What do you think of this car? While surfing on the web, I found those spy shots. I wasn’t sure of what car would this be until I saw the alloy wheel with Kia emblem. Now the question, what Kia is this? I was thinking of Spectra replacement.

The Spectra has been on the market for about 5 years now and it desperately needs a replacement to compete with the endless automotive competition. Europeans got their hands on the cee’d, could this vehicle be destined for US and other non European countries only? We shall see… [Source: Jonganilbo]

But first take a look at the spy shots:

Click image to enlarge!

Hyundai-Kia Motor Group said yesterday it has taken emergency measures to reform its China unit amid rapidly declining sales.

The top Korean auto group said it established separate Chinese headquarters for Hyundai and Kia, allocating veteran executives for each unit. Kim Dong-jin, current vice chairman of Hyundai Motor, will be heading Beijing Hyundai.

Kim Ik-hwan, present vice chairman of Kia Motors, will be seated as head of Kia’s business unit in China, also known as Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motors. Seol Young-heung, the chairman currently in charge of Hyundai-Kia’s Chinese operation, will supervise production and sales for both units. (more…)

Kia Cee’d was selected Thursday as “Car of the Year 2008” in Romania, in a competition organised by the Romanian Union of Auto Journalists and Publishers (UZEAR), Rompres reports.

Finalists of the 2008 “Car of the Year” competition were Fiat 500, Fiat Bravo, Ford Mondeo, Hyundai i30, Kia Cee’d, Mazda2, Nissan Qashqai and Peugeot 308.

The eight finalists were selected in mid-November, when the first stage of the competition concluded. A jury made up of journalists cast online votes for their favourite models out of a total 31 eligible automobiles, selected by UZEAR out of the new models to be launched this year or next year in the domestic market.

Just like in the European Car of the Year competition, each member of the 18-journalist jury had 25 points to distribute to max five models, with the maximum score not to exceed 10 points for one model.

In 2007, the Car of the Year in Romania was the Opel Corsa.

The engine range of Cee’d is pretty standard fare – 1.6 litre and 2.0 litre four cylinder petrol versions plus, er, 1.6 litre and 2.0 litre turbodiesels. The 1.6 litre petrol is predicted to be the best seller, and it’s not at all bad. Yes, it gets a bit vocal when pressed, and it’s still a bit loud under motorway cruising. But in town it’s smooth and refined with plenty of mid-range torque.

The Cee’d specs are : engine – 1591cc 16 valve four-cylinder petrol, power-120 bhp at 6200rpm, torque- 113 lb/ft at 5200rpm, Performance- 0-62 mph 10.8 seconds, 119 mph top speed, Fuel economy – 44.1mpg combined, CO2 emissions – 152 g/km.

Kia Motors Corp. expects to sell 100,000 Mohave sport-utility vehicles worldwide next year as it is set to begin selling the new model.

The automaker plans to sell 18,000 units of the Mohave in South Korea next year and exports are likely to total 82,000 units, said Lee Kwang-woo, head of Kia’s domestic operations, in a press conference to introduce a revamped version of one of its buses.

“I’m confident that Mohave would win sales in competition with Hyundai Motor’s Veracruz,” Lee said, referring Hyundai’s latest SUV model.

Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai, plans to start selling the Mohave SUV early next year. The new SUV will be sold overseas with the different name of “Borrego.”

For the whole of this year, Kia aims to sell 1.54 million vehicles worldwide, up 22 per cent from 2006.

[Source: Yonhapnews]

While reading this article, I noticed some pretty impressive specifications and technical informations about Kia Borrego, including the claim of V8 engine producing 333hp!! Don’t know if this is true, but looks like Borrego just joined the club of 300+ horsepower cars.

The article:

Visiting any automotive research and development facility is worth the time and effort — the off chance of catching a glimpse of something special makes even the most arduous trip worthwhile.

A day at Hyundai Kia Automotive Group’s Namyang facility in Korea provided quite an insight. Along with a number of heavily camouflaged cars (notably the next-generation Tiburon sports coupe complete with what sounded like a V8 engine — sadly, the eight was emphatically denied by Hyundai personnel) were two very different cars up for driving — a Chevy TrailBlazer-sized, seven-seat SUV and a subcompact hybrid. (more…)

Read the first Kia Soul test drive here.

Click image to enlarge!

Kia Soul test drive

Kia Lotze, known also as Kia Optima overseas, has received a mid-cycle technical makeover. Improvements implemented in a midsized sedan will strengthen it’s position on the market and intensify ability to compete against established contenders in the mid-size class.

The new Lotze has been equipped with new Theta II engine developed by Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group. This is the same engine used in Sonata Transform, a facelifted version of Hyundai Sonata that went on sale in South Korea last month.

