This is the very-first image of the new Kia K9 interior. The all-new luxury car from Kia Motors will be launched in South Korea within a few months and will replace the aging Opirus luxury sedan. The Opirus was sold in the United States as Kia Amanti, but the carmaker discontinued it from its range about a year ago due to poor sales results.

There are no plans at this point to bring the new Kia K9 to the States, so the model will stay exclusive to the South Korean consumers. Some sources state that the carmaker will offer it in China, as well as in the Middle East, but not in the USA or Europe.

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Do you notice design differences between images posted today and images posted a few days ago, when we reported about Sportage recieving a mild facelift for 2008 model year!?

Why two different designs? Could this be a U.S. market version? When and if, is this design coming to the market? 

There are many questions unanswered right now. But, as soon as we find out what is going on with Sportage, we will let you know! Stay tuned!

Gallery: (click image to enlarge!)

[Photo source: Club.auto.sohu]

More on Sportage: Sportage facelift; part 1!

PRODUCTION SOUL  vs. CONCEPT SOUL 

P.S. Kia-world blog would like to thank to our visitor Jean,  who sent us interior spy image!

[Photo source: Autowereld]

It’s stil too early to say much about the vehicle other than what the photos show, said one of the members of Kia-forums, but it will most likely be a 4 cylinder Front Wheel Drive (FWD) vehicle. There is some talk about an AWD version by a few whisperers in the dark. Certainly it would make sense given that the Sportage, Sorento and whatever emerges as the Kue and Mesa are.

Kia Soul will most likely be geared to the younger crowd as a clear message regarding the differing Hyundai / Kia images. However, consider what happened to the Honda Element. Same expectations only to have it sought out by a much older crowd.

We agree with you Random006!

Gallery:

Click image to enlarge or follow the links for more pictures: Link1 or Link2

Seems like our colleagues at Auto.cz have a reliable source of when and where is Kia testing their pre-production vehicles. They were getting tons of Kia/Hyundai spy pictures lately.

The vehicle looks boxy, but it’s meant to be this way! Younger generation people just love that. Look at the success Toyota achived with it’s youth oriented Scion brand in last few years. And Kia is targeting the same population with the upcoming Soul crossover.

Will Kia succeed? What do you think? 

Click image to enlarge:

  [Photo source: auto.cz]

Click on image to enlarge:

[Photo source: autowereld.com]

More about Mesa (HM) SUV:

1. http://www.kia-world.net/index.php/2007/08/20/spy-shots-kia-mesa/

2. http://www.kia-world.net/index.php/2007/08/15/kia-mesa-suv-heading-to-china-next-year/

3. http://www.kia-world.net/index.php/2007/08/11/kia-mesa-uncovered/

These are the first pictures of Kia Soul undergoing testing in U.S. Kia Soul mule was spotted recently testing in Nevada desert.

This is the production car of the concept unveiled at the 2006 Detroit Auto show. Concept Soul was a great success for Kia. It drew a lot of public attention at that time and Kia officials decided to turn a green light for production.

With it’s boxy exteior design it is built to appeal to younger buyers just like Scion xD, which starts at $14 500. Expect the Soul to have a slightly lower price than it’s main competitor.

First spy pictures reveal that the car has been toned down for production and lost some of concept Soul attraction. It lost rear suicide doors and made way for smaller sized tires.

It is belived to be equiped with 2.0 liter four cylinder gasoline engine mated to a five-speed automatic transmission with manual shift capability.

Kia has announced that the Soul will be introduced in 2008 as a 2009 model. Till then we will get more spy pics and details about upcoming Soul from South Korea.    

Click image to enlarge!

[Photo source: Auto.cz]

More pictures:

Link: http://news.auto.cz/spy/spy-photos-kia-mesa-velke-suv-z-koreje-pro-usa.html

Perhaps Kia thought it was being coy when it supposedly leaked an official detail image of its upcoming Mesa SUV’s front end. Who needs an official detail shot, though, when you can rely on inattentive engineers who forget to cover the front end of their mule?

Here we get a full frontal view of the Mesa’s nose, which indeed confirms that it will closely mirror the visage of the KCD II Mesa concept on which it’s based. Unfortunately, the process of converting that concept to production has also altered the front end just enough so that it looks similar to the Subaru Tribeca.

 The Mesa appears similar in size to a Honda Pilot, or perhaps a Ford Explorer, since it’s reportedly a proper SUV, not a car-based CUV. It’s expected to be offered with Hyundai’s 3.8L V6 producing upwards of 260 horsepower, but like all new models coming out of Hyundai/Kia, a V8 is rumored to be considered, as well.  [Article: Autoblog]

Source: [bobaedream.co.kr]

These are the first official images of the new large-sized Kia SUV, codenamed HM. The all-new all terrain Kia vehicle will make it’s official appearance by the end of 2008 and is expected to feature a new V6 diesel engine that Kia co-developed with it’s parent Hyundai Motor Company.

Exterior styling of the new Kia HM will be penned by Kia’s newly appointed Chief designer Peter Schreyer, who used to work for Audi. He left the famous premium car company to give Kia a unique and distinctive look. Cars that have been designed by his team are expected to hit the market in late 2009 or early 2010.

While the exterior design of the 2010 Kia HM has already been chosen when he joined Kia, Peter did give Kia some suggestions on how the company could improve the exterior styling of it’s latest SUV model.

Images posted here reveal the new Kia HM underneath it’s sheetmetal. They showcase the body-on-frame platform, typical for a real SUV vehicle. You can also see HM’s disc brakes and side curtain air-bag. The new KIA HM is expected to receive maximum number of points at the US and European crash tests, so you can expect to see a complete safety equipment applied to the new Kia HM.  

Kia HM image gallery: