Development of World Car: KIA

Showing posts with label KIA. Show all posts

Kia Soul in Police Outfit to Patrol Sussex Streets

A local Kia dealer has donated a 'vanilla-cream' Soul to the Sussex Police department in the UK for use in their neighborhood policing program. While you won't be seeing the Soul chasing law-breakers on the highway, the small crossover will be used by the team of Police Community Support Officer's (PCSOs) 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!" said 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."

Toll House Kia, which provided the police-branded Soul Shaker to the Sussex Police department for a year, said that it will replace the car after six months.

Kia Launches its First Hybrid Model, Says Hybrids to be Available in Europe by 2013

Following in the footsteps of its mother company, Hyundai and its recently launched Elantra LPI Hybrid, Kia has introduced its first commercialized hybrid - electric car onto the Korean market. As its name suggests, the Forte LPI Hybrid utilizes the same drivetrain with the Elantra that comprises of a 1.6-liter LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) engine, a 15kW and 105Nm electric motor and a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). The hybrid system is also equipped with Kia's Intelligent Stop and Go system.

F

urthermore, the Korean automaker's engineers honed the Forte sedan's aerodynamics by applying different front/rear bumper skirts, aluminum wheels and rear spoiler as well as using a special cover for the lower part of the engine room and centre floor. These changes resulted in a lowered air resistance of 0.26 Cd, compared to 0.29 Cd for the standard, petrol-powered Forte sedan.

The Forte LPI Hybrid has a combined fuel efficiency of 17.2km per liter of LPG which Kia says is the equivalent of 21.5km/liter (50.6mpg US, 60.7mpg UK or 4.7lt /100 km) in a standard petrol engine.

While the LPG-hybrid version of the Forte won't be making it to other markets outside Korea, Kia said that it the company is currently working on petrol-powered and plug-in hybrids that are likely to arrive in European showrooms by 2013.

Kia Officially Reveals Cee Facelift, Says Two More New Models to Premiere in Frankfurt

After the first photograph of the Cee'd facelift hit the web ahead of time earlier this week, Kia came out with an official press release and a high-res version of the teaser shot. Besides the obvious styling changes to the bonnet plus alterations to the bumper, grille and light clusters which bring the Cee'd into line with Kia's latest models like the Soul, the Korean automaker said that the 2010MY also features enhancements to the interior in terms of specification and design including a revamped center console and an upgraded audio system with Bluetooth connectivity.

Furthermore, Kia's European division mentioned that the refreshed Cee'd will be revealed to the public for the first time at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show alongside "two all-new Kia models".

We do know that one of these models will be Kia's yet-to-be named, small MPV that will rival the Opel Meriva and its ilk but we have no information on the other vehicle. It could be that Kia is referring to the European-spec version of the Sorento that made its world debut at the Seoul Show this past April but then again, it might be an entirely new model. We'll wait and see.

Super Bowl Car Ads: I’d Score It Kia 1

Let’s face it: if your team isn’t playing in the Super Bowl, half the game’s entertainment value is going to come from the ads. Every single advertiser pulls out all the stops to film a budget-blowing spot for the Super Bowl, because it ensures they’ll get their product in front of millions of beer and hot-wing fueled television viewers. Short of staging your own halftime “wardrobe malfunction”, there’s no better way to build brand awareness than with a Super Bowl ad that stands above the rest.
Kia is on a roll these days, launching one successful new model after another. The new Optima is a stunning car, and its quality is on par with anything else on the market these days. Kia’s already known for their Super Bowl ads, since it’s kind of hard to forget a marital aid getting down with a sock monkey on a road trip. How to top that for this year? I won’t spoil the video (below), but I’ll say this: it’s got super villains, aliens, and hopped up Mayans (or Aztecs; I always get them confused).