This is the first Kia adopting Theta II engine which delivers more horsepower and sportier performance but not at the expence of fuel economy! Indeed, the revised engines boast improved milage and lower emissions.

The performance improvements have been realized through the addition of a variable induction system to improve engine breathing and a variable valve timing system for both the exhaust and intake ports.

More about 2009 Kia Optima (click here) 

Bill Caven charts the Korean marque’s spectacular growth – and says there’s a lot more to come…

When you think about it, life is full of little surprises. For example, how did the Spanish equivalent of Stevie Wonder become an international football referee?

Similarly, if you had dared to suggest a few years ago that a Korean motor manufacturer would become a major world player, then the chances are you would have been laughed out of town. (more…)

Kia Motors Corp. has finally launched it’s much anticipated large SUV! Head to our more extensive report about Kia Mohave by clicking the following link: Kia Mohave or read the Mohave review from Dubai.

Click image to enlarge!

By Donna Vissing

The 2007 KIA Spectra SX is a great drive, great mileage at a great price! Considered to be one of the fastest growing automobile manufacturers in the world, the Korean-built KIA is increasing their consumer fan base.

The Spectra SX is a sporty, sleek, fun car to drive; when you add the car’s dependability, functionality and comfortable interior for the driver and passengers, you have made a sound decision that you will enjoy for years to come! Read more…

The production version of Kia Motors Corp.’s full-sized sports utility vehicle Mohave was shown to the press for the first time yesterday. The vehicle was introduced during a test-drive session at the automaker’s plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. It is scheduled for launch on the local market in January 2008.

Mohave, short for “majesty of hi-tech active vehicle,” is Kia’s first full-sized SUV, and is the first one which embodies chief design officer Peter Schreyer’s “simplicity of the straight line” principle. (more…)

Hyundai and its Kia brand are planning to launch a range of new AWD models in coming years, with engineers currently testing a new prototype drivetrain sourced from Sweden’s Haldex. Hyundai is expected to use the same XWD system and electronic differential offered by Saab, making it the first Asian carmaker to use Haldex mechanicals.

Haldex will supply Hyundai, for a prototype installation, with an electronic AWD system, based on the fourth generation of its established Haldex Limited Slip Coupling and the all-new, evolutionary Haldex electronic Limited Slip Differential (Haldex XWD) developed from the Haldex product platform of limited slip differentials.

(more…)

Kia Motors Corporation announced today that its global sales (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants) of passenger cars, recreation vehicles (RVs) and light trucks in October 2007 recorded 112,877 units, representing a 15.7% year-on-year increase.

By region, Kia’s North America market posted a year-on-year sales increase of 25.9% in October with 28,400 units sold. Meanwhile, sales of Kia vehicles in Europe, China, general markets and Korea were 31,535 units (12.0% year-on-year increase), 8,464 units (12.7% year-on-year decrease), 19,374 units (39.5% year-on-year increase) and 25,104 units (8.0% year-on-year increase), respectively. (more…)

Kia Pro_cee’d FORUM

This is the new three door version of the cee’d from Kia. Named Pro_cee’d, it joines the Kia range as the sportiest sibling of cee’d family.

The Pro_cee’d offers fresh and sporty look combined with truly sporty feel to the driving experience. The three door car is longer, lower and lighter than the five door cee’d hatchback.

Despite it’s lowered, more sporty appearance, Pro_cee’d provides generous legroom front and rear, and luggage capacity is a class leading 340 litres, with the rear seats upright.

Kia is promising a wide range of gasoline and diesel engines in Pro_cee’d. Five Euro4 compliant engines are offered, with power output covering a 90 to 143 hp range.

You can expect Pro_cee’d to hit the market between December 07 and January 08!

Click image to enlarge!

[Photo Source: auto-news.de]

Another day and here are new pictures of Kia Mohave! KIA-WORLD blog reveales the first clear look at Kia’s large SUV, which is set to make it’s Korean debut around new year.

It was revealed that the corporation’s all-new, mid-size, SUV will bear the name Kia Mohave when it makes it’s domestic premiere.

Basicly, this is the same vehicle as Kia Borrego. When searching for differences between Mohave and Borrego, we could only notice a new exclusively designed Mohave emblem and different chrome grille, that really adds up some style to the car’s face. Other than that, there are no other design modifications.

Mohave is Kia’s first automobile to be packed with company’s V6 diesel engine. The anticipated 3,0L engine will only be avaliable in S. Korea. It is powerfull enough to compete in a class rife with six cylinder diesel power. This very advanced engine punches out a hefty 250 horsepower and 550 Nm of torque.

Gallery:

Don’t want to miss any news on upcoming Kia models? Subscribe to our RSS Feed!