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2017 Kia Forte5 Quick Spin | Sporty compact, lots of bells and whistles

A few months ago, we drove the Honda Civic Sport and found it to be a surprisingly fun and frisky hatch thanks to quick steering, a snappy shifter, and a willing turbo engine. It's also somewhat unusual in being a driver-focused compact, available with a manual, but not solely concerned with performance; sort of a warm hatch as opposed to a hot hatch. Kia's own warm hatch, the Kia Forte5 SX, is a close match for the Honda in some ways, and even better in others – for a price, that is. The Forte5 SX starts on the right foot with its punchy turbocharged four-cylinder. It's the 1.6-liter unit, which you'll also find in the Elantra Sport and Veloster Turbo, and makes a healthy 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque that nearly matches the output of the sportier-than-the-Sport Civic Si. You'll never be waiting for that power either, as the turbo hardly lags, and any lag that is present is masked by how smoothly boost comes into play. The throttle is fairly responsive, and the revs don't get hung up between shifts like they do in the Civic Sport. The Kia continues in the right direction by offering a manual transmission, as our tester had. In fact, the turbo-equipped SX trim is the only way to get a shift-for-yourself transmission on the Forte5. It features reasonably short, light throws, and the gates are a breeze to find. It's a tad rubbery at times, and isn't quite as precise as the Civic Sport's lever, but you won't be disappointed by it. The responsive engine also makes it easy to rev-match downshifts, but the pedals could be a bit closer together for heel-and-toeing. This drivetrain is packaged in the crisp, clean hatchback body of the Forte5. It's refreshingly free of extraneous vents and badging, leaving the body tasteful and classy. It's a body that is happy to change directions, too. It turns in quickly and neutrally, with only mild body roll. The steering itself is also quick and accurate with virtually no dead zone. There are a couple of handling gripes, though. The helm feels a bit overboosted and fairly numb, the ride somewhat unrefined. The body feels less controlled than it should over bumps, and the tires aren't very grippy. Inside the Forte5, things are a bit dour. The only color on the dash aside from black are the modest number of chrome appointments strewn about. Some of the plastic has a faux carbon fiber texture, but it almost makes the dash look cheaper, or cheesier, than it could be with better material finishes.

NHTSA opens probe into 3 million Kia, Hyundai vehicles for fire risks

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Monday it would open a new safety defect investigation into three million Hyundai and Kia vehicles for fires not caused by crashes. The investigation is in response to a petition seeking a probe by the Center for Auto Safety. The auto safety agency since 2007 has been investigating some Hyundai and Kia vehicles for fire risks. The South Korean automakers have recalled more than 2.3 million vehicles since 2015 to address various engine fire risks. Hyundai did not immediately comment, while Kia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. NHTSA said the decision to initiate the additional safety defect probe was based on its analysis of information received from multiple manufacturers, consumer complaints and other sources. Last month, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said a group of U.S. states is investigating Hyundai and Kia for potential unfair and deceptive acts related to reports of hundreds of vehicle fires. In November, Reuters reported that federal prosecutors had launched a criminal investigation into Hyundai and Kia to determine if vehicle recalls linked to engine defects had been conducted properly. Reuters reported in January that the companies would offer software upgrades for 3.7 million vehicles not being recalled. A South Korean whistleblower in 2016 reported concerns to NHTSA, which has been probing the timeliness of three U.S. recalls and whether they covered enough vehicles. In 2015, Hyundai recalled 470,000 U.S. Sonata sedans, saying engine failure would result in a vehicle stall, increasing the risk of a crash. At the time, Kia did not recall its vehicles, which share the same "Theta II" engines. In March 2017, Hyundai expanded its original U.S. recall to 572,000 Sonata and Santa Fe Sport vehicles with those Theta II engines, citing the same issue involving manufacturing debris. On the same day, Kia also recalled 618,000 Optima, Sorento and Sportage vehicles, all of which use the same engine.Reporting by David Shepardson.

Cut the Cute: The 2017 Kia Rio grows up

The last time the Kia Rio got a ground-up redesign was for the 2012 model year. That gave the Rio a crisp, modern look, but was also extremely cute-sy. For the 2017 model year, Kia tweaked the Rio with a leaner, meaner look. Relatively speaking, anyway. The South Korean automaker previously released design renderings of the Rio, and now come official photos of the car. Kia claims that much of the styling changes were made to emphasize width inside and out. The headlights are slimmer and more aggressive than the wide-eyed lamps of the previous model, and much of the gently curving sheetmetal has been removed in favor of more flat planes. Not only that, but the new Rio is slightly longer, wider, and shorter than its predecessor. Inside, Kia has spruced things up with what looks like a nicer mix of materials. The most unusual part of the interior is the infotainment system, which Kia describes as "floating." The infotainment system extends up and off the dashboard, a bit like the screen on the Honda Civic. The good news is that Kia kept physical buttons part of the interface. The bad news is that the design looks a bit odd, as some of the buttons extend up with the screen and make it look a little like Kia used a stereo that didn't quite fit in the dash. Kia didn't reveal any other specs on the car, but those details will likely come during the Paris Motor Show. This updated Rio is an important model for Kia, as last year it sold 473,000 units worldwide. While it isn't Kia's biggest seller in the US, it did have a slight increase in sales this year. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Kia Rio: Paris 2016 View 15 Photos Related Gallery 2017 Kia Rio Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Design/Style Paris Motor Show Kia Hatchback Economy Cars kia rio