Who remembers this Kia video from back in 2011?

Enjoy this week's Throwback Thursday video!  

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Kelley Blue Book's KBB.COM Names 2013 Kia Soul to List of Coolest New Cars Under $18,000

Soul Picked Based on its Fun-to-Drive and Fun-to-Own Personality

•  The Soul stays cool with its fun design and technology
• Soul’s extensive list of standard features makes it a superb value

Kia Motors America’s (KMA) top-selling urban passenger vehicle, the 2013 Soul, was named to Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com list of the 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000. Chosen by the site’s editors, the 2013 Soul was celebrated for its fun and bold design, high-tech offerings and roominess.
“The Soul, which paved the way for Kia’s design led transformation with its fun and funky personality, quickly established a reputation as the spunkiest car in the Kia lineup, and now KBB has recognized it as one of the coolest vehicles on the market,” said Michael Sprague, executive vice president, marketing & communications, KMA. “Kia has always strived to provide customers with value, style and substance, and the Soul fulfills that promise with an extensive roster of standard features and unique design that has become iconic.”
The Soul placed third on Kelley Blue Book’s annual list of the coolest cars. Editors at Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com looked for new cars that were fun to own and drive. The Soul’s one-of-a-kind look and feel stood out amongst its competition.
“Born in 2010 and significantly updated in 2012, the Kia Soul has managed to keep its cool the whole time,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com. “Like a small cargo van with bold lines and high tech, the Soul’s impressive standard equipment list includes Bluetooth^®1 phone connectivity, an auxiliary audio input and iPod^®2 integration.”
For more information about KBB.com’s 2013 list of the 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000, please visit http://www.kbb.com/car-reviews-and-news/top-10/10-coolest-cars-under-18000-2013/.

About the 2013 SoulRefreshed for the 2013 model year, the Soul features technology and styling upgrades, bringing a new level of cool with enhanced power and efficiency. New for 2013 are power-folding side mirrors, darkened chrome around the signature grille, upgraded leather on the leather-wrapped steering wheel, standard Bluetooth^® wireless technology with steering wheel-mounted controls, standard steering wheel-mounted audio controls, and cruise control. The Soul also offers Idle Stop and Go (ISG) technology as part of the Eco Package, which senses when the vehicle is stopped and shuts off the engine to maximize efficiency and results in reduced engine load and less fuel consumption.

Kia’s Unprecedented GrowthKia Motors America is one of only three auto brands to increase U.S. sales in each of the past four years, and in 2012 the company surpassed the 500,000 unit mark for the first time.  With a full line of fun-to-drive cars and CUVs, Kia is advancing value to new levels of sophistication by combining European-influenced styling – under the guidance of chief design officer Peter Schreyer – with cutting-edge technologies, premium amenities, affordable pricing and the lowest cost of ownership in the industry.  Kia recently joined the exclusive ranks of Interbrand’s “Top 100 Best Global Brands,” and is poised to continue its momentum with seven all-new or significantly redesigned vehicles scheduled to arrive in showrooms in 2013.  Over the past decade Kia Motors has invested more than $1.4 billion in the U.S., including the company’s first U.S. assembly plant in West Point, Georgia – Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia – which is responsible for the creation of more than 11,000 plant and supplier jobs.  The success of the U.S.-built* Optima and Sorento in two of the industry’s largest segments has fueled Kia’s rapid growth and is complemented by Kia’s comprehensive lineup which includes the Cadenza flagship sedan, Soul urban passenger vehicle, Sportage compact CUV, Optima Hybrid, the Forte sedan, 5-door and Koup compacts, Rio and Rio 5-door sub-compacts and the Sedona minivan.

Courtesy of Kia Media

2014 Kia Sorento gets Spiderman-like transformation

How new the 2014 Kia Sorento really is depends on how you look at it, or more correctly, where you look at it.

Kia's current design renaissance encompasses the street-wise Soul and Sportage wagons as well as the Optima and Rio sedans. You can also place the current-generation Sorento that was launched for 2011 on that list. The lines are so right on the money in terms of contemporary style and carrying capacity that there was obviously no point in monkeying around with the mid-sized wagon's looks.

For 2014, the Georgia-built Sorento receives a minor nose tweak, including the ubiquitous mesh-style grille, updated headlights and optional fog lights, plus new taillight lenses. Otherwise the silhouette remains basically the same.

Surprisingly, however, just about every other part of the Sorento's DNA has been altered, redesigned, or otherwise enhanced, kind of like when Peter Parker was bitten by the spider to become Spiderman. Same kid on the outside, but better reflexes and more power.

