The 2011 Kia Sportage prototype made an unexpected road-appearance again. Kia’s upcoming Sportage crossover has been spotted while undergoing testing on South Korean soil and here we bring you a few good-quality shots of a heavily dressed crossover vehicle.

Exterior of the redesigned Sportage remains heavily guarded, but these latest spy shots do reveal us a few exterior sheetmetal pieces that we haven’t seen closely so far. What is immediately apparent on the next generation Sportage is that the model incorporates more modern and sportier overall design compared to the current vehicle.

In front, the 2011 Sportage features distinctive headlights and massive signature grille, reminiscent of that we have previously seen on Kia Kue concept crossover. Together with slightly swept back headlights, the grille creates a clean and aggressive down-road appearance.

Based on the same uni-body chassis that underpins Hyundai’s forthcoming Tucson crossover, the newcomer promises a unique blend of performance and space. Automakers’ most modern four-cylinder engines are expected to propel the newcomer, including a 2.0L R-diesel engine and a range of gasoline engines, equipped with gasoline direct injection -GDI technology.

The 2.7L V6, available with the current Sportage, is rumored to be axed from the range. Engines are expected to be mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox that Kia developed in conjunction with parent Hyundai.

According to Hyundai, the all-new six-speed automatic transmission is lighter and more compact than any comparable product on the market right now. Hyundai-Kia engineers also revealed that their new six-speed tranny provides 12.2% better fuel economy and shaves 0.2 seconds off the zero to sixty time compared to existing six-speed automatic transmission that can be found on some Kia and Hyundai models (Kia Borrego, Hyundai Genesis).

Codenamed SL, the 2011 Kia Sportage is expected to make its first public appearance as a concept car at one of the upcoming auto shows – possibly this year’s L.A. auto show, while production ready model will be officially unveiled early next year. According to sources close to the second largest Korean carmaker, Kia plans to commence the sales of next generation Sportage in South Korea in February 2010.

Thanks to a number of thoughtful and very effective promotion activities of Kia Motors’ UK press team, Kia Soul has been one hot-selling car in the UK market over the past couple of months. In spite of lower overall new car demand, Kia Motors UK managed to sell a record high number of Souls.

BTW, so far this year, Kia sold more than 58,000 Souls across the globe; 11,500 units in South Korea and 46,500 units abroad. Pretty impressive number, don’t you think!?

Right now, the hot-selling Kia Soul crossover is on a three-month long tour across the UK. A convoy of eight striking Kia Souls drives from city to city, five days a week and visits various local events in the UK.

When not driving/traveling from town to town, usually on Saturdays, the Souls are put on display at major shopping centres across the nation. One of our readers has spotted the “Soul Train” at one o the shopping malls just recently and send us some interesting shots. He also added short general description of each Kia Soul you can see below:

“The Orange Soul is the UK Soul 2, done up like the “Dukes of Hazard” film. Then there is the unmistakable Soul Burner. The Red Soul Samba looking like Starskey and Hutch’s car from the Film. Then my favorite the Soul Shaker sporting the racing stripes from Disney’s Film Herbie.”

Thanks for the pics, Martin!!

Kia Soul Train gallery:

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Kia VG sedan renderings released. Revealing the final shape of the forthcoming Kia premium sedan.

Kia has released the first batch of official renderings showcasing the forthcoming premium Kia sedan. We have first seen Kia VG at the Seoul Auto Show earlier this year, where it made its first public debut. Called Kia KND-5, the concept boasted a dynamic and very attractive exterior appearance that reflected the shape and style of the forthcoming production car.

The released renderings showcase the new premium sedan, with Kia’s family-look radiator grille and shining LED-running lights. According to the official press release, Kia VG sedan sits on 18-inch tires wrapping the attractively styled aluminum alloy-wheels. The sedan also sports side mirrors and tail-lights with integrated LED technology.

