While we are waiting for the 2-door Kia KOUP to hit the streets and it’s spy shots to finally show up on the world-wide-web, we can take a look at these two spy shots (taken in USA) that prove Kia is still running some testing for the US-spec Forte compact sedan.

Because Forte already went on sale in Korea and all of the information, including dozens of images, have already been published on the web, I can’t find a reason why Kia still needs to wrap their preproduction Forte prototypes with all that camouflage.

This makes me think, either, a US-spec Forte might feature some minor design updates in order to meet US consumer tastes, or these spy shots are older than I think and were taken long ago, and I have missed to publish them.

Either way, it’s good to see the Forte finally hitting the US soil. It’s also really nice to see Forte parked together with the Soul and Hyundai Genesis Coupe. These three cars truly show the proggres Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group has made and hopefully, they are only the forerunners of even more exciting and attractive products the future will bring to us from Kia and Hyundai.

After we have seen a couple of renderings of three-door Kia Soul and it’s sexier topless version, the Kia Soul cabrio, here comes the third (but not the final) Soul variant, dubbed the Soul Surfer. Based on three door Kia Soul, the Surfer keeps the same lines as we have seen on production model, but in the same time imports some design elements from several Kia concept cars we have seen lately.

The Soul Surfer benefits from a large panoramic glass-roof, which has been first shown on the Koup concept car and will finally find it’s way into production Kia models. Most probably, the panoramic glass-roof won’t make it to the two-door Forte/Koup, but as recent spy shots indicate, it will be available on the 2010 Sorento XM and YN mini MPV.

Other exterior modifications that distinguish Surfer from production Soul model include a set of beautiful 5-spoke chrome alloy-wheels, redesigned bumpers that don’t feature brush guards and a pair of exhaust pipes integrated in the lower part of rear bumper. Different bonnet design and a pair of roof-mounted surfboards makes up the tweaks made outside.

Just like other two Soul variants we have shown you here, the Soul Surfer has also been designed by a very talented 3D-designer Kevin! Thanks for sending us these beautiful renderings!

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Kia Soul has not only been driven by British media as I first thought, but also by German speaking journalists. Proving that, is this report that I just found on the web and includes some really nice Soul pictures. The fellows from Auto-news.de joined their English friends and put together their short “first impressions” review of the all-new Kia Soul.

So, far most of the Soul reviews were quite positive and the general consensus seems to be that Kia did a great job with their new design. I’m not that good at German, but my modest knowledge enabled me to sum up a few words on their Soul test drive.

In general, Auto-news.de says Soul has a very unique exterior design and comes available with lots of options that will enable customers to personalize the Soul the way they want. The cabin offers above average room and in the trunk there is the same amount of space as in the five-door cee’d (340L). Thanks to generous wheelbase (255cm) you can comfortably seat in the second row of seats.

We have heard before that center stack console and other parts inside the Soul are made from poor quality plastic, but they don’t point that out. So perhaps it’s not that bad at all and other editors were just a bit picky, if you know what I mean.

How about ride? Surprisingly, they don’t complain about the ride, like all English magazines did. They say the ride has a GO-kart feel and is more oriented towards younger buyers who prefer sportier handling over comfort.

Well, there might be some other good (or bad) things that I didn’t include here due to my poor understanding of German language. I must admit that this makes me want to sit behind the table and start learning German again!

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According to the new car owner quality survey, issued by Consumer Reports, Korean vehicles (Hyundai and Kia) now rank right up there with the Japanese automakers! And results of their 2008 car reliability survey reveal that Japanese and Korean brands are the one that build the most reliable cars.

Last week, Consumer Reports posted it’s annual Car Reliability Study that surveyed more than 1.4 million Consumer Reports subscribers, covering model years from 1999 to 2008 and ranked Kia and Hyundai, to the list of Top10 carmakers.

According to the survey, Hyundai ranked 8th and improved it’s position by 7 spots from last year. Kia also made a major improvement and came in 10th position, meaning the brand has moved up 12 spots from last year. For the first time, both Korean automakers hit the top 10 list of the annual survey.

