Kia Builds 1 Millionth Vehicle at its Slovakian Plant

The 1 millionth vehicle rolled off the assembly line at Kia's Zilina plant in Slovakia just a little over five years since the factory opened, marking a significant landmark for the South Korean automaker.

The milestone model was a white, diesel-engined Cee’d SW that was handed over to a Slovakian children’s charity called the Red Nose Clowndoctors (no connection with Adult Swim's Children's Hospital…).

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Kia Makes a Record Number of Cars and Engines in Europe in 2011

Last year, Kia broke its 2010 production records in Europe with 252,000 cars and more than 359,000 petrol and diesel engines rolling off the assembly lines at is Zilina plant in Slovakia. Compared to 2010, Kia's European arm built 10 percent more vehicles and posted a 12 percent increase in engine production. Read more »

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2011 GMC Terrain Review

The 2011 GMC Terrain.

As easy as it is to take potshots at badge engineering (taking one vehicle, putting a different grille, taillights and nameplate on it and calling it something else), think about what it must be like to be a corporate cousin of a big volume brand like Chevrolet. You need product or your brand won't survive, and the fact, even prior to the great recession and Carpocalypse, is that the bucks aren't there to build unique vehicles for each brand. Platform sharing...and the more blatant badge engineering...are the only way to go.



That's GMC's lot in life and has been for decades. They finesse it by positioning themselves as more upscale...a good play for Acadia, Yukon and Yukon XL..a mixed bag when it comes to Sierra pickups, and for the Terrain? Well, it's gotta be a tough sell.  Or so you'd think. The Terrain actually sells mid-pack among 12 compact crossovers (the other 11 being the Ford Escape, Chevrolet Equinox, Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue, Toyota RAV4, Subaru Forester, Jeep Patriot, Jeep Compass, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-7).

The 2011 GMC Terrain rear view.

Not that there's anything wrong with the Terrain. It's just that in the small crossover segment, there's only so much you can do to differentiate it from its sister under the skin, the Chevrolet Equinox.

GMC sent us a loaded Terrain SLT-2 AWD (all wheel drive). $31,650 base price, and after $6,435 worth of cargo management packages, navigation, audio system upgrades, swapping the 2.4 liter 4-cylinder for the 3.0 liter V6, the rear seat entertainment system, 19-inch wheels and trailering equipment, the bottom line (with $810 destination charge) was $38,895.

That's $2,010 more than the similarly equipped 2010 model we tested last year, and also a couple grand less than loading up a 2011 Equinox in similar fashion would cost you.

The 2011 GMC Terrain interior.

And there's the trouble. It really is an Equinox. Is the GMC nameplate or the blockier, arguably more masculine stying of the Terrain worth $2,000?  For a few thousand people a month, the answer is yes.


2011 GMC Terrain AWD SLT-2

Base price: $31,650.

As tested:   $38,895.

Likes: Room, comfort.

Dislikes: High price as tested, low-ish gas mileage.

EPA estimates: 16 mpg city/22 mpg highway.

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2011 Kia Sorento Review

The 2011 Kia Sorento.

It's deja vu all over again.

Those of us of a certain age can remember when Honda found the magic dust and began sprinkling it liberally over their product portfolio. They went from an interesting, quirky also-ran to a company that could do no wrong and whose products you couldn't afford to ignore come car-shopping time.

Well here we are three decades later, and that's what's happening with Kia, which before they were an interesting, quirky also-ran, weren't all that interesting...so the achievement curve here is actually higher than it was for Honda.

About a month ago, we extolled the virtues of the Kia Sportage, now a fine, no-excuses small SUV. But what if you need something a touch bigger?

Well, that's where the Kia Sorento comes in. It's roomier but gets very close to the same mileage as the Sportage (21 city/29 highway to the Sportage's 22/31).

Our tester was the mid-level EX front wheel drive (all three, LX, EX and SX are available in all-wheel-drive as well), starting at $24,795. And that gets you a very well-equipped machine: DOHC 4, 6-speed automatic transmission, 18-inch alloy wheels, ABS, airbags and curtains all around, Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control, tire pressure monitoring, downhill brake control and hill assist control, dual-zone automatic climate control, power windows, door locks, and outside mirrors, an AM/FM/CD/mp3 audio system with SiriusXM satellite radio, USB and auxiliary jacks and Bluetooth.

The interior of the 2011 Kia Sorento.

Also standard in the EX are a multi-adjustable driver's seat with lumbar support, 60/40 split folding and reclining second row seats, pushbutton start with smart key, cruise control, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, auto light control, tilt and telescoping steering column, illuminated vanity mirrors, rear privacy glass and fog lamps.That's a nice package for less than 25 large. And the Kia people added three options to it:

The Limited package (Navigation with traffic data, backup camera, Infinity Audio system with 10 speakers, 18-inch mirror-finish alloy wheels and interior accent illumination)...$2,000.

Premium Package 1 (Leather seat trim in the first and second row, heated front seats and an auto-dimming mirror with display for the backup camera)...$1,500.

And a mirror with Compass and Homelink for $250.

Regular TireKicker readers know I'd almost always pass on factory nav systems (your phone can do most of what those do), but the added safety of the backup camera is a good idea in almost any vehicle...especially SUVs...and the Infinity Audio system rocked...so I'd actually go this way with my own dime....which would give us a grand total after delivery charges of $29,340.

It drives well, it handles well, it gets good mileage, and nicely equipped, you're coming in just a shade below the competition on price. Plus there's the 10 year/100,000 mile limited powertrain warranty and the 5 year/60,000 mile roadside assistance. Hard to go wrong...unless you don't test drive one.

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2011 Kia Sportage Review

This year's list of nominees for "most improved" wouldn't be complete without this potential winner of the award...the all-new Kia Sportage.

The nameplate has been around since 1997, when it was the grimmest little conveyance imaginable...underpowered, undersized and possessed of the kind of materials and craftsmanship that gave Korean automobiles a reputation they're still trying to live down.

But, as we've been saying here at TireKicker for the past three years, the Koreans are making quantum leaps with each generation of automobiles. And the Sportage is an excellent example of that.

Even in more recent years, the best thing Kia had going for it was price and warranty, but the Sportage is now a no-excuses, fully competitive small SUV. In fact, it's leapt ahead of some of the older competitors with a DOHC four and a six-speed automatic transmission standard in all but the base model, which gets a six-speed manual.

That base model starts at a reasonable, but no longer bargain-basement, $18,295. Our tester was the next-to-the-top EX model (the SX is a screamer, with 260 horsepower instead of the 178 in the base through EX models).  Base price: $23,295. That gets you the engine and transmission detailed above, plus power steering, power four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, traction control, electronic stability control, donhill brake and hill-start assist, tire pressure monitoring, dual-zone climate control, power locks and windows, keyless entry, an AM/FM/CD/mp3 audio system with USB and auxilary inputs, cruise control, a trip computer, tilt steering wheel, Bluetooth, a 12-volt power outlet, intermittent wipers and a leather-wrapped shift knob and steering wheel.

All that adds up to a very pleasant environment in which to do your driving. And the one Kia sent over for a week included navigation with Sirius Traffic and a backup camera,  a premium audio system including a subwoofer, heated front seats, pushbutton start, a panoramic sunroof, rear sonar, heated outside mirrors and a cargo cover.

Bottom line: $27,990 with destination charges. Which is right in the zone for this type of small SUV with that type of equipment.  And the combination of the four-cylinder with a six-speed automatic pays off with excellent gas mileage...22 city/31 highway. It's well worth a test drive.

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Kia Adds 256HP 2.0-liter Turbo to Sportage Range, Priced from $26,490

Kia has released details and pricing on its new turbocharged 2011 Sportage SX compact CUV, scheduled to arrive in the firm's U.S. showrooms later this month. The Sportage SX is Kia's second vehicle in the States to feature the company's 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with direct-injection technology and a twin-scroll turbocharger that delivers 256 horsepower and 264 pound-feet of peak torque.

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Euro NCAP's Best and Worst Performers of 2010

The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), which is similar to the American IIHS testing regimen, has released a list with the safest car in each vehicle category and the two worst performers overall of 2010. The cars that attained the coveted five star rating and achieved the highest overall score in their respective segment are:

------ Executive category: BMW 5 Series
------ Small Family category: Alfa Romeo Giulietta
------ Supermini category: Honda CR-Z
------ Small off-road 4×4 category: Kia Sportage
------ Small MPV category: Toyota Verso

On the other side of the fence are two models that achieved the poorest results of 2010. These are the Citroen Nemo with three stars and China's Landwind CV9 that received only two stars.

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FAIL: Kia Sportage Tumbles Downhill [Video]

There's a right way and a wrong way to drive a vehicle down a steep hill. The folks in this previous generation Kia Sportage chose the wrong way, but fortunately for them, the incident ended without any bloodshed. Watch the video after the break.

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2011 Kia Sportage Receives the SEMA Treatment Twice

Kia has teamed up with fashion and lifestyle magazine Antenna to create a pair of concept models based on the new Sportage CUV for this year's edition of the SEMA Show, which takes place in Las Vegas from November 2 to 5. The modified Sportage models are nicknamed "Work" and "Play," and as their names suggest, one is made to appeal to the tech-savvy, on-the-go professionals and the other to recreational enthusiasts. We'll have more on both models from the SEMA Show floor, but for now, follow the break for the press details.

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2011 Kia Sportage Compact SUV Spied Inside and Out

Kia is continuing the development of its next generation Sportage that is scheduled to enter the market in the first half of 2010. Our spies captured a camouflaged prototype of the compact SUV in Germany giving us a taste of the Sportage silhouette and interior styling. As you may have already guessed, the 2011 Sportage (or 2010, depending on which side of the Atlantic you're located) is based on the new Hyundai ix35 utilizing the same platform and hardware.

At least in what concerns the European market model, the next Sportage will most likely be offered with the same engine line up as the Hyundai Tucson's replacement.

That said, European buyers should expect three diesels including a new 1.7-liter unit rated at 115hp and 188 lb-ft of torque, and 136HP and 184HP versions of the Korean firm's 2.0-liter 'R' turbo diesel.

The gasoline engine range should consists of the Hyundai- Kia Group's forthcoming 1.6-liter GDI direct-injection four-pot that makes 140 hp and 123 lb-ft. of torque and a more powerful 2.0-liter unit with 166HP and 145 lb-ft.

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