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2014 Kia Sportage facelift arrives with updated 2.4L, new grille

The third-generation Sportage has been around for a few years now, but Kia is making some minor changes to its compact crossover for 2014. As expected with a small, mid-cycle refresh, there isn't anything too major to report here, but the important news for the 2014 Sportage involves what's behind that modestly updated fascia.
Kia has revamped the Sportage's base 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine to add direct injection, which is said to improve efficiency, although no fuel economy numbers have been released yet. Switching to DI has also increased the engine's output, up slightly from 176 horsepower and 168 pound-feet of torque in 2013 to 182 hp and 178 lb-ft for 2014. Additionally, LX models now receive the sportier shock setup previously available only on EX and SX trims.
More importantly, the base trim level has been dropped from the 2014 Sportage lineup, meaning the car's manual transmission has been axed, as well. Pricing hasn't been released yet, but the 2013 Sportage already undercut competitors like the Chevy Equinox and Toyota RAV4 by thousands of dollars, so even a modest increase for 2014 would still position the Kia rather nicely in the segment.

Subaru ice driving and Mercedes-AMG G 63 | Autoblog Podcast #571

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Green Editor John Beltz Snyder. They kick things off by talking about the cars they've been driving: the 2019 Mercedes-AMG G63 and Autoblog's long-term Kia Stinger. Then they discuss hooning the Subaru BRZ, WRX and WRX STI on ice at the Subaru Winter Experience. Then they talk news, specifically Amazon investing $700 million in EV startup Rivian, and Maserati finally launching the Alfieri. Finally they help spend a listener's money on a new, green car. Autoblog Podcast #571 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Driving the 2019 Mercedes-AMG G63 Long-term Kia Stinger update Subaru Winter Experience Amazon invests in Rivian Maserati Alfieri on its way Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Tesla exec calls rival EVs 'little more than appliances'

Tesla's Vice President of Business Development Diarmuid O'Connell called the company's competition "little more than appliances" at the Center for Automotive Research's Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI yesterday. "In essence, [mainstream automakers] delivered little more than appliances," O' Connell said. "Now, appliances are useful. But they tend to be white. They tend to be unemotional." According to Automotive News, O'Connell's main critique is that vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3 don't deliver enough performance or range to draw the attention of consumers outside of a small group. The solution, in O'Connell's mind, is more power, more range, more excitement and a lower price – that last point is particularly rich coming from an automaker whose cheapest current offering, the Model S 60, costs $66,000 – although the cheaper Model 3 is on the horizon, way out there, somewhere. But some EVs are better than none, O'Connell added. "On balance, I'm happier that [traditional automakers are] doing these cars than not," O'Connell said. "I just wish they would do them better and faster." O'Connell also used his appearance at the Management Briefing Seminars to launch a volley at the Michigan legislature, blaming its opposition to Tesla's direct-sales model for the lack of available EVs in the Wolverine State. "I think if the Michigan Legislature would allow Tesla to sell cars in Michigan, we could probably address [the lack of available electric cars]," O'Connell said. Related Video: