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Kia (Page 7)

Kia

In this section of Torque News you can find the latest news from Kia and news about Kia vehicles. Keith Griffin is the Hyundai/Kia news reporter at Torque News and can be followed on Twitter at IndepthAuto.

Kia became a company in the 1940s but didn’t sell its first car in the U.S. until 1992. It now sells in over 180 countries. Since joining forces with its Korean rival Hyundai in 1998, Kia models have come a long way from what they used to be and are now well-designed vehicles with the latest the industry has to offer.

The combined Hyundai – Kia operation is the fifth largest automaker in the United States. Kia has a manufacturing facility in West Point, Georgia where it produces three models: the top-selling Telluride CUV, Sorento CUV, and the new K5 midsize sedan. It also ships vehicles for sale in Canada, Mexico, and Caribbean and Pacific nations.

Here’s a little bit of trivia for you. The word “Kia” is derived from the Chinese characters Ki, meaning to “arise or come up out of” and a, referring to Asia. So when put together, Kia means to “arise or come up out of Asia.”

Kia’s extensive lineup includes sedans and SUVs of all sizes, hatchbacks, a minivan, an all-electric model, hybrids and plug-in hybrids, a quick and sporty four-door hatchback, and a large and very luxurious sedan.

Unlike Hyundai’s more conservative lineup, Kia offers sportier designs and driving dynamics. The quick Stinger GT and Forte GT are fun-to-drive examples while models like the Optima, Sportage, and Telluride offer sleek and sporty looks.

The Telluride, K5 and Forte models are some of the brand’s top sellers. Other models include the Soul hatchback, the Niro hybrid SUV, the Rio, the Sedona minivan, and the Niro EV. The Stinger is Kia’s rear-drive sports car and the Cadenza and K900 big sedans are the brand’s luxurious offerings but have some of the poorest sales in the lineup.

New models include the big three-row Telluride SUV, the compact Seltos SUV, the the Soul EV, and the sporty K5 that replaces the Optima for 2021.

Below is a list of Kia’s models with starting prices (excludes delivery charges):