For 2014, Kia has mounted the Sorento on a platform that's identical to that of parent Hyundai's Santa Fe Sport. Kia claims the new structure is 18 percent stiffer than the 2013 version; attached to that is a stouter sub-frame that holds the powertrain more firmly.

There's also a new independent front suspension, while a more compact rear suspension aids interior space and restricts noise and vibrations from entering the cabin.

The Sorento's hydraulic power-steering system has been exchanged for a more efficient electric unit that features Comfort, Normal and Sport settings, depending on your desired level of steering firmness.
Kia's design team also took care of business on the inside, installing a new instrument panel and center control stack with easier-to-find buttons and knobs.

As before, Sorento can accommodate up to seven passengers with the optional third-row seat, but there's precious little legroom in back and equally scarce stowage room when loaded to the max with passengers. There is a solution if a more comfy back row is a must, but it requires visiting your Hyundai dealer to scope out the extended-wheelbase version of the Santa Fe.

Big changes are also to be discovered in the engine bay. The 175-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder powerplant that was standard for 2013 has been dropped, and the previously optional 191-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder with direct injection (fuel is sprayed under very high pressure directly into the combustion chambers instead of the intake manifold) now assumes base-engine duties.

Added performance is at hand with the available 290-horsepower 3.3-liter V6 (also direct-injected) that delivers 18 more ponies than the outgoing 3.5-liter V6.

The four-cylinder's six-speed manual transmission has been deleted, leaving only a six-speed automatic with manual shift controls.

As before, you can order your four-cylinder or V6 Sorento in front- or all-wheel drive. The latter is a full-time system that constantly varies the torque to all four wheels and can direct power to the outer wheels in high-speed turning situations for added control (known as torque vectoring).

Interestingly, estimated four-cylinder fuel economy is 20 mpg in the city and 26 on the highway (two-wheel-drive), which is close to the V6's 18/25 rating. That points to the extra work the four-cylinder has to do to lug the Sorento around, which might make you wonder what the point is.
Clearly, the four-cylinder enters the market at a more favorable pricepoint.

The 2014 Sorento starts at just under $25,000, which is a price jump commensurate with the increase in power, content and that one great intangible, class.

Along with the existing LX, EX and SX/SX-L trims, Kia has added a new SX Limited model that does its luxury best to coddle passengers with a wood-trimmed interior with ventilated soft leather-covered seats on the inside, while self-leveling headlights and exclusive 19-inch wheels (17- and 18-inch wheels adorn lower trims) are installed outside.

As for options, the tricks up the Sorento's sleeve include a power liftgate, panoramic sunroof, advanced voice-activated communications, infotainment and navigation controls (incorporating an eight-inch touch-screen) and a blind-spot monitoring system that constantly tracks vehicles in the immediate vicinity and issues an audible and visual alert should any get too close.

Courtesy of Newsday

Follow us all summer as Kia's video blogger takes us behind the scenes of the infamous Warped Tour.

A round of applause for Kia Motors! Kia has been named 37th in Interbrand’s list of the 50 Best Global Green Brands 2013.

Motoring: Kia Reaches For The Top

With 47 new or refreshed vehicles coming by 2017, it was inevitable Kia would take another step up the product ladder which it has done with the 2014 Cadenza.

The Cadenza is considered a "near luxury" sedan with a similar size and a host of features found in the $50,000 plus bracket like the Mercedes E-Class or Audi A6.

In fact, the Cadenza starts at $37,795 for the "Base" model and $44,995 for the Premium.

Kia more sensibly sees the Cadenza as going up against Acura TL, Nissan Maxima, Lincoln MKZ and Buick LaCrosse. But Kia had a big chart at the Napa press preview showing its competitors dont have all the available extras as the Cadenza, which is something Im sure Kia sales people will be pointing out to potential buyers.

I suspect the Premium will be the top seller because of what it offers for the price, but Ill get to that a little lower down.

The Cadenza is not a new car but new to Canada and will be sold as Kias flagship model. It is known as the K7 in Korea sold alongside the K9 which is Kias flagship over there.

The Cadenza is considered a full-size sedan and it is in every sense of the word, especially the back seat. During our drive time in San Francisco and the Napa Valley, I made a point of getting in the back and I had more than enough legroom.

Later while driving, I had to stop smartly and that caused my travel bag to slide forward off the back seat and onto the floor. Its a big bag and normally it gets wedged between the front seat back and the rear cushion. In this case, it plopped onto the floor and looked rather lonely with all the room around it.

Kia/Hyundai is the only automaker to produce its own steel and in the Cadenza, high-strength steel makes up 60 per cent of the chassis.

Kia said at the Cadenza press launch this ensures only the highest quality steel is used in the Cadenzas construction.

