Automotive Reviews
Posts tagged Kia
2011 Kia Optima
May 23rd
Pontiac spent years trying to perfect the working-class, inexpensive yet sporty sedan that could compete with the Japanese and European manufacturers who trickled into the market in the 1990s. Had it ever gotten the formula quite right, the result might have been similar to the 2011 Kia Optima.
Kia’s formerly forgettable family sedan has gotten a serious makeover for 2011, with an all-new chassis, a move to more efficient four-cylinder power and a body that could’ve been snatched directly from a concept car. The new Optima also broadens its lineup with new hybrid-electric and turbocharged models. More >
2011 Kia Sportage
Apr 25th
Man, do you remember the first Kia Sportage? Like the Suzuki Vitara and Toyota RAV4, this compact SUV started life as a two-door, bare-bones, ultra-compact trail crawler of questionable merit. Look at it now! The Sportage is all grown up, with four doors and a handsome, modern body that marks it as a member of the growing compact crossover market. Everything but the name has changed.
To give Kia’s new do-all a workout, I took it right out of its urban-erranding environment and used it for a roadtrip halfway across the country. It’s not unthinkable that a crossover might be pressed into service for long-distance trips, after all; the more carlike ride and better fuel economy than the average SUV mean that it’s actually a decent choice. More >
2005 Kia Spectra5
Dec 23rd
Down in the automotive trenches, bells and whistles don’t matter much. Oh, sure, seat heaters and navigation systems are great, wonderful toys, but they don’t make the traffic any kinder, or the lines at the Wal-Mart any shorter. No, when you’re really in the thick of it, in the dog-eat-dog world of daily errands in suburbia, it’s the hardware that truly matters.
We had a pretty serious fight on our hands. Groceries and housewares had to be picked up and shifted from one end of Metro Detroit to the other. We were staring down the barrel of some of the nastiest roads Southeastern Michigan had to offer, about to cross the most heavily-traveled roads in the region…and it was ten minutes before rush hour hit. It was a task for a Marine battalion, but it was just us and the new Kia Spectra5. More >