KIA SORENTO PHEV GT-LINE

It’s becoming harder to tell internal combustion from electric vehicles, and even more difficult to identify the in-betweeners — the hybrids and plug-in hybrids that combine technologies. The new Product Enhanced Sorento takes its styling cues from the fully-electric EV9 and sees changes to the exterior and interior design, comfort and convenience technology, with additional safety features thrown in. New Sorento offers a range of drivetrains including hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants, both of which arrive in top-spec GT-Line guise only, adding to the price of the technology — or… Read more

KIA K4 SPORT+ SEDAN

The futuristic-looking K4 is a replacement for the Kia Cerato. But, for the time being at least, both are offered for sale by the South Korean car manufacturer. At this stage we get the sedan but not the hatch which will probably turn up later in the year. Kia says the change of name brings the K4 into line with the rest of the world, where it has already adopted the same naming strategy: K3 (Kia Rio), K5 (Optima) and K8 (Cadenza) and K9 (K900). Only the tiny Picanto remains…. Read more

KIA SELTOS SPORT

Seltos is one of four SUVs in the Kia range, smaller than the Sorento and Sportage but larger than the Stonic. It has been on sale here since late 2019 and competes against vehicles such as the MG ZS, Mitsubishi ASX and Hyundai Kona in the crowded small SUV market segment. Seltos received a major upgrade for 2023 with exterior and interior changes, safety improvements, new tech features, plus extra power and a new transmission for the top-spec model. The changes did come at a price with increases of at… Read more

KIA STONIC GT-LINE BLENDS STYLE WITH SUBSTANCE

Kia Stonic is the smallest of the Korean carmaker’s four conventional SUV range sitting below the Seltos, Sportage and Sorento. There are also three fully electric SUVs: EV5, EV6 and EV9. Stonic was released in 2017 and arrived in Australia in 2020. It was upgraded in May 2024 with a more powerful three-cylinder turbo engine, added safety and tech features and a price hike. Stonic is built on the same platform as the now discontinued Rio hatchback. It competes against vehicles such as its Hyundai Venue sibling as well as… Read more

PICANTO PUTS IN ITS FULL PENN’ORTH

Car maker Kia has a foot in two widely opposing camps: on the one hand it produces the World Car of the Year, the luxe EV9 electric vehicle, on the other the bargain basement Picanto petrol powered compact. The former sells for a top shelf six-figure sum, the latter, recently the subject of an upgrade, hardly tips the scales at around twenty grand. How does it stack up? The modern, sporty design is highlighted by a new headlamp set-up, ‘ripped’ radiator grille and reshaped front bumper. Out back, the tail… Read more

WINNING WAYS WITH SORENTO ENHANCEMENT

Some sports utility vehicles are just big, others are bold. The 2024 Sorento PE, for Product Enhancement, taking a lead from the EV9 World Car of the Year, veers to the latter, cementing its place in Kia’s modern pantheon. The MY24 stays true to the outgoing model relying on the existing range of four powertrains. The 3.5-litre petrol front-wheel drive and 2.2-litre diesel all-wheel drive variants are available across four trim levels – S, Sport, Sport+ and GT-Line – with the last, home for the Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid. The… Read more

POWER SURGE PUTS SPORTAGE IN SPOTLIGHT

With hybrid buyers lighting up the EV market, great things are expected of the recent addition to the Sportage SUV range. Driven by the surge in hybrid sales, the Toyota RAV4 has overtaken the Ranger and HiLux to become the best-selling vehicle in Australia. So, it’s not before time that Kia has introduced a hybrid variant to its popular Sportage medium SUV range, which the company confidently anticipates, at 300 units per month, will contribute 20 per cent to total Sportage sales. “The Sportage range was already an excellent medium… Read more

WINNING KIA EV A QUIET ACHIEVER

Quiet (tick), achiever (tick) – quiet achiever: with little more than the hum of the motors, the EV9 carried off a couple of the most prestigious prizes of 2024 – World Car of the Year and World Electric Vehicle. A jury of 100 distinguished automotive journalists representing 29 countries, shouted out the innovative design, spacious seven-seat interior and competitive pricing of Kia’s first triple-row, all electric flagship SUV as being world beating. Now Australia has the opportunity to find out, with the recent arrival of three variants, named with a… Read more

KIA PICANTO GT-LINE ROAD TEST

While the battle rages for the high ground of the top tech, and expensive, electrified territory of the automotive world, a rear-guard action from the internal combustion engine bargain basement is taking place. Micro cars such as the MG 3, Suzuki Ignis, Fiat 500 and Mazda 2 are leading the charge to defend ICE(land). The latest call to arms comes from Kia with its upgraded Picanto. What are its chances? Sadly, gone ta-taas is the popular GT, replaced by a pair of GT-Line legionnaires. Kia says it has called on… Read more

KIA EV9 GT-LINE AWD

Sounds too good to be true, but it is. EV9 is Kia’s latest and greatest wunderkind, an EV that seats seven and can travel more than 500km on a single charge. In the early days of the modern electric era, it was suggested that families would have two cars: a compact battery-electric vehicle for city use and larger, hybrid SUV for inter-urban travel. A decade later they’ve had a rethink and EVs of different shapes and sizes are becoming an increasingly common sight on our motorways, but we’ve still got… Read more