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The anti-Prius | 2017 Kia Niro Hybrid First Drive

The 2017 Kia Niro is a significant model for the brand. It's the company's first car designed from the get-go to be a hybrid. And as Kia's VP of product planning explains, it's helping lead the company's push to improve fuel economy by 25 percent across the board. So it's kind of funny that almost everything about this car reads as "conventional" or simply "normal." There are exceptions to this. Under the attractive – if not adventurous – skin is some interesting technology. Most of the mechanicals are shared with the upcoming Hyundai Ioniq, including the direct-injected 1.6-liter inline-four and electric motor that send power to the front wheels. The powertrain makes a combined 139 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque. Kia also implemented various aerodynamic and weight aids to make the most of the engine and motor. The Niro features air curtains, a rear spoiler, and active air shutters to help achieve a 0.29 coefficient of drag, and the hood, hatch, brake calipers, and some suspension components are all made of aluminum. Plus, when ordered with navigation, the Niro will provide tips on driving more efficiently, and will use topographical information to use electric power in the most efficient manner. The various bits of fuel-maximizing technology mean the Niro manages Prius-like fuel economy ratings of 52 mpg in the city, 49 on the highway, and 50 combined. That's only for the base FE model, though. Moving up to the slightly better-equipped LX and EX models yields a small decrease to 51 city, 46 highway, and 49 overall. If you opt for the Touring model, shown here, because you want all the bells and whistles, be ready to sacrifice more mileage – it only manages 46 city, 40 highway, and 43 overall. Kia says this is due to the increased weight of the standard features, different roof rails that change the aerodynamic profile, and the larger, wider 18-inch wheels and tires that increase the rotational mass and rolling resistance. All of the effort Kia put into making the Niro a highly efficient Prius fighter seems to have been matched by an effort to make the car appear as normal as possible and give it the broadest appeal. So, no polarizing looks like on the latest Prius and Prius Prime. Glancing at it, you'd say the Niro is just another crossover. The greenhouse looks like a scaled-down version of the Sorento's. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since the larger Kia crossover is fairly handsome.

Nissan GT-R, Armada and the new Kia Sorento | Autoblog Podcast #658

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer for the final episode of 2020. They've been driving some interesting cars, including the Nissan GT-R, the new Nissan Armada, a Mercedes-Benz GLA and a pair of new-gen Kia Sorentos. They talk a bit about an interesting new EV called the Ace from Alpha Motor Corporation. Finally, the trio takes turns talking about their favorite cars they drove this year. Enjoy, and we'll be back with more episodes in 2021. Autoblog Podcast #658 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 What we're driving:2021 Nissan GT-R 2021 Nissan Armada 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA 2021 Kia Sorento Alpha Motor Corporation unveils Ace electric coupe Our favorite cars of the year: Zac: Lotus Evora GT John: Polestar 2 Greg: McLaren GT Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Kia Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Nissan Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Luxury Performance Sedan Polestar

Kia GT4 Stinger gets top-down teaser

Kia has issued another teaser for its hotly anticipated GT4 Stinger Concept, which is set to debut at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show early next week. Our third teaser for the new car is from above, showing a squat, compact sports car form that makes us rather hopeful for the upcoming debut.
All signs point to the GT4 being a looker, with noticeable vents in the hood, a small back window and rather meaty C-pillars and rear haunches. When Kia calls this "sculpted" in the press release, we're certainly inclined to agree.
As we told you when revealing the GT4's last teaser, a 2.0-liter turbo will be responsible for motivating the rear-drive 2+2. If it held on to the concept's 315 horsepower, a production version of the Stinger Concept would certainly seem like it could have the potential to keep pace with the new EcoBoost-powered Ford Mustang, as well as the Genesis Coupe, from Kia's favorite corporate frenemy, Hyundai.