2005 Kia Spectra Ex Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Kia Soul to get AWD?

The funky Kia Soul is one of the three affordable, efficient and style-first boxes on sale today (along with the Scion xB and Nissan Cube). Like its competition, it sits atop a front-drive platform with a longitudinally mounted four-cylinder engine.
It's a dandy car in this setup, but it sounds like Kia may be looking to differentiate the Soul from the herd by offering an optional all-wheel-drive system in the future. According to the report filed by Kia World, the popularity of the small, stylish crossover segment is expected to expand considerably over the coming years, especially overseas.
Citing the optional all-wheel drive on the Renault Captur, Ford Ecosport and Opel Mokka (Buick Encore in the US), along with the eventual arrival of a sub-Tiguan Volkswagen, called the Taigun, an all-wheel-drive Soul seems to make a lot of sense for these foreign markets. In the American market, meanwhile, AWD would open the Soul up to a new segment of buyers that like its looks but want all-wheel ability. Kia World is claiming the Soul AWD could hit markets in 2016 wearing a ruggedized version of the sheetmetal shown on the 2014 Soul that debuted in earlier this year in New York. Expect a bit of extra ground clearance to accompany the new drivetrain. Finally, all-wheel drive would likely only be available on the mid-range Soul + and top-spec Soul !.

2017 Kia Cadenza is a redesigned head scratcher

The second-generation Kia Cadenza has unexpectedly bowed at the 2016 New York Auto Show, and we're left wondering how this thing even survived to get a second generation. The Cadenza has been on sale since 2013 and it's never sold over 10,000 units in one year. Even if you combine US and Canadian sales, Kia's best year for the Cadenza was 2014, where it sold just 9,427 cars. So, what's Kia done to the second-gen car to improve on that disappointing stat? Perhaps the biggest change is the platform the Cadenza rides on. It's lighter and stiffer, which means it's probably going to be a far better dancer than the boat-like first-gen model. Cutting the weight also allowed Kia's engineers to fit more sound deadening, which alongside a sound-absorbing laminated windshield and front windows will likely lead to a quieter ride. Better handling and a quieter ride? Okay Kia, we're paying attention. The Cadenza's 3.3-liter V6 still sits under hood, but it's paired to an eight-speed automatic for the first time. That, alongside a new tune for the engine, should improve on the current Cadenza's 19-mile-per-gallon city and 28-mpg highway stats. Kia hasn't released an estimate of how much of an improvement it will be, but we suspect it'll be modest. Frankly, we're still a bit confused about why Kia is carrying on with the Cadenza. Its rivals sell in far higher volumes – in 2015, the Nissan Maxima sold over 40,000 units, the Buick LaCrosse did 42,000, and the Toyota Avalon did 60,000 – and two of those cars, the Maxima and LaCrosse, have just been fully and completely reworked. Then take into account America's increasing disdain for sedans/infatuation with crossovers, and Kia pushing through the second-gen Cadenza is just a puzzling move. Still, the visual updates, platform improvements, and powertrain changes are positive – will that be enough to turn around the Cadenza's struggling sales? We have no idea, but things can't get much worse.

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.