The upcoming Kia VG will share its front-wheel-drive platform with next-generation Hyundai Azera. It will be available with fuel-efficient 2.4L gasoline direct injected -GDI four-cylinder gasoline engine with estimated power of 200 hp and a 3.5L V6 Lambda with 277 horsepower. Kia VG is also rumored to be available with 2.7L V6 and 2.7L LPi engines.

The premium VG sedan will go on sale in South Korean market shortly after it makes it’s official debut, scheduled for November 2009. Good news is also that the model will also be exported to North American market in early 2010, where it will likely replace the ageing Amanti sedan. We expect to see official North American VG premiere to happen at the 2010 North American International Auto Show -NAIAS.

Kia VG rendering gallery:

Click image to enlarge!

More details on the KDM 2010 Kia Pride/Rio surface to the web. In addition to styling updates, Kia Pride/Rio also gets revised diesel and gasoline engines.

Kia is soon going to put on sale a revamped Kia Pride (known as Kia Rio in other markets) in South Korea. For the 2010 model year, KDM -Korean Domestic Model- Kia Pride received a mid-life facelift and gained subtle styling modifications that were applied to exterior shape as well as interior.

Images that surfaced online before, revealed quite a number of styling enhancements were made to the car’s exterior and we have seen that it was the front-end of new Pride/Rio that gained majority of aesthetic improvements.

The image No.1 shows Kia Pride/Rio hosts new angular signature grille and a heavily redesigned front bumper, with trapezoidal air intake and a set of new fog-lights. The headlight shape stays largely the same, but black plastic bumper cladding, that many people didn’t like is gone.

At rear, Kia received a very nice plastic diffuser and chromed tail-pipe. Tail-lamps have also been slightly redesigned, while a set of eight-spoke alloy-wheels and redesigned side mirrors with integrated LED turn signals complete the changes made outside.

Kia Pride/Rio interior

Interior of a revamped Pride/Rio also features its own share of stylish improvements. As the the image No.2 reveals, the interior shape remains unchanged and only differs from the current model’s interior in details. Still, all the upgrades give the new Pride/Rio more upscale and quality interior look.

Updates inside include a completely redesigned, three-spoke multifunction steering-wheel, revised center stack with new audio system, redesigned instrument clusters with new orange-red lightning, new climate control knobs. There’s also a trip computer and a few other nice details such as aluminium pedals and redesigned head-rests at front seat.

A very important novelty in the new Pride/Rio is also the Eco-lamp placed on Rio’s dashboard. Kia Magentis/Optima facelift, that made its debut last year, has been the first Kia model to feature this important eco-device that helps lower the fuel consumption.

Since then, the Eco-driving system has spread to many other Kia models. It is also available in next Sorento, Forte sedan and Forte Koup and now, it has been also applied to Pride/Rio. You can expect to see the “Eco-light” applied to every new Kia model coming to the market in the forthcoming years.

Kia Pride/Rio engines

When I first revealed you facelifted Kia Pride/Rio, I haven’t included information on engine revisions. I told you that fuel efficiency ratings have been improved on all available four-cylinders, but I had no evidence (image) to prove.

Finally, I can show you the image that proves Kia engineers also worked hard on Rio’s engines. Their primary goal, to tweak the engines for better fuel consumption, have been achieved very successfully -see Kia Rio image No3. All of the available Rio engines now achieve from 7.3 to 15.7 percent higher fuel efficiency ratings.

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It’s my pleasure to present you a design study of Kia Trinity sports sedan. The rendering was drawn by Lee Ha who has been a long time Kia enthusiast. Lee Ha is a talented car designer with nine years of car-drawing experience. His latest design study includes a series of design sketches showcasing a mid-sized four-door sporty sedan with Kia badge placed on its hood.

Kia Trinity sports sedan

According to Lee Ha, the Trinity sports sedan has been inspired by imposing exterior design of the lime-yellow Kia Kee concept, which has been first displayed at the Frankfurt Auto Show back in 2007. Among Kia fans and enthusiasts, the Kee concept has been recognized as a landmark in the Kia Motor Corporation’s evolution as it points the way to Kia’s sporty future.

