing a role in the NBA Playoffs and draft, Kia will donate vehicles to the charities of choice for winners of the Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and the Sixth Man awards.
While it’s doubtful that company will be granted sufficient pull to put Kevin Garnett in a Kia jersey, should he win his second MVP trophy this season, executives can certainly expect to be in line for way more high-fives.
Kia’s Borrego midsize SUV has now been officially launched in Korea as the Mohave, which means that a whole new wave of official images is now available.
Though we don’t expect to have all the Borrego details until the U.S. launch of the truck at the Detroit Auto Show in just over a week, we can see that the Korean automaker has delivered a fairly handsome new vehicle. As reported, the Borrego will offer Kia’s first ever V-8, along with having a V-6 option, and will serve to seat seven.
Expect a full report and loads of live images when the Borrego goes off at NAIAS. Until then, enjoy our ever-expanding Kia Borrego gallery below.
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Not scheduled for a full reveal until the upcoming North American International Auto Show, a whole slew of Kia Borrego (called the Mohave in Korea) images have found their way to the Internet. Kia couldn’t have been too terribly worried about security though, as the new SUV was found literally parked on a red carpet outside.
The full-size Borrego is seen here powered by a 3.0-liter V-6, though the SUV is expected to offer Hyundai’s first ever V-8 as an option. The wealth and variety of images available from this shoot tell us that the Borrego will offer an air suspension, a satellite navigation system, and lots of little plastic bags all over the place.
Check back with WINDING ROAD news for more Borrego details as they become available, including our comprehensive Kia coverage from the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. Until then, click on the thumbnails below to check out the new SUV live, and tell us what you think of it in comments.
This excited salesman may not cut it as a Jennifer Beals replacement, but he certainly puts his all into moving Kia’s stock to make room for the new model year. Fans of Flashdance and excessive perspiration take heed, this commercial is for you.
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