There is one engine, Kias new 3.3-litre direct injection V6 producing 293 hp and 255 lb/ft of torque driving the front wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission featuring paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

Using regular gasoline, fuel consumption is rated at 11.2/7.4L/100 km city/highway.

One thing that caused some discussion among autowriters present for the press launch in the Napa Valley of California was the steering.

My Quebec co-driver found it "vague" while Graeme Fletcher of Motoring TV called it one of the best hed driven. I did note that FlexSteer (that offers three response modes in the latest Kia offerings) was not on the Cadenza. I was told thats because it was an older model and it could not be refitted with FlexSteer.

I know the roads in Napa fairly well and one of those is the Silverado Trail that runs north-south beside the Napa River.

Twisting and turning, but with pavement as smooth as glass, you can really put any vehicle through its paces, which I did.

Bottom line was the steering was precise and predictable with a hint of on-centre lightness which one expects from electric power steering. The feel of the Cadenza steering fits the nature of the car as buyers in this segment expect comfort in a sedan not the input effort one needs in a sportscar.

Standard equipment is extensive, the partial list includes: rear parking sensors, rear camera, multimedia interface Navigation, AM/FM/CD/AUX/USB, SiriusXM satellite radio, Bluetooth wireless technology, Infinity 12-speaker audio system, chrome outside door handles, solar glass, projection headlights, front fog lights, LED daytime running lights and positioning lights, LED light bar tail lights, power heated body coloured outside mirrors, power folding outside mirrors with LED side repeaters, front and rear splash guard, dot matrix LCD cluster and trip computer.

But it was with the Premium that the Kia blurs with line between "near luxury" and the real thing.

This car is loaded. Again, just a partial list of goodies includes: panoramic sunroof, HID headlamps with adaptive front lighting (AFLS), triple stage cooled/ventilated drivers seat, dual stage rear heated seats, power tilt and telescopic steering wheel, memory seats, memory outside mirrors, memory steering column, drivers seat knee extension, heated steering wheel, wiper deicer, power rear window curtain, Supervision TFT LCD instrument cluster, premium Nappa leather seats, 19-inch alloy wheels, smart cruise control, blind spot detection, Lane Departure Warning System and Electric Parking Brake (EPB).

One of the things that caught everyones attention is the use of "hydrophobic" glass on the front side windows. They are treated with a special, permanent coating that repels water and dirt.

And you like to golf, you can take a foursome and their bags in the 451-litre trunk.

Suspension is MacStruts at the front and a multi-link setup at the rear. Part of the suspension comprises "dynamic dampers" that automatically soften when cruising but stiffen when more handling performance is wanted.

Im not a fan of adaptive cruise control but many are, especially at the luxury level. On the Cadenza speed can be set between 30-180 km/h.

I feel the same about lane departure systems because I find the bell/chime/whatever is annoying and distracting plus it adds to the stress level in the middle of a critical situation. Luckily, it can be turned off by a button located to the left of the steering wheel.

By that I mean people used to think of Kias as "cheap and cheerful" transportation. But with each new product, Canadians continue to be won over by the styling that is the gateway to the built quality and content.

The Cadenza marks new territory for Kia and it is very much the new boy on the near luxury block.

But based on what we've seen so far, Kia will probably be one of the big boys on the block before very long.

Kia Cadenza 2014

Body Style: Full-size near luxury sedan

Drive Method: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive

Engine: 3.3-litre DOHC direct injection V6 (293 hp, 255 lb/ft)

Fuel Economy: (Regular) six-speed automatic 11.2/7.4L/100 km city/highway

Cargo: 451 litres

Courtesy of Kelowna Capital News

Kudo's to the Pete's Car Smart Kia team for receiving a 5-star review on Cars.com!

"I had a great purchasing experience at Pete's and I would go back in the future. The service department is also great!" - Hollie

Warped Tour fans have the opportunity to catch live music performances on the Kia Soul and Kia Forte main stages.

Today is Wallpaper Wednesday and we want you to take a look at the 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid.

This fuel-efficient car offers 36 city/40 highway MPG. If you're a fan already, set this photo as your computer's wallpaper.

Receive $1,000 cash back on all 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid Trims!

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Kick off your week by following us on Twitter @PetesCarSmart. By following us you will receive spectacular summer savings!

We have a new June offer! Receive 10% off your next regularly scheduled maintenance package with this coupon.

Inside Auto: Kia's 2014 Full-sized Cadenza Offers Competence, Capability And Comfort

Kia's pushing Asian manufacturers' competition by introducing their first full-sized car.

