2012 Kia Sorento Sx on 2040-cars

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Kia's regionally inspired concepts converge on Las Vegas [w/poll]

Kia has, over the past couple of weeks, been steadily streaming an array of concept cars it's prepared for SEMA this year. But with the doors now open at the Las Vegas Convention Center, it's now released the full monte – so to speak – including one we hadn't seen before at all. The lineup takes a geographic approach, each representing a different region in this great country of ours, and each is based on a different model in the company's product line. Arguably the most outlandish is the A1A Optima. The sedan has been converted into a four-door convertible, taking its name and inspiration from the coastal highway in Florida. The project was carried out by Lux Motorwerks, which reinforced the Optima's bodywork for the chop job, fitted suicide rear doors, and painted it a bright shade of turquoise. It rides on 20-inch HRE alloys, with an interior trimmed out in cream leather and titanium accents. A coilover suspension drops it down to the tarmac, and a new exhaust system helps with the turbo four's sound. Next up is the PacWest Adventure Sorento, inspired by the Pacific Northwest with a woodsy approach. The Sorento crossover has been customized by LGE-CTS Motorsports with a candy-effect green paint job and matte black trim, tubular bumpers, a raised suspension, off-road tires, a snorkel for fording streams, and a pop-up tent on the roof. They're joined by the Photo Safari Sedona, which is a new addition we hadn't seen until now. The minivan has been thoroughly transformed into a rolling observation point for shutterbugs in the wild. The rear section has been converted into a pickup bed, the seats have been swapped out for deploying buckets to get closer to the action, and the whole thing rides on an air suspension with off-road tires on 17-inch wheels. It's even got an iMac workstation on board for processing photos. In short, it's everything you could want to embark on a photographic adventure in the Northeast – or anywhere else for that matter. Finally there's the Mud Bogger, a Forte Koup inspired by the South. It's jacked up four inches on an off-road suspension, with an open rollback vinyl roof to let in the elements. The bodywork has been painted a deep shade of blue, offset by the white powder-coated roll cage, brush guards, and wheels. And the interior has been stripped out and fitted with Sparco racing seats. Kia has also brought the Ballast Point Sedona back to the show this year.

Next-gen 2021 Kia Sorento shown inside and out in leaked pics

We’ve seen spy shots of the next-generation Kia Sorento in both heavily camouflaged form and running laps around the Nurburgring (!), where it was wearing a more form-fitting wrap. Today, Instagram user CocheSpias leaked photos of the redesigned midsize SUV with the cover partially pulled back, giving us our best look yet inside and out. Kia has given the front fascia a thorough and stylish overhaul. It looks much more muscular and chiseled, with a crisp, curved line defining the hood and grille and a much more squared-off shape to the lower bumper. The clustered trio of LED headlights are more integrated with the grille by removing the chrome strip that formerly separated them. The exposed taillights that featured on the mule spotted on the ‘Ring have been resolved as double vertical hash marks. The lower bumper is still concealed. Inside, the seat stitching is similar to the pattern found on the larger and more upmarket Telluride, introduced last year. The cluster and center stack have been redesigned, with a larger touchscreen that is now separate from the heat vents. The shifter has been replaced by a dial shifter. Kia has reportedly confirmed that the new Sorento will be offered a plug-in hybrid variant. The Korean Car Blog, citing an unnamed source, reports the new Sorento will debut as early as mid-February in Korea, with hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions coming in May, though itÂ’s not clear whether all versions would come to the U.S. The current version of the three-row crossover comes in a choice of two engines: a 2.4-liter inline-four making 185 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque, or a 3.3-liter V6 offering 290 hp and 252 lb-ft of torque. We should get a more official rundown about what's in store soon. Related Video:    

Kia using quality and technology to increase sales and brand prestige

Kia is a long way from hawking the anonymous lozenge known as the Sephia on our shores. That was only 1994, though, and in less than 20 years the company has gone from judging its aspirations against Japanese budget competition to walking auto show floors checking out the German standard-bearers for tips on how to increase sales and brand prestige. In an interview with Automotive News, Kia executives laid out their plan for carving out a Volkswagen-like niche for the company whereby they could be viewed as the premium pick in a volume segment. Concepts like the Kia Cub, above, would seem to point in this direction.
Kia is keen to make sure its sales targets don't impinge on its quest for better and better quality.
Kia's prime directive is "an unrelenting focus on quality." The Japanese brands earned a reputation for bulletproof reliability, and Kia is keen to make sure its sales targets don't impinge on its quest for better and better quality - neither in-house nor for its suppliers, a trade-off we've seen go wrong before. It has a Pilot Center that studies each new model for potential production problems before being given the approval for manufacture, and it isn't until the quality control department gives the okay that manufacture can begin.