2015 Kia Sorento Limited on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2020 Kia Telluride is an American-made SUV, for America

Given consumers' ravenous appetite for them, it's little surprise that Kia is introducing a larger, more upmarket SUV in the Telluride as the newest entry in its lineup. But the automaker turned to classic SUVs of yesteryear as influences for the intentionally boxy and very American design that it hopes will translate with consumers. Dubbed a midsize by Kia, the Telluride will slot above the entry-level, compact Sorento as the flagship of the Korean automaker's utility-vehicle lineup. Michael Cole, Kia's North America chief operating officer, said the midsize segment is forecast to grow from 1.6 million units sold in the U.S. in 2018 to 1.8 million in five years. "This was somewhere we needed to be," he said. It's also the first Kia designed specifically for the U.S. market, with its off-road features like on-demand electronic all-wheel drive transferring torque between the front and rear wheels and its strong, stiff body, further emphasized by its unveiling in Detroit on a landscaped "torque track" assembled in surplus space on the Cobo show floor. It'll also be built at Kia's plant in West Point, Ga. "It's very much a U.S.-targeted vehicle," Cole said. "We will have some export. But the message is, made in America, made for America, it's a U.S.-centric car." Designers at Kia's design center in Irvine, Calif. "wanted to get back to a traditional SUV styling," Chief Designer Tom Kearns said. "So many EVs and SUVs these days are trying to look sporty and more car-like, more sedan-like. We didn't want to go with that approach." Kearns said his design team members referenced old-school SUVs like the Ford Bronco, old Land Rovers and the original Chevrolet Blazer when creating the Telluride, Kia's largest SUV yet. "It's not retro, but we like the genuine feel and look, the purity of old-school SUVs with the long hoods, little bit more upright windshield, not a lot of glass angles, tumblehome a little more upright, just feels more purposeful and genuine to us," he said. "Our goal is very clean, very simple, not a lot of ornamentation, just a pure, nice form that's hopefully conveying a clean, functional appearance." Inside, the designers took largely the same approach, with a clean console that emphasizes horizontality and width, matte-finished wood and simulated brushed metal accents and big grab handles flanking the shifter that emphasize the vehicle's sense of adventure.

Next-gen 2021 Kia Sorento spied testing in the Alps

Kia just launched the new three-row Telluride into the world, but that doesn't mean its original seven-passenger model is going away. Far from it. The camouflaged vehicle you see here is the next-generation Sorento caught testing in the Alps while undergoing some strenuous trials. One of those happened to be towing a BMW X5, as seen in the photos. Due to the heavy amount of cladding and wrappings, it's difficult to pick out specific styling elements. However, we imagine the front fascia is going through a massive change up. It's tough to say what direction they're heading, but the openings do mimic what we see on the vehicle today. The current Sorento doesn't have an upright, tough appearance, and the prototype we see here doesn't appear to be a massive change in the status quo. Kia made the Telluride its big, butch crossover, so differentiation with that SUV is most likely necessary. Moving along the side, Kia appears to have changed up the mirror position, placing them below the window line on the doors instead of above in the A-pillar area. We can't see the door handles or body lines, but we'll assume Kia has something new and interesting cooked up under there. Finally, the most mysterious part of all is the rear end. Kia broke out the massive body armor for this one, making sure nobody can tell what's going on underneath. Perhaps the rear-end design is where we'll see the biggest changes for the Sorento. We don't imagine there will be anything extreme like a chopped and angled roof/rear window for styling purposes, though, especially if the Sorento intends to keep all three rows open for business. That said, the existence of the Telluride could prompt some changes to the vehicle's purpose in Kia's lineup. Even though Kia gave the Sorento a light refresh for 2019, this next-generation model is probably coming in the next couple years. Kia used a very light brush for that mid-cycle refresh, and this update will signal a totally new generation of the SUV. We'll expect to see new powertrains, possibly with electrification in the form of a hybrid or plug-in hybrid come into the fold. We didn't get a look inside, but given the current Sorento and luxurious new Telluride, we'd have high hopes for something quite nice.

2015 Kia Soul EV

You'd be forgiven if you weren't fully aware of this vehicle's existence. While the Soul EV is a big deal for Kia, as it marks the Korean brand's first foray into the world of pure electric vehicles here in the US, it simply has not a been able to garner much regard from the average car fan or, really, the automotive press.
As a green car, it has to be tough to compete with Elon Musk's remarkable ability to consistently hold our attention with nearly everything he touches at Tesla. Add that to the fact that the Soul EV doesn't offer a ton in the way of aesthetics to differentiate itself from its gasoline-powered sibling - save a few tweaks here and there - and its limited initial availability (CA only for now), and you end up with a vehicle that just isn't on a lot of people's radar. And that's too bad.
You see, none of the above is meant to imply that this is a bad car. In fact, as you read through our driving notes, you'll see that the reality is actually the opposite: Kia has a genuinely solid product on its hands.