Kia recently unveiled details about their latest sedan, the Cadenza. This entry-level luxury sedan is based on the Hyundai Azera, and will be replacing the aged Kia Amanti. You can see from the pictures that the Cadenza is carrying over some of the design features from Kia’s newest attempts at being exciting, like the excellent Forte sedan and funky box-on-wheels Kia Soul.

The Kia Cadenza sedan features headlights with LED surrounds, much like Audi’s headlight design, and the overall design is more youthful and athletic than typical Kia. Inside, the “floating” dashboard design hints at the same styling, with a “mood lighting strip” running from the dashboard to the door trim. Continue Reading…

Looks like Kia’s been busy over the past year. At the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, Kia unveiled a total of five new models, along with their new “EcoDynamics” sub-brand. Most of the new stuff will only be available in Europe, at least initially. Let’s take a look at what they’re offering…

New Production Models

All-new Kia Sorento

The Kia Sorento, introduced in 2002, is really what helped Kia squeeze into the mid-size SUV market. With refreshes and new options here and there over the years, Kia’s decided to give it an overhaul to keep up with current design trends and features. The new style is much sleeker than before, enough so that you might be able to notice one on the road now.

Kia went so far as to ditch the old body-on-frame structure and design a completely new monocoque chassis which can now seat up to seven passengers. This helped the Sorento lose a significant 473 lbs, despite all the new stuff on it.

The engines have actually gotten smaller this year. The gasoline-powered V6 was reduced from 3.8 to 3.5-liters, and the 2.5-liter diesel is now 2.2-liters. Production has already begun on the new Sorento, and will be available next year in the States. Continue Reading…

Last month we reviewed the 2010 Kia Soul Sport, which we found to be a step in the right direction if they want to compete with the Scion xB, Nissan Cube, and Honda Fit. It wasn’t great, but worth a look. This week, Kia dropped off another 2010 Soul - this time of the “+” (Plus) trim level. I thought this review would be easy, and go something like “here are the differences between the Sport and Plus trim levels.” Turns out that’s not the case… Continue Reading…

Kia’s motto, “The Power to Surprise” has been all fluff up until recently. With the Kia Soul released this year and now the Forte, I’m looking forward to whatever else this car maker has up their Korean sleeves.

The just-released Kia Forte replaced the yawn-inducing Spectra as their compact sedan, and stands up to some very big players in this segment - the Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla, and Ford Focus are all direct competitors. So now that Kia is finally getting their act together, will the Forte stand a chance against these superstar compacts? Continue Reading…

Head into your local Kia dealer and you’re likely to see their brand new Forte Koup sitting in the showroom. Based off the cool Kia Koup Concept at SEMA 2008, the Forte Koup looks surprisingly attractive. We are driving the Forte sedan right now as a test car (review coming soon,) and are actually rather impressed. I’ll get into details during the review.

Just like its sister company Hyundai, Kia seems to be making a serious effort to turn itself around in image and quality lately, which is definitely getting them noticed. The 2010 Kia Soul review we did last month shows the first step in the direction they’re trying to follow. The Forte sedan is also a step away from their typical boring vehicles, and now we have this spicy little number, which is…dare we say…exciting? Continue Reading…

Kia vehicles have always been known for being an appliance - something practical and smart with a good warranty and price tag. But they’ve never had much personality, which makes them all but invisible to enthusiasts and youngsters. Kia intends to change that with the all-new Soul - a direct competitor to the Scion line-up that appeals to young buyers with its hip and cool image, while not straying far from typical Kia value and sensibleness.

Can they pull it off? Can a brand new model from the King of boring compete with the likes of Scion, who’s been building the “young and hip” brand image for years? We test a 2010 Kia Soul Sport to find out… Continue Reading…