Excluding Hyundai and Kia, the remaining spots in the top 10 were all taken by Japanese cars. Topping the list was the Scion, followed by Acura in second and Honda on third place. Toyota way 4th, while Lexus, the company’s luxury line, came in 5th. Nissan’s luxury Infiniti brand came in 6th, Subaru in 7th, Hyundai 8th, Mitsubishi 9th and Kia 10th.

American and European manufacturers ranked low. The best among them was Ford, which ranked 11th. Other Ford’s brands ( Lincoln, Mercury) ranked 15th and 17th, while most of GM brands rated below average. Buick was 18th, Chevrolet 24th, Pontiac 29th, Cadillac 31st.

The highest ranking brand among European products was the Mini at 13th place, while it’s parent company BMW came in 20th. Audi was 22nd, Volkswagen 25th, and Mercedes-Benz 27th, falling far short of their reputations.

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Just a day after we published some fresh news on the 2009 Kia Optima, I noticed that Kia Motors America also updated it’s official website. At their website you can now find complete information on the refreshed Optima sedan, including pricing list, powertrain specifications, image gallery and other stuff.

Below, I have enclosed some 09 Optima pictures that I have found on KMA’s website. You can check them out and post a few comments on the car’s design.

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With a year left before Kia VG goes on sale in South Korea, this near-luxury sedan has been spied again while undergoing testing sessions somewhere in South Korea.

Over the past few months, we have seen plenty of interesting Kia VG spy shots, unofficial renderings and spy videos. All of them revealed the VG sedan will feature a distinctive exterior design. Beneath the camouflage, on the VG’s front fascia, you can find a stylish H-shapped grille and projector beam headlights. At the back there are striking horizontal LEDs equipped rearlights and a pair of two bumper integrated exhaust pipes.

The VG is a brand new model and will mark Kia’s first entry into the near-luxury sedan market. Built on the same (but improved) platform as Hyundai Azera, the VG will be much more performance oriented car with suspension set-up providing comfort and agile driving.

Due to go on sale in August 2009, the VG will most likely be powered by a 280hp Lambda V6 and four-cylinder Theta engine both mated to the six-speed automatic transmission. [Source: Careview]

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Those of you who have been waiting patiently for the new Kia Optima to show up, one of our dear readers Greg has just informed us that 2009 Kia Optimas (facelifted models) started to show up at US Kia dealers!

With the facelift, Kia Optima received a myriad of improvements. It’s exterior now features a beautiful chrome signature grille and updated headlamps.

In front, you can also find sportier front bumper with larger air intakes and trapez shapped fogg-lights, while at the back, you can find newly designed L-shaped tail-lights. Standard on the 2009 Optima are turn signals integrated exterior mirrors, while a redesigned 17-inch alloy wheels are standard on high-end SX model.

The Optima is available with two powertrains, which power and torque has been increased: a 175 horsepower 2,4L four-cylinder engine and a 192 horsepower 2,7L V6. Both are paired to a 5-speed automatic transmission. There are also some new colors available for the 2009MY Optima and those include: Metal bronze, ebony black, Bright silver, Ruby red, Clear white, Midnite blue, Pearl white, and Midnight gray.

One more thing: For 2009, Kia Optima finally gets an optional, in-dash built navigation system. You can check a long list of standard and optional features for 2009 Optima SX by continuing your read after the jump. (more…)

Would you like to hear what people think of Soul? Then watch this interesting video, in which some visitors of “Soul world” (a part of Kia’s stand at the Paris Auto Show) were asked to share their first impressions on the car.

Major UK’s press and media, including Autoexpress, have been invited to South Korea to gather first impressions of the all-new Kia Soul. Each day we take a look at some of the test-drives and so far, we have read two pretty favourable reviews from fellows at Autocar and What car. In case you missed those two articles, you can still read them here; Kia Soul1 and here; Kia Soul2.

Now, it’s turn to read what Autoexpress editors found out about the funky little Kia Soul when on the visit in Korea.

Their first opinion is very good. They gave the Soul four stars out of five, which is a very good remark and the same as five-door Kia cee’d received when first driven two years ago. It’s hard to say anything against the Soul’s styling and they like it pretty much. Impressed by the letterbox grille, smoked front lamps and flared wheelarches, they think the Soul will fly out of Kia dealer’s floors. Agree on that, don’t we?!

