Kia First Drives

Kia Vehicles:

• Forte
• Forte Koup
• Optima
• Optima Hybrid
• Rio
• Sedona
• Sorento
• Soul
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  First Drive: 2012 Kia Rio 5-Door [w/video] 1314892620

  Fun And Efficiency Without Glaring Faults It is an amusing conversation when Kia executives, from the United States and Korea, discuss their relationship with Hyundai. Kia Motors is partly owned by Hyundai Motor Company. As a result, the two share platforms, powertrains and an impressive research and development center in Namyang, Korea. But that is ...

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  First Drive: 2011 Kia Sportage SX 1302191820

  Turbocharging Adds Welcome Spice To This Handsome Soft-Roader There's no replacement for displacement. Ask any man or woman who dined on the muscle cars that Detroit was serving in the '50s and '60s, and they'll tell you to always order the largest engine offered if you want to have any fun. Thing is, that tired old axiom just isn't accurate in the ...

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  First Drive: 2011 Kia Optima 2.0T 1292864280

  Meet the Sonata 2.0T's Evil Twin By this point, you should know all about the excellent new turbocharged, direct-injection four-cylinder engine from Hyundai and, by extension, Kia. We've spent plenty of pixels gushing about the engine's power and efficiency when lodged in the nose of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T, and judging from our time behind the ...

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  First Drive: 2011 Kia Optima 1283443080

  You've Come a Long Way, Baby We admit it – we're genetically preprogrammed to be shallow creatures. Despite our moms' best efforts, recognizing inner beauty is all well and good, but it's physical beauty that first puts both people and consumables on our radar. Exhibit A? The 2011 Kia Optima. You see, while exactly nobody was paying attention, ...

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  First Drive: 2011 Kia Sportage keeps moving in the proper direction 1277999880

  The crossover is the high-fructose corn syrup of the automotive world. Think about it: Rather than using real sugar, Pepsi opts for a cheaper, highly refined and processed sweetener. Which, according to lots of studies, is pretty bad for us. Why would they do that? Higher profits, pure and simple. Likewise, CUVs offer all of the space of a comparably ...

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  First Drive: 2011 Kia Sorento finally crosses over 1257526620

  Sometimes it's hard to remember what you did just yesterday, but think back to 2003 when Kia first introduced the Sorento mid-size SUV. At the time, the market was dominated by body-on-frame vehicles with real honest-to-goodness four-wheel-drive systems and rugged part-time transfer cases. The times, they are a changin'. Releasing a brand-new ...

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  First Drive: 2010 Kia Forte a compelling new compact sedan option 1245167880

  If there's one thing we can say about Kia, it's that it keeps making progress. In the 15 years the brand has been selling cars in the United States, South Korea's second largest auto manufacturer has increased its market share every single year. The future looks bright as well, with new vehicles like the Soul receiving rave reviews and a new billion ...

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  First Drive: 2010 Kia Soul Sport makes the scene in Miami 1237305480

  As far back as 2005, Kia tasked itself with becoming Korea's sporty automaker, leaving parent Hyundai to become a more affordable luxury brand. Then-chief operating officer Len Hunt admitted that while Kia's value proposition was clear, its products largely failed to connect with buyers on an emotional level – the company's models were purchased ...

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  First Drive: 2009 Kia Borrego 1216657860

  Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Kia BorregoCould there be an any worse time to debut a brand new body-on-frame SUV like Kia has done with the new 2009 Borrego? Gas prices have most every new car shopper running from SUVs into small cars with four-cylinder engines. In fact, many SUV early adopters are now driving much smaller sedans like those ...