New Car Review : 2009 Kia Soul

Automotive News

Kia announced at the 2007 New York Auto Show its intention to produce the Soul concept car, a vehicle expected to compete against the Scion xB. Spy photographers are now offering an early look at the production Soul.

With its distinctive styling, the Soul is expected to appeal to younger buyers with a muscular look on the outside and a high-end audio system on the inside. Powering the Soul will be a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed automatic transmission with manual shift capability.

The 2009 Kia Soul will enter showrooms in late 2008.

New Car Review : Frankfurt Preview: Kia Proceeds With Three-Door Pro-cee'd

Automotive News

The third body style of the Slovakian-built Kia cee'd will make its debut at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show next month. The three-door Pro-cee'd will be longer, lower and sportier than its five-door sibling.

Though Kia's Slovakian production plant was officially inaugurated in April, it has been producing the cee'd hatchback since December 2006. Demand is sky-high for the subcompact hatch, so it is no wonder that its wagon version was launched earlier than originally planned. Now the three-door version will fill out the lineup.

The production version kept much of the styling of the concept, which was shown last year at the 2006 Paris Auto Show. It looks more dynamic than the five-door cee'd, courtesy of a 30mm-lower height and a slightly extended length. The nose gets an added 10mm, and there are other new touches such as a new grille, altered headlights, wider bumpers and larger foglights.

The engine lineup will match that of other cee'd family members, so choices will include five Euro-4 compliant engines, two common-rail diesels and three four-cylinder gas units with power output ranging from 90 to 143 horsepower. Both manual and automatic gearboxes will be offered.

To mark the sportiness of the car, there'll be an optional Sports Pack with 17-inch alloys, stiffer springs and an enhanced interior including alloy pedals, tire-track pattern fabric upholstery and stainless steel scuff plates.

Car Review Kia Unleashes Hot Little Pro-cee'd Hatchback

Kia took the sheets off what promises to be the hottest member of its cee'd family on Thursday, the aptly named three-door Pro-cee'd hatchback. The Pro-cee'd is aimed squarely at the Volkswagen Golf GTI. Kia said production is slated to kick off in November, with customer sales in Europe starting in early 2008. No word yet on whether Kia plans to bring the Pro-cee'd to the U.S.

Kia described the Pro-cee'd as "based closely on the earlier Pro_cee'd concept shown at the Paris auto show in 2006. Speculation at that time was that the production version of the concept would include a diesel, but Kia did not release specifications on the Pro-cee'd. The four-seat concept car put a premium on sportiness with a three-spoke steering wheel and brown leather trim. The production model has been developed by Kia's European design studio under the direction of Peter Schreyer. Kia said the Pro-cee'd will be "longer, lower and lighter than its five-door sister car." It will be built in Slovakia.

Hyundai/Kia Roll Out $58-Million Green Research Center

The Hyundai Kia Automotive Group has opened a $58 million environmental technology research and development center here that is designed to "accelerate the commercialization of fuel-cell electric vehicles."

The green center's facilities include a hydrogen filling station, a fuel-cell endurance tester, an emissions lab, dynamometers and other high-tech equipment for testing electric propulsion systems. Hyundai Kia said it also included a "pilot plant for automated vehicle dismantling focusing on improving the material recycling rate of end-of-life vehicles."

The center will be home to 200 researchers and includes state-of-the-art green processes, including "vacuum toilet systems," which save 1,500 tons of water annually.


The lofty goal of the center is to make the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group "the world leader in environmental technology," the company said in a statement.

A New Face for Kia

Kia Motors said it will introduce a new corporate "face" in September at the Frankfurt auto show when it unveils a 2+2 sport coupe concept created under the direction of Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer.

Schreyer, who formerly headed Audi design, directed the Kia ex_cee'd cabrio concept that made its debut earlier this year at the Geneva show.

Kia said the new sport-coupe concept, designed at its Frankfurt studio, will present a more consistent, unified look for upcoming Kia products and "heralds a future product strategy focused on design."

Schreyer was quoted as saying: "At Frankfurt, I'm sure Kia will surprise the entire automotive world when people see our new sport-coupe concept in the metal."