Category: Kia

It is customary for car companies to give a model a midlife makeover, which can include anything from tinkering around the edges of design, adding specifications, to adjusting prices. Rarely does it include digging deep to improve performance parameters. There are exceptions to the rule, of course, one being among Kia’s latest upgrades to the fourth-generation Sportage released two years ago. The MY19 version of the compact sports utility vehicle has come under the ‘spell’ of the Wizards of Oz in ride and handling. Acknowledged world leaders in the field,… Read more

Fresh from the success of its sporty Stinger family car and the recent launch of a new Cerato, Kia Australia has given its Optima mid-sized sedan a makeover. Styling changes to the front and rear give it a different appearance, though they haven’t greatly changed the character. More important are specification changes and changes to the prices of both the 2019 Optima Si and GT. Kia Optimas have a new infotainment head unit, with a 7.0-inch screen in the Si and 8.0-inch for the GT. There is Apple CarPlay and… Read more

Kia Cerato tends to have been lost in the shadow of the stunning Stinger and the cute little Picanto at the moment. So it’s easy to forget that it’s the most successful car in the range in Australia in terms of sales, with around one in three of all Kias being a Cerato. The South Korean giant is certainly not going to rest on its laurels so just launched an all-new Cerato, the third generation, and the Australian importer has big hopes for it. The biggest news is the styling…. Read more

All models of Kia Stinger built from March 2018 onwards now have a five-star ANCAP safety rating. That’s due to the inclusion of autonomous emergency braking and lane-keeping assist on the Stinger 200S and 330S models. Previously these cars were only three-star rated because these safety features were missing. As well as adding these safety items the lower-cost Stingers were also fitted with adaptive cruise control, driver inattention alert and automatic wipers. This has led to a $1000 price rise in these models, Stinger 200S is now $46,990 rrp, the… Read more

Kia’s Carnival eight-seat people mover has been enhanced with a facelift and range of safety and comfort upgrades in a mid-life freshen up. Kia’s stylists have revised the look of the ‘tiger nose’ grille and there are sleeker headlight clusters that sweep into the grille. Integrated foglights are part of the revision. At the rear the lower tailgate panel and rear three-quarter panels have been mildly reshaped. As befits a vehicle aimed at carting kids safety is paramount and every model now comes as standard with autonomous emergency braking and… Read more

Kia Australia introduced the Picanto Australian Open special edition in January to celebrate the Korean company’s continued sponsorship of major tennis event – the first Grand Slam of the global tennis year. The edition was a big success and so is now offered as a continuing member of the Picanto range, this time tagged as the Picanto GT-Line. In Kia-speak ‘GT-Line’ means a car has added visual elements, usually sporting ones, but is not a high-performance ‘GT’. External changes are comprehensive, with16-inch alloy wheels, GT-Line badging, LED position lamps and… Read more