Kia Trinity is a five passenger sports sedan that sports some very unique exterior design elements. It features an eye-catching set of LED day-running lights placed in the front bumper and a H-shaped signature grille. Just like Kia Kee, the Trinity also features a dynamic profile with striking greenhouse treatment and rides on a rubber-wrapped 20-inch alloy wheels.

About Kia Kee

Kia Kee concept is a two-door sports coupe, powered by 2.7L V6 engine. The engine mounted under the hood generates around 200 horsepower and is mated to the six-speed manual transmission. Coated in lime-yellow paint, the Kee is believed to be the first Kia concept car to be designed under Peter Schreyer’s guidance. It is also the first Kia vehicle that featured “the new face” of Kia, which has been already implemented across the entire Kia lineup.

Clicke the image to enlarge!

Update: follow the link below to find latest updates on Trinity sports sedan. Update No.2: Check out the side profile and rear shot of Kia Trinity concept.

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Georgia Town to become a “Kia-ville”. Kia plans to open its first-ever US production base by the end of the year.

Mark sent me a tip about a very interesting article that he found on CNN website. The article is related to Kia Motors and its first US manufacturing plant, currently under construction. The editor of the article talks about great impact that the plant will have on the economy in the city and area nearby.

As you know, Kia will open its first-ever production facility in West Point Georgia, where it will produce vehicles for the US market. There has been many speculations about models that the company will produce at the $1.2 billion plant. The plant with capacity of 300.000 vehicles per year – when fully operational – will be capable of producing three different Kia models.

So far, Kia has only confirmed the 2010 Sorento crossover for production, but lately we have heard news that Kia may also build a facelifted Hyundai Santa Fe at the same production lines in Georgia. The third model, destined for US production, is still a very well kept secret.

Kias first US plant is located roughly 80 miles south of Atlanta and has already hired around 500 workers, but it plans to employ additional 2,000 workers by the time the plant opens. Companies that will supply Kia factory with parts will eventually employ additional 7,500 workers. It is expected that West Point is going to gain around 20,000 new jobs in the next couple of years as a result of Kia’s new factory. [Source: CNN]

You can read the whole story on Kia-ville at the following link: CNN. Thanks for the tip, Mark!

More high resolution Kia Pride/Rio images surface to the web. For the first time, you can see the revised interior.

Since we brought you the very first images of the 2010 Kia Pride (known as Rio in the US) three days ago, more official images surfaced to the web and here they are. These latest shots showcase a revised Kia Rio in details and also show us a slightly updated interior of the car.

As you can see from the pics, the 2010 Pride/Rio hosts only a few minor styling updates in the cabin. It got the same three-spoke steering-wheel as we have seen in Kia Soul, Forte, Forte Koup and YN prototypes. Green instrumentation lightning from the current model has been changed to more modern red backlighting, while interior also benefits from slightly redesigned metallic gauges.

On the outside, the new Pride/Rio receives a “Schreyer” signature grille and completely redesigned front bumper with Ford Fiesta-like lower air intake. The revised sub-compact Kia also features redesigned  five spoke alloy-wheels and updated side mirrors with turn signals. All-in-all the 2010 Kia Pride/Rio looks sportier and more mature than the outgoing variant.

Under the hood, buyers of the new Kia Pride/Rio will be able to choose from a range of updated diesel and gasoline engines that have all been tweaked to offer higher fuel consumption ratings. The updated 1,6L gasoline engine, mated to the manual gearbox achieves 17km/L (40 MPG US), while 1,5L diesel also mated to manual gearbox gets 22,0km/L (51 MPG US)!

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Kia Rio receives a facelift for the 2010 model year. Styling updates bring the car a whole new front fascia design and enhancements made to the interior. 

After a very long wait, we finally get the very first batch of images of the 2010 Kia Rio facelift. Called Kia Pride in South Korea, the current Rio has been on market since 2005, and it has been one of the top five selling Kia cars globally. Now, roughly four years after its introduction, the B-segment Rio receives a much needed facelift.

