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2014 Kia Forte sedan priced from $15,900*

During our recent First Drive of the 2014 Kia Forte sedan, Kia revealed many of the sedan's specs, but left out pricing and fuel economy for its all-new compact sedan. With the new Forte set to hit dealerships soon, Kia has announced the starting prices for the sedan's two initial trim levels and released the fuel economy for the EX trim level equipped with the bigger engine. Marking a slight $500 jump in price over the current 2013 model, the 2014 Forte sedan will have a starting MSRP of $15,900 (*not including a destination charge of $800).
This price is for the base LX sedan with the 148-horsepower, 1.8-liter inline-four paired to the manual gearbox, but buyers wanting an automatic transmission will have to pony up an extra $1,500. Some of the notable features standard on the LX include Bluetooth and heated, power-folding door mirrors.
Stepping up to the EX trim level will run $19,400, but it also brings the peppier 2.0-liter direct-injected four-cylinder producing 173 horsepower and returning 24 miles per gallon in the city, 36 mpg highway and a combined rating of 28 mpg; Kia says these are EPA estimates, but the EPA's website does not yet list the 2014 Forte. Kia is still holding out on fuel economy for the base engine.

Kia offers first glimpse at new Optima ahead of New York debut

The Optima is far and away Kia's top-selling model in America, outstripping anything else in the Korean automaker's lineup by some margin. But after four years, Kia is set to roll out an all-new model at the New York Auto Show next week. Before it does, though, it is giving us our first glimpse at the new sedan with the image above. Previewed by the Sportspace concept earlier this month in Geneva and in the pair of teaser renderings from last week, the new Optima should be instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with the current model – particularly from the front end we see here. The headlights line up with the tiger-nose grille, but now bear a little kink in the lower edge, and the full-width lower air dam has now been split between a taller center section flanked by twin vents. That front fender vent is still evident, a black roof is once again framed by the body-color window surrounds, but the hood appears more sculpted. Kia says the new Optima will be "available with multiple engine choices" and "features a more spacious interior, class-up premium features and a number of technologies not previously offered on Kia's best-selling midsize sedan." Just what those engine options and new technologies will be, we can't say for sure at this point, but the current model is offered around the world with a range of four-cylinder gasoline, diesel and hybrid engine options. We'll just have to wait another week or so to find out more. ALL-NEW 2016 KIA OPTIMA MAKES GLOBAL DEBUT AT NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW Instantly recognizable yet thoroughly fresh, Kia will introduce the all-new 2016 Optima at the upcoming New York Auto Show on April 1st at 1:20 PM. Available with multiple engine choices, the all-new Optima features a more spacious interior, class-up premium features and a number of technologies not previously offered on Kia's best-selling mid-size sedan. #KiaOptima #NYIAS

Hyundai and Kia to update EV brake lights; our tests show how they currently may not come on

Update: This article has been updated to reflect Kia's own service campaign announcement.  Hyundai will be launching a "field service campaign to update the EV brake light logic" on its Ioniq 5 as well as the Genesis GV60, Electrified GV70 and Electrified GV80. According to Hyundai's director of communications, Michael Stewart, the change will be make to new production vehicles and as part of free-of-charge service campaign that will launch in July for approximately 56,000 vehicles already on the road.  "Regardless of the accelerator pedal input, the brake lights will now turn on when the deceleration rate exceeds approximately 0.13 G," Stewart wrote in an e-mail to Autoblog. Since this article was originally published, Kia has announced it will be performing the same update to its EV6 and Niro EV. Kia is also part of the Hyundai Group. This change would seem to be in keeping with the behavior we have experienced in the Hyundai Ioniq 6, the firm's most recently introduced EV. We go into that behavior lower in this article.  This announcement comes in the wake of owner complaints as well as a test by Consumer Reports that found that most Hyundai, Genesis and Kia electric vehicles can come to a stop without their brake lights illuminating. This occurred when using those vehicles' most aggressive "i-Pedal" function that allows for so-called "one-pedal driving" where the driver can mostly rely upon the car's regenerative braking system (which is used to replenish the battery pack) to stop the car.  We tested this for ourselves this week as we are currently testing a Genesis Electrified GV70, and I personally own a 2023 Kia Niro EV Wave. I almost exclusively drive in i-Pedal mode. News Editor Joel Stocksdale tested the Hyundai Ioniq 6 in Michigan, and again, we will address his findings after the Genesis and Kia as they are completely different. I attached an action camera to the rear of each car and conducted the same test in both: Accelerate to 40 mph and come to a stop without touching the brake and, crucially, without lifting my foot fully off the throttle. The result as you can see below with the Niro is that the brake lights do not come on until around 3 mph when I fully lifted off the throttle and bring the car to a full stop. I could not bring the car to a full stop without fully lifting off the throttle.