Chevy’s ad for the Camaro, on the other hand, just doesn’t cut the mustard. Sure, it’s got good visuals (and a stunning blond), but where’s the plot? where’s the build-up, where’s the conflict, where’s the resolution? Why do I get the feeling that the narrative is exactly how the ad agency came up with the idea? Like the bulk of their “Chevy Runs Deep” ads, this one just leaves me scratching my head and thinking about what could have been.

Geneva Preshow: 2012 Kia Rio Revealed in Detail, gets 1.2-liter Turbo Gasoline Engine

Kia's product assault continues with the presentation of the all-new Rio subcompact, which will receive its world premiere together with the new Picanto at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show in the beginning of March.

The latest car to be revealed by Kia boasts a far slicker exterior design than the current Rio bringing it in line with the rest of South Korean company's passenger model range. There are no photos of the interior, but Kia says its newcomer "will deliver a high level of quality previously associated with larger models" along with a wider selection of trim options.

The Korean firm's Ford Fiesta-sized vehicle features a wheelbase extended by 70 mm (to 2,570 mm) compared to the outgoing Rio thus promising to offer improved passenger space together with an increased cargo capacity to 292 liters for the hatchback body style. Exterior dimensions changes include: +55 mm (overall length), -15 mm (height) and +25 mm (overall width).
In Europe, the firm's B-Segment contender will be offered with a comprehensive range of petrol and diesel engines including a 1.1-liter diesel unit delivering 70-horsepower and CO2 emissions from as low as 85 g/km.
But the big surprise is the announcement of an all-new 1.2-liter Turbo Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) that will be available from 2012, and which will offer the Koreans a significant advantage over its Japanese rivals.
Soon-Nam Lee, Director of Overseas Marketing for Kia, commented: “This new model is a big step forward. The Rio has always been successful, and with this new incarnation we have a car that people will want to buy for its looks.”
The new Rio will go on sale in Europe as a 5-door model this fall, with a 3-door to be introduced into the range in early 2012. Pricing and full range details will be announced nearer the on-sale date.

New Kia Picanto

The 2012 Kia Picanto mini made its global premiere alongside the also new Rio supermini at the Geneva Motor Show today. The South Korean firm's city car will be offered for the first time with a choice of 5-door and 3-door body styles, with Kia officials expecting the new three-door model to account for 33% of Picanto sales.

KiaLike all recent Kia models, the new Picanto benefits from a far more expressive design inside and out compared to its predecessor. It also promises to offer more space inside as the overall vehicle length has increased by 60 mm, and the wheelbase has grown by 15 mm. These increases, along with the enhanced interior packaging, offer an additional 36mm legroom for the front passengers while trunk capacity has increased by 27 per cent to 200 liters.

Another novelty for the Picanto is the availability of eight different packages for the interior including two environment colors – ebony black and alpine gray, four different cloth options and two additional ‘premium’ trim packages.
In Europe, the Picanto will be offered with a 1.25-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine that produces 85HP and 121Nm of peak torque, and a 1.0-liter three-cylinder unit available in gasoline only (69HP and 95Nm) and LPG / Gasoline Bi-fuel (82HP and 94Nm) versions. The Bi-fuel model features a 35-liter LPG tank and a 10-liter gasoline tank, allowing owners to drive up to 150 km (93 miles) after the LPG has been used up.
All engines come with a standard 5-speed manual, while a 4-speed automatic transmission will be available as an option on the 1.25-liter 85HP engine.
Regular models in the new Picanto line-up will have a CO2 rating of 95 to 105 g/km, while fuel economy will range from 4.2 to 5.9 lt per 100 km (39.9 - 55.6 mpg US).
As with the Rio, all 2012 Picanto models wil also be available with Kia’s fuel-stretching Eco-Dynamics technologies (automatic stop-start – ISG, advanced alternator control, upgraded starter motor and low-rolling resistance tyres), cutting emissions to between 90 and 100 g/km and improving fuel economy to a range of 4.1 to 5.6 lt per 100 km (42.0 - 57.4 mpg US).