Kia's grown to the eighth-largest brand in the U.S. market in 18 years, and adding a full-sized model fills out the brand's offerings into almost every automobile segment. Kia officials readily admit that many of their models were at best "nondescript."

But Kia's latest models and new offerings have enough style and sophistication to make the brand notable for aesthetics as well as capability.

The Cadenza is officially a member of the basic large-car segment, sharing a platform with Hyundai's Azera. Its competition includes the Toyota Avalon, Nissan Maxima, Buick LaCrosse, Ford Taurus and Chevrolet Impala.

Kia officials hope it'll be shopped against the entry-luxury vehicles, like Acura's TL, the Lexus ES and Lincoln MKZ. They didn't include Hyundai's Azera, which shares the Cadenza's platform. One evidently doesn't call siblings competitors.

The car sits on the Kia/Hyundai FF platform and the car has a two-inch longer wheelbase at 112.0 inches, and at 195.5-inches, it's five inches longer than the Optima and the same size as the Azera.

An important criterion was to make the car quiet, and it is, thanks to things like triple seals for the doors, undercoating to reduce road noise, and plenty of damping to keep noise and vibration out of the passenger cabin.

The car's looks are very Euro, in keeping with the Kia brand focus. It's also quite sophisticated looking, with a long, sleek profile. With standard 18-inch wheels, and 19-inch available, the car has a well-balanced stance. The Cadenza's front face includes a new interpretation of the Kia Tiger-Nose grill.

Inside, leather is standard in all models, and there's wood and chrome to accent it. The dashboard design is modern, but comfortably focuses controls and the instrument panel on the driver. The center-stack controls are logical and well exhibited on the panel's seven-inch color screen. The look, feel, ambient lighting and even the analog clock generate a feeling of quiet competence and comfort.

Navigation isstandard, along with a 12-speaker, 550-watt Infinity audio system. Naturally, there's Bluetooth connectivity for phone and streaming music. In addition, Kia's telemetric system UVO is included on all Cadenzas.

Using a free downloadable app, the system provides many features normally costing subscription fees in other vehicles. There's automatic dialing of 911 if the airbags deploy, for example. You can use Google Send to Car to plan your routes on any device and then send them to the car's navigation system. One particularly valuable feature lets you find your car in a parking lot.

There are three trim levels: Cadenza Premium, with a price beginning at $35,100; the mid-level Cadenza Luxury starting at $38,100; and the top-of-the-line Cadenza Technology, which starts at $41,160.

If you choose the Premium Package, there's a full-length panoramic sunroof and adaptive high-intensity headlights. You also get an LCD instrument cluster, a 12-way ventilated driver's seat, heated front and rear outboard seats, heated steering wheel with power tilt and telescoping steering column, as well as a power rear sunshade.

The Technology Package adds 19-inch alloy wheels, electric parking brake and adaptive cruise control, which keeps you a set distance from the vehicle in front and, if necessary, brings the car to a complete stop. You also get a water repellant hydrophobic windshield, a radar-based blind spot detection system and lane departure warning system.

The power for all Cadenzas comes from a 3.3-liter V6 engine that produces 293 hp. and 255 lb.-ft. of peak torque. It's attached to a six-speed automatic transmission that comes with paddle shifters on the steering wheel. Kia claims the fuel mileage numbers are 19 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway, for a combined rating of 22 mpg.

The suspension is fairly standard, with a MacPherson strut front and multilink rear setup. The ride is comfortable, but with a more American feel than the Optima's European tautness. There's plenty of high-strength steel in the body - 60 percent, in fact. This makes the vehicle's structure more rigid and therefore safer.

The Cadenzas we drove at the vehicle launch were all fully equipped Technology models. The car is pleasant to drive, and can carry a number of adults in comfort and quiet. For me, the suspension was a bit soft. In several tests of hard braking, there was plenty of "wiggle" or squirming. The power processes nicely from the front wheels and the transmission is well tuned to American highways. You can shift the car yourself, but there's no sport mode - you either shift it yourself or the standard processor figures out when to do it.

The Cadenza's primary purchaser will more than likely be middle aged and older empty nesters, as they're the buyers of the competitive large-sedan models. The car's already in showrooms. All Cadenzas include three years of complementary scheduled maintenance.

And in keeping with Kia's musical names, Cadenza is the musical term - in Italian, naturally - meaning cadence.

Courtesy of Heritage Newspapers

Three cheers for the 2013 Kia Rio! This car earned the US EPA SmartWay Certification Mark based on its incredible greenhouse gas and air pollution scores.

When Boyz II Men searched for the best way to thank some of their biggest fans, the Kia Sorento had the perfect answer.