Let’s start with redesign:

The car features Kia’s new, meaner front grille design. It’s a sleek model that looks almost nothing like the outgoing model. The car is fast, and appears so. Angled lines shoot up from the stunning headlights across the sides of this roomy hatchback, connecting it to a high-rise rear end. That fifth door holds a full compartment with plenty of cargo room for a young driver.

Under the hood, Kia has placed a new engine with the capability of reaching over 130 horsepower and a top speed of 105 miles per hour. Fuel economy is key in smaller cars, and the all new 2012 Rio 5-Door achieve top numbers of 26 mpg city, 36 mpg highway. Matted to a six-speed transmission (as well as manual options for those looking to really save a buck) the Kia Rio will appeal to those in the city as well as American Suburbia.

Inside, all Rio models come standard with air conditioning, power steering, AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system with USB, and SiriusXM satellite radio. Safety features have been updated for 2012 models, including electronic stability control, vehicle stability management, four-wheel anti-lock brakes and hill-start assistance.

The dash looks like a sports car, not a Kia. This Korean auto maker is taking amazing strides to shed the “cheap car” stigma of its past.

Source: TTAC

Specifically, the company provides lunch break soccer matches on three artificial-turf fields, dormitory lodging for unmarried employees, a company hospital and fire station near the factory entrance. This from a facility that only a decade ago wasn’t sure if it would stay in business.

The plant in Hwasung is running at full capacity, pumping out 547,000 vehicles to meet global demands.

We had to get back to the basics,” says Tae-Hyun “Thomas” Oh, chief operating officer, at Kia headquarters. “We worked hard in pursuing product quality. We knew we couldn’t sell our cars without it.” The plans included designing sleek models for the “young at heart,” spending more on youthful ads.

With both 4-door and hatchback variants, the compact Kia Rio has been one of the best selling vehicles from the Korean auto maker. For 2012, the company has overhauled Rio, giving it a meaner grill, sleeker styling and a more powerful (yet equally fuel efficient) engine. Check out the official press release, distributed prior to Rio’s New York International Auto Show debut:

Kia Motors Corporation has today revealed the first official photos of the forthcoming next generation Rio, which boasts a bold and distinctive personality, bringing the newcomer in line with the rest of Kia’s striking design-led model range.

Kia’s B-segment newcomer will be manufactured with an extensive range of fuel-efficient and low-CO2 gasoline and diesel engines – including a 1.1-litre diesel unit generating 70 ps, with CO2 emissions from as low as 85 g/km. An all-new, high-performance 1.2-litre Turbo Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) will also be available from 2012.

What happens when the Koreans take a minivan, a small hatchback like the Soul, and combine it with spaceship interiors? You get something like the KV7 concept. Add in gullwing passenger doors and Winnebago-type seating and you’ll really turn heads. People in Detroit were excited to see this boxy test model on the showroom floor.

KV7 will be powered by a 285 horsepower turbocharged four cylinder. The car will also include wi-fi (built in) and caters to those who are not your “typical suburban family.” Kia calls these types Ringleaders:

“Rather than using a van to transport children and their accompaniments, Ringleaders are busy organizing road trips, social outings and new adventures for themselves and their friends to experience together.” Ok terrific.

Source: Jalopnik

The Kia Pop is a small, two door Smartcar-like electric vehicle. With The Paris Motor Show little more than a month away, Kia has released photos of this new concept, which it will put on display. The Pop shows a type of outrageous design that draws a crowd, but chances of this design entering production is probably slim.

The Kia Pop front end looks like it could come from a small Japanese Kei-class auto, the Pop’s side graphic uses a “lozenge shape” in the door.

The top of the car is constructed entirely out of glass, letting plenty of light into the cabin.

Kia has stated little about the car right now, other than it can hold three passengers and is powered by an electric motor. The cabin configuration is “quite cozy,” with a single bench seat allowing the three passengers to sit side by side.

Source: CNET

The contest coincides with the Black Sheep music video campaign for Soul, which hip hop hamsters sing “You can get with this, or you can get with that” comparing the virtues of the Soul vehicle with rolling appliances.

Participants have to create their own music video using Kia Soul as a thematic idea, and the tag, “A new way to roll.” The contest is on now until the end of September, with the top two finalists going on Kia’s dime to Los Angeles for the announcement of the grand prize winner, who will receive a $10,000 prize.

Michael Sprague, Kia VP of marketing & communications says, “Social media is an important part of the marketing strategy for Soul and engaging passionate enthusiasts in this space creates additional opportunities to build buzz through a new, interactive experience.”

Currently, Kia Soul promotes itself with widespread Yahoo! ads, Facebook applications and their very own Youtube channel.

Check out the Kia Contest Rules and enter at their official website.

The Forte Hatchback will also feature a new front grill, alloy wheels, paddle shifters and navigation. While it sits lower and exudes a performance stance, Kia says it does not compromise on practicality or space.

Kia fans in North America have made it clear they want the Forte, at least based on responses to the Koup at events like 2010′s New York International Auto Show. Kia’s sportier designs and more powerful engines are making it an up-and-coming company that the competition should keep an eye on.

Details are scarce but two engines are available in the form of a 2.0-liter and a 2.4-liter. Power figures were not supplied. Transmission choices are a new 6-speed manual and an automatic.

KIA LOOKS TO THE PLUG-IN FUTURE WITH “RAY” CONCEPT AT CHICAGO SHOW

As Governments and motorists keep up the interest levels in an electric-car future Kia Motors Corporation has revealed the first preview rendering of its latest concept car – called Ray – which will make its global debut at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show next month.

Styled by the team at Kia Design Centre America, the Kia Ray project was undertaken to demonstrate how Kia’s evolving design direction would be applied in the packaging of a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

The actual car will form the centre-piece of the Kia Motors America display at Chicago and the vehicle will contribute to Kia’s on-going development of alternative-fuel vehicles.

Already Kia has pioneered potentially real-life fuel cell vehicles and has working prototypes operating in California and Korea. Additionally Kia has various hybrid-engined vehicles providing real-world data in various locations and plans to commercialize Liquefied Petroleum Gas hybrid vehicles in Korea within the next 12 months.

Currently no date has been set for hybrid Kia models to be put on sale in the UK but on-road testing of petrol and diesel hybrid vehicles is due to start in Britain this year.

The Kia Motors press conference for the 2010 Chicago Auto Show will be staged at 1:30 p.m. on February 11, 2010.

Kia Press Release via WCF

At a starting price of $18,195, It comes with rally-inspired skin painted Ignition Orange and wearing offset black racing stripes. There’s also black 18-inch wheels with machined accents, a sunroof, and an alloy fuel-filler door.

Inside, Ignition Soul has black cloth seats with Soul print on the backrests, an upgraded stereo with six speakers, a subwoofer, a 315-watt amp, and seizure-inducing speaker lights that pulse with the beat of the music. An iPod connection cable and Bluetooth round out the stereo upgrades.

Kia’s chief designer Peter Schreyer unveiled this sketch of a car referred to as “K9″ at a conference near Seoul last Friday. Schreyer is best known for designing the original Audi TT when he was still at Audi, is said to have compared the car’s design prowess to that of the Audi A8 and BMW 7 Series. Kia’s plans include a luxury sedan codenamed the CH, which is scheduled for launch around 2011 and is the sister car to Hyundai’s Genesis sedan.

via WCF