  • 2021 Kia Seltos – $21,990
  • 2021 Kia Soul – $17,490
  • 2020 Kia Niro – $24,590
  • 2020 Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid – $29,400
  • 2021 Kia Sportage – $23,990
  • 2021 Kia Sorento – $29,390
  • 2021 Kia Telluride – $31,990
  • 2020 Kia Rio – $15,850
  • 2021 Kia Forte – $17,890
  • 2021 Kia K5 – $23,390
  • 2021 Kia Stinger – $33,090
  • 2020 Kia Cadenza – $37,850
  • 2020 Kia K900 – $59,900
  • 2020 Kia Niro EV – $39,090
  • 2021 Kia Soul EV – Discontinued?
  • 2021 Kia Sedona – $30,400
By Justin Hart on November 23, 2022 - 4:25AM
The other day I shared a nice lunch and conversation with an older stranger at a winery. We talked about wine, the stories behind each bottle and label, and after a while the conversation turned to electrified vehicles. He was very interested to hear about my experiences and thoughts as he was considering purchasing his first EV or plug-in hybrid for himself, or possibly for his wife.
By John Goreham on November 21, 2022 - 2:47PM
The X-Pro trim of the 2023 Kia Telluride has six specific features that make it stand apart from the three-row crossover crowd when it comes to winter adventures.
By Justin Hart on November 19, 2022 - 5:13AM
At the 2022 Los Angeles auto show this week Kia premiered its refreshed 2024 Seltos compact SUV for the U.S. market. The new Seltos has a host of new features, design tweaks, additional safety and entertainment technology, more powerful engines, and 3 new colors as well. But one feature is conspicuously absent: there is no electrified version to be found.
By Justin Hart on November 15, 2022 - 3:23PM
I find it interesting that one of the most highly regarded automotive publications in the world, Car and Driver, has essentially contradicted itself when it comes to its assessments of Kia’s two AWD plug-in hybrid (PHEV) SUVs: the Kia Sorento and Kia Sportage. The contradiction is right in the headlines for each: one has “zippy performance” and the other “needs more motor”. So which is it C&D?
By Justin Hart on November 11, 2022 - 6:10AM
When I was shopping for a three row plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or electric SUV, I had four choices on my shopping list: the Kia Sorento PHEV, the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, the Volvo XC90 Recharge, and the Tesla Model Y. I most seriously considered the first two options, due to price. Here’s the on paper comparisons that helped me choose one over the other.
By Justin Hart on November 9, 2022 - 3:16AM
Last month, Kia and Hyundai achieved all-time record hybrid vehicle sales in the U.S. While this news may be a sign of improved supply chains, specifically for automotive grade microchips, it also raises interesting questions about the effectiveness of the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and raises doubt that the South Korean brands will continue to vie for leadership in the electric vehicle (EV) market space, in the near term.
By Justin Hart on November 5, 2022 - 5:18AM
Kia confirmed, in March of this year, that it was going to build two new electric pickups and that they would be unveiled as part of a collection of 14 new electric models, by 2027. Now, keen observers have spotted what may be an early prototype or a test mule and there is a lot of information we may be able to glean from this early spotting.
By Justin Hart on November 4, 2022 - 5:42AM
Earlier this week, Kia reported its U.S. sales figures for the month of October and the news was good! Kia notched up a few new sales records last month, in fact. Yet, amongst all the good news, there are also some less positive details that beg the question: Is Kia really on track to achieve its U.S. sales goals for the year?
By Justin Hart on October 31, 2022 - 4:36AM
This past weekend I took my longest road trip yet in which I wasn’t able to charge my Kia Sorento Plug-In hybrid, much, while stopped en route. Out of 526 total miles of driving on this trip, I only covered about 10% of my total miles on electricity stored from the grid. This is a scenario many could find themselves in on a long cross country drive. But this also means my combined fuel economy was the lowest at any point in the last 13 months of ownership. So how bad was it?
By Justin Hart on October 29, 2022 - 3:09PM
Yesterday, I revisited a roughly 60 mile road trip I took earlier this year to test a certain principle I am unsure about. Specifically, I repeated a drive to a neighboring city but this time used Sport Mode for about 10 of those miles to see if I might get better combined fuel efficiency by doing so. The result was less conclusive than I expected.
By Justin Hart on October 28, 2022 - 5:02AM
I am one of those nerdy types that keeps track of lots of things in spreadsheets. I track per mile fuel costs for my electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. I also track how much electricity I am using at home versus on the road/away from home. I’m a little extra, I admit. But I wonder, how close are my EV and PHEV in terms of their overall lifecycle emissions?
By Justin Hart on October 26, 2022 - 10:35AM
Earlier this week, Kia announced U.S. pricing for its all new, second generation 2023 Kiro Niro EV. MSRP for the new Niro electric crossover starts from $39,450 (not including destination or other fees). The new Niro is certainly an attractive, feature rich electric vehicle, but is this new price point too steep, especially considering the lack of federal tax incentives?
By Justin Hart on October 22, 2022 - 5:15AM
Kia sells several electrified vehicles in the U.S. and is investing heavily in ramping production while also introducing new models each year. Their current list of electrified vehicles on sale in the U.S. includes 4 different models with 8 different variants among those models. These are the all electric (EV) EV6 and Niro EV, the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Niro, Sorento and Sportage, and the hybrid (HEV) Niro, Sorento and Sportage.
By Justin Hart on October 21, 2022 - 3:09AM
Back in February, I interviewed one of the first Kia EV6 owners in the U.S. to get his initial feedback on this all new electric vehicle (EV). 8 months later, Victor from Bristol, TN (still) thinks his Kia EV is perfect.
