Category: Kia

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TASMAN: THE PICK-UP TIDE TURNS

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The Tasman ran into some rough waters when the first Kia pick-up broke cover 18 months ago, with some folk reckoning it had gone too far with its out-there looks. The maker was the first to admit it was designed ‘to push the boundaries of what a pick-up can deliver.’ And it’s hard to argue with that. How about steps at the two rear corners of the tub, a load bed equipped with illuminated 240-volt power outlet, sliding cargo floor and class-leading 1173 litres of space, enough to take a… Read more

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KIA EV4 GT-LINE GOES THE DISTANCE

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  Don’t mention the war: It’s hard to ignore these words from that other comedian Basil Fawlty with the electric vehicle light burning brightly over a Middle East farrago of Trumpian intensity. Fossil fuel is flagging in the power play for car sales with the Strait of Hormuz on drip feed to oil tankers and cargo carriers, leaving EVs with an inside run against the internal combustion engine mob. How prescient then that Kia has added a sedan to an already diverse line-up of non-ICE vehicles. The EV4 Sedan joins… Read more

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K4 HATCHES NEW LINE IN PASSENGER COMPACT

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After more than two decades and more than 200,000 sales in Australia the Cerato was fast running out of legs. The Kia self-styled much loved small passenger car could have kept up with design and technical developments in the segment but Kia had other ideas. The new K4 kicked down the door in sedan format with four trimlines – S, Sport, Sport+, GT-Line – and two petrol engines before later being joined by hatchback for MY26 models, aligning them with Kia’s global naming convention. Both sedan and hatches score an… Read more

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KIA EV4 REVIEW

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Kia continues to pick up its power game with what seems like a Keno card of EV numbers – the EV4 sedan being the latest in a line from EV3, EV4, EV5, RV6 and EV9. What does this newbie bring to the party? Well, there’s the company’s longest range electric vehicle at more than 600 kilometres for its top-specced twins. With a choice between standard and long-range electric power the EV4 sedan comes in three trim levels, Air, Earth, and GT-Line. Air is equipped with a Standard Range battery system… Read more

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KIA TASMAN IS GOOD … AND IT HAD TO BE

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that the Kia Tasman is Kia’s first ute. And it has a big task ahead of it as Kia attempts to acquire a chunk of the lucrative light commercial market. Now the number four brand in the Australian market, the South Korean car maker has come a long way in the past decade. But it can’t take the fight up to market leader Toyota without a ute as part of its arsenal — and what a ute it is. Together with… Read more

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EV3 . . . NICE, BUT THE PRICE?

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  EV3 is the smallest of Kia’s electric SUVs, sitting behind the EV5 and EV9. They persist in calling the EV6 an SUV too, but it’s not. It’s really more of an over-sized hatch. By virtue of its size EV3 is also the cheapest too, if you can call $50,000 cheap by the time you put it on the road. This could be problematic for the Korean car maker, when cheaper, similarly-sized E-SUVs are fronting up every other week. Some of them are pretty impressive. STYLING EV3 replaces the Kia Niro. There… Read more

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LATE-COMER SPORTAGE HEV CATCHES UP WITH CURRENT TREND

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There is no question that the Sportage Hybrid came late (almost three years to be precise) to the table of electric power for Kia’s popular mid-size SUV. A shortage of cars only compounded the matter. Now, says Kia, things are on the move, with the petrol/hybrid expected to sell 300 a month, 20 per cent of total sales Down Under, and another step in the company’s progress of increasing electrified options to the Australian market. The Sportage HEV is available in two trims – SX front-wheel drive automatic and GT-Line… Read more

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KIA EV6 GT-LINE AWD

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It’s been more than 18 months since we first drove the Kia EV6. Not much has changed since then, although it will soon get some updates – namely a larger battery. The new model lobbed at the Australian Open earlier this year, of which Kia is the major sponsor and its arrival is imminent. In the meantime, we couldn’t turn down the chance of another drive of what is surely one of Australia’s pre-eminent EVs — although describing it as a crossover is a stretch. STYLING Prices start from $72,590… Read more

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KIA EV5 AIR STEPS CONFIDENTLY INTO THE MAINSTREAM FRAY

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Kia continues its journey into full vehicle electrification with the introduction of the EV5 mid-size SUV with sharp looks, state-of-the-art automotive technology and prices aimed at taking the wind out of rivals’ sails (and sales). The EV5 comes in three trim levels – Air, Earth and GT-Line – with a choice of standard or lang-range batteries and front- or all-wheel drive. Prices start at $56,770 drive-away for the Standard Range FWD and signs off at $71,770, plus on road costs, or drive-away at $75,990 for the GT-Line AWD variant. On… Read more

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KIA EV3 AIR: FROM LITTLE THINGS . . .

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With the latest edition, the EV3, hitting the market Down Under, Kia electrics make up almost as many numbers as a Keno card. But is there a winner? Having just sampled the entry-level EV3, and with EV5, 6 and 9, on the dance card down the line, it’s anybody’s guess. The all-electric small SUV has a lot going for it – sub-$50k price, comfortable cabin, fuel economy and seven-year warranty – designed from the ground up to be a no-compromise EV. The EV3 sets its sustainable stall out with triple… Read more