The 2010 Kia Rio gains a host of changes and upgrades outside and inside. The sheet metal updates up front include a completely redesigned front fascia with different front bumper and signature grille. The combination of a redesigned front bumper, which incorporates larger air-intake and updated fog-lights, and Kia’s new H-shaped signature grille give Rio more character and more distinctive exterior look.

The whole exterior set up now looks much more attractive and a lot closer to the latest Kia offerings. The 2010 Kia Rio reminds us of 2010 Kia cee’d, which has also been announced to receive a mid-life styling change for the new model year.

As for the interior, the Rio facelift packs a subtly revised center stack with new controls and upgraded audio system with Bluetooth connectivity. It also features new steering-wheel design and slightly updated gauges on the instrument panel.

The 2010 Kia Rio is believed to be on sale domestically in Korea within this or next month, while US sales could begin by the end of this year or early next year.

2010 Kia Rio facelift gallery:

The 2010 Kia cee’d finally shows its face.

Over the past few weeks, we have brought you a bunch of spy shots and plenty of information about the 2010 Kia cee’d, which is scheduled to make a premiere unveiling at the upcoming Frankfurt auto show in September.

In the latest report published yesterday, you could have seen a few interior images of the forthcoming cee’d, while today, you have the opportunity to see the very first “live” shots of the updated Kia cee’d.

On Monday, Kia Motors released the first official image of the revamped 2010 cee’d hatchback, which is scheduled to go on sale in Europe in this coming fall, shortly after it makes its European premiere at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show. The first official image revealed Kia designers have given the cee’d a whole new front fascia, which incorporates brand’s new “signature feature”: a “tiger nose”.

Along with exterior updates, styling modifications have also been made to the cabin lay-out of the 2010 Kia cee’d and here we have a set of very first, high-quality spy shots of the revamped Kia cee’d interior. Interior spy shots have been taken in Slovakia and first surfaced on-line at cedonline.info website, deciated to Kia cee’d owners and fans living in Russia.

Kia Forte LPi hybrid sedan – Kias first-ever mass produced hybrid car – launched in South Korean market today.

Four months after its official inaugural public debut, which happened during the Aprils Seoul auto show, and a deluge of amateur spy shots, Kia has finally launched its long anticipated Forte LPi hybrid sedan.

The 2010 Kia Forte LPi hybrid is the groundbreaking eco-friendly Kia vehicle and the very first mass produced hybrid car from the second largest Korean car maker. It belongs to a highly acclaimed Forte family, consisting of gasoline and diesel powered Forte compact sedan and a sporty two-door Forte Koup (scheduled to go on sale in the US market in late summer) and shares its liquefied petroleum injection hybrid powertrain technology with Hyundais Elantra LPi hybrid, which went on sale in Korea a few days ago.

Developed over a period of 25 months, the Forte LPi hybrid comes at just about right time as fuel-efficient models gain popularity amid a global economic slowdown. Unfortunately though, the Forte LPi hybrid, which cost Kia approximately $180 million to develop, will be produced exclusively for Korean market. In the first year, Kia aims to sell around 2,000 units of its compact hybrid sedan, while sales may rise to 5,000 units in 2010.

The heart of the Forte LPi hybrid is a 1.6L Gamma LPi (Liquid Petroleum Injected) engine (LPi) mated to the Continuously Variable Transmission -CVT and a hybrid system comprising an electric motor, converter and lithium ion polymer battery. A combination of 1.6L Gamma engine and continuously variable transmission delivers powerful performance and fuel savings.

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Kia dealer from UK donates a brand-new Kia Soul crossover to the local police.

UK Kia dealer Toll House has given the communities of Horsham South and their Neighbourhood Policing Team their very own Soul – patrolling the streets with its stocky looks, darkened windows and head-turning body will be a gleaming new Kia Soul.

Donated to Sussex Police by Toll House Kia, the team of Police Community Support Officer’s (PCSOs), based in Steyning will be using the Soul as part of their routine street briefings and the general safe-keeping of Horsham South’s communities.

“The car is as highly visible as we are!” says PCSO Charlotte Whittaker. “We were delighted to have been given a car by Toll House, but to have one that turns heads as swiftly as this one does only helps us become more visible to the public.”

The Neighbourhood Policing Team will continue to patrol the villages from Upper Beeding to Henfield, parking the car in visible spots while they hold their regular street briefings.

Inspector Paul Williams commented: “Our PCSOs do a fantastic job of keeping a consistent police presence within our local communities and the Soul heightens that awareness. We’re extremely grateful for the support that Toll House Kia has shown us.

Working in partnership with our community ensures that Horsham South remains a safe place in which to live and work. The car will soon become a familiar sight in and around the area, being used by local officers in their day to day business.”

Toll House Kia has provided the PCSOs with the police-branded Kia Soul Shaker for a year and will replace the car after six months. Cruising the streets with its funky and imposing looks, the stylish, vanilla-cream police Shaker has seats adorned with Houndstooth print and features 18-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass and an LCD display rear-view mirror for reverse parking assistance. [Source: kia.co.uk]

First official image of the 2010 Kia cee’d facelift leaks to the web. Official debut scheduled for Frankfurt Motor Show.

The very first official image of the new 2010 Kia cee’d image has leaked into the web today. The word is the Korean second largest carmaker intends to unveil the 2010 cee’d hatchback at the upcoming Frankfurt Auto Show, scheduled to open its doors in September.

For the 2010 model year, Kia cee’d received a subtle facelift. The most evident styling updates have been made to the front and rear fascias of the car. Styling of the Kia’s updated C-segment hatchback now follows the same design cues as seen on all latest Kia offerings, including Forte, Forte Koup, Optima/Magentis and next generation Sorento crossover.

The front end of the 2010 Kia cee’d looks sharper when compared to the cee’d launched three years ago. The new model now features a beautiful and distinctive signature grille with Kia logo placed in the middle and a pair of slightly restyled headlights.

Sheet metal styling updates continue in the shape of more aggressive front bumper with massive air intake and redesigned rectangular fog-lights. The exterior also benefits from larger side mirrors with turn signals and redesigned alloy-wheels.

Although the 2010 Kia cee’d image leaked today shows only the front end of the car, we expect to see more photos in the days to come. What we have learned about the updated Kia cee’d so far is that styling improvements will also be made to the interior.

There have been some enhancements made to the interior of the cee’d too in terms of design and specification including a more intuitive centre console and upgraded audio system with Bluetooth connectivity. The 2010 Kia cee’d also gains a silver accentuated, leather-wrapped steering-wheel, updated gauges and revised center stack with new audio/GPS unit.

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Set to make its official European premiere at the upcoming Frankfurt auto show in September,  the 2010 Kia YN has been caught while undergoing testing at the “Ring” in Germany.

The forthcoming Kia YN will be Kias first true foray into popular mini MPV segment and was designed to rival the Opel Meriva, which has been the best selling model in the segment since its debut.

The 2010 Kia YN is still shrouded in secrecy, but we know it will be built on a slightly modified Soul platform with extended wheelbase. Unlike many other models in the segment, the Kia YN will feature an attractive exterior design and a unique front fascia incorporating Kia’s H-shaped signature grille.

Buyers of the upcoming Kia YN will be able to choose from a variety of small capacity gasoline and diesel engines. Making its premiere in Kia vehicles will be the all-new 1.4L diesel engine, which is currently found only in the Hyundai i20. The 90-hp diesel engine will become a standard offering in all future small and compact Kia cars, including next generation Rio hatch.

In addition to the all-new 1.4L diesel engine, the range of Kia YN engines will also consist of 1.4L and 1.6L gasoline engines and 1.6L diesel powerplants. All of the engines have been propelling the European cee’d hatchback and are known to offer plenty of power and great fuel consumption ratings.

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