By Justin Hart on October 18, 2022 - 3:04AM
I just took a 150 mile road trip to a beautiful lake in my 2022 Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), beshod with Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires, a 12.5 ft paddleboard for a hat, and 2 adults and a child on board. I was expecting to get somewhere around 33 miles per gallon via combined electric and gasoline propulsion and at least 3-4 miles less EV range than the 32 it is rated for. But I was wrong.
By Justin Hart on October 15, 2022 - 4:08AM
Today I mounted studless snow tires on my 2022 Kia Sorento plug-in hybrid (PHEV). I live in the Seattle area, which does get snow and more so black ice and slick roads in winter. I also make trips into and over the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, which sometimes requires both all-wheel drive and snow tires (or chains). Now I have the first of multiple data points to share about the impact on range these tires can have.
By Justin Hart on October 14, 2022 - 4:20PM
I don’t know if you’re like me when it comes to choosing a new vehicle, but I make purchasing decisions based on my values. What is most important to me when it comes to purchasing a car is that I choose one with significantly lower environmental impacts (because owning and driving vehicles is one of the most environmentally impactful things we do). Also important: the total cost of ownership (including purchase, fueling and maintenance of the vehicle), utility or functionality, and feature set.
By Justin Hart on October 12, 2022 - 3:56AM
A wave of fresh reviews for the 2023 Kia Niro just came in this week from the U.S. automotive press. The Hybrid (HEV) version of the vehicle is now on sale across the country and will soon be followed by the electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions later this year. Here’s a rundown of what various outlets are saying about the new Niro after driving the production hybrid model and near production versions of the plug-in models.
By Justin Hart on October 8, 2022 - 6:44AM
These days, nearly every car maker has months long waits for many of their new vehicles. It is due of course to lingering supply chain problems that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and recent conflicts that have disrupted semiconductor manufacturing and the supply of certain raw materials. Automakers like Kia and Hyundai now have some of the longest wait times in the industry, but how long are we really talking?
By Justin Hart on October 5, 2022 - 4:21AM
​​Kia announced over the weeked that not only were September 2022 sales up, it was their best September ever in the U.S. While it is great that Kia’s sales are showing strength among an industry still struggling to recover from pandemic and global conflict induced supply chain woes, is it really “great” news?
By Justin Hart on October 4, 2022 - 3:22AM
I recently met up with a friend on a road trip to Walla Walla, Washington (the city so nice they named it twice) and had the opportunity to test drive his 2022 Kia EV6 AWD. I drove my own EV to our meet up and I got to drive his EV6 and compare it to my Tesla Model 3. I found a lot to like about the EV6.
By Justin Hart on September 28, 2022 - 3:42AM
Kia, Hyundai and Genesis EVs are all going to be made at a new U.S. plant being built in Bryan County, Georgia, near the port of Savanna. This should allow the Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai, Kia and Genesis) to qualify for U.S. federal tax incentives on the electric vehicles produced from this new plant, eventually.
By John Goreham on September 27, 2022 - 7:46AM
We interview a long-time EV driver who owned a Tesla and then bought a Kia Sorento as his next vehicle. Here's why a BEV owner purchased a PHEV.
By Justin Hart on September 24, 2022 - 6:02AM
It is very difficult to know exactly how many plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles that Kia sells in the U.S. because Kia does not report the sales of these models in its monthly, quarterly or annual figures. But I am starting to think that sales of at least the popular Sorento PHEV may have slowed to a trickle in the U.S.
By Timothy Boyer on September 21, 2022 - 3:23PM
Looking to buy a new car, but not sure which deals are good, and which are bad? Here’s a recent list from Consumer Reports analysts who found that these two popular makes clearly dominated their findings of the worst deals on new cars right now.
By Justin Hart on September 21, 2022 - 12:59PM
Kia is expected to begin producing its electric vehicles in the United States by sometime in 2024. This development has not yet been confirmed by Kia, but the South Korean Maeil Business Newspaper and TV Channel SBS reported this development on Tuesday, September 20th.
By Justin Hart on September 19, 2022 - 11:44AM
I am the happy owner of a 2022 Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV). I truly appreciate the features and capability of this vehicle and considering the pricing of other plug-in, 3 row SUVs that may compete with it, I am completely satisfied with the whole package this vehicle represents, well, except for one thing.
By Justin Hart on September 17, 2022 - 3:37AM
Yesterday, Kia announced that for the 2023 model year, they would no longer offer the lowest priced electrified Sorento model, the S trim Hybrid version. Instead, the new Sorento Hybrid trim line starts with the more expensive EX option and now includes the top of the line SX Prestige (or SX-P) option, too.
By Justin Hart on September 14, 2022 - 3:32PM
Recently, a Canadian reader asked me if I had any idea of how Kia’s electrified vehicle production is moving along and when countries might expect deliveries (and the Canadian market in particular). I reached out to Kia to see if I could get an answer and any advice for those anxiously waiting on an electrified Kia.
By Justin Hart on September 12, 2022 - 1:00AM
I’ve spent the last two days camping in my Kia Sorento plug-in hybrid (PHEV) on San Juan Island, WA. I have to say that my Sorento PHEV is an excellent camping vehicle and Friday Harbor is one of the most charming seaside towns I’ve ever seen.