Inside, the cabin looks good and the Soul would be a perfect car if it only had better plastics inside. Yup, as of now, just about every editor mentioned the quality of plastics, which seems to be not of the highest quality!

The good news: I was told some people are trying to persuade Kia to do a better job! That’s a good news and Kia can only benefit from that!!

Autoexpress drove both, gasoline and diesel versions and they preferred a diesel unit that generates 126 horsepower and lots of torque from as low as 1,500 rpm. They seem to be impressed with the ride and it’s price as well. The price for the Soul will start bellow Ł11,000 and will increase with additional features such as 18-inch alloy wheels, dragon vinyls, rear display integrated parking camera and others.

Follow this link to read the original article at Autoexpress website.

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Some of our readers expressed a request for a post related to racing so they can have an open discussion on the question posted in our polls, where we are asking what series of racing competition, if any, should Kia Motors join!

There are many possible ways to promote the car brand, but perhaps the most exciting and image boosting is throgh different International racing events. Until today, Kia Motors has not been participating in any International racing series.

Therefore we would like to hear your opinion which, if any, racing sereis Kia should join. Feel free to express your opinions and post some comments to the board! So, should Kia Motors be involved in motor sports? 

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Don’t get mislead! At just a quck glance you’ll most probably think of 280 horsepower Subaru Impreza WRX Sti, but a second look will reveal that you’re actually looking at a heavily modified Kia Rio!

Yup folks, the car you see here is the current generation Kia Rio with some darn good looking modifications that simply transformed the Rio car to look reminiscent of the brutal and sexy Subaru Impreza WRX Sti.

Is there anyone who knows the owner of this B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. Kia Rio? The car is a looker and we would like to hear some more details on it!! Please, report to info@kia-world.net

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Over the past few days, you have been teased with a tiny image of a beautiful cabrio car at the front page of this Kia blog. It was no secret that the vehicle, showcased at that image, was a topless Kia Soul; a cabrio variant of the highly anticipated Kia Soul urban crossover.

I have announced to show you more images in one of the upcoming posts, and finally, here they are, revealing the Kia Soul Drop Top!

Before we take a closer look at this very unique version of Kia Soul, I’d like to let you know that all the credits for these awesome images go to Kevin, a member of our forums, who has specialized in 3D modeling.

Last week he shared with us an awesome looking three door Kia Soul painted in a striking orange color, which immediately generated a lot of positive feedback from our readers. Perhaps this was the encouraging point for Kevin to start working on some other Soul variants, that he will present at the blog as well. So if you want to see another masterpiece work, come back in the next few days and check out the blog!

One more thing…Kevin kindly asked if you could post some comments on his work and perhaps suggest some ideas for the future Soul modifications!

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Here is yet another first drive report that I have found on the net. As I reported, several UK car magazines have been invited to Korea, where they test-drove Korean-spec Kia Soul crossovers.

This time, the UK Autocar published their first impressions:

Should I buy one?

The Kia’s killer blow, apart from its looks, will be value for money. The range will start just under Ł11,000 – keen for a car that looks genuinely different from anything else on the road, which is packed with generous standard kit and backed up by the best warranty in the business.

Yes, this is the first Kia that deserves consideration on the basis of image alone. And although we can’t help wishing that the driving experience was as compelling, if it grabs your attention then you’re probably going to want one, no matter what… read more!

Kia Soul

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UPDATE: Kia Soul crash test video + Kia Soul EuroNCAP crash test results

Before Kia Soul goes on sale worldwide, several agancies, such as EuroNCAP, IIHS and American NHTSA will conduct some crash tests to confirm the Soul to meet the latest automobile safety standards. We have absolutely no doubts the Soul will pass those safety test successfully, but is the Soul safe enough to become the second Kia car to achieve the highest 5-star crash ratings? Let’s take a look what safety equipment does it offer…

While developing the Soul, Kia engineers worked hard to ensure the Soul to be among the safest cars on the market. To fully satisfy consumer expectations, the Soul will be available with highest levels of active and passive safety.

Passive safety equipment
Starting with the robust bodyshell, the Soul features a high-strength steel in key areas to offer occupants good protection in front, side, rear and roll-over accidents. State-of-the-art computer-aided design was employed by engineers, together with “closed loop” engineering techniques, to create the Soul five-door bodyshell structure.

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