2011 Kia Sportage Sx Sport Utility 4-door 2.0l 4 Cylinder Turbo - Low Mileage on 2040-cars

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Kia's promised "four-door coupe" Cub concept... isn't

Kia appears to have pulled a quick one on the world with its Cub Concept. As it turns out, the machine isn't the four-door coupe they promised at all. Instead, the little showcar is a five-door hatch with suicide rear doors. That's certainly fine by our reckoning, but it isn't quite what we were expecting to see on display at the Seoul Motor Show. The concept was penned at the company's design studio in Seoul with direction from Peter Schreyer, and it gets its thrust from a 204-horsepower, 1.6-liter direct-injection four-cylinder engine. With 195 pound-feet of torque on hand, we suspect the Cub would have little trouble hustling down the road.
Indoors, the Cub serves up black leather seats with yellow accents as well as a new Driving Information System that uses a gesture camera to control various operations. Right now, there are apparently no plans to put the Cub into production anywhere in the world, but we wouldn't be surprised to see some of the hatchback's elements make their way to the show room floor.

Kia planning outdoorsy concept for Chicago

If you prefer vehicles with a more rugged look, then the 2015 Chicago Auto Show has quite a bounty in store. Mitsubishi will give the GC-PHEV its North American debut; Chevrolet will show the Silverado Midnight Edition, and Honda will unveil the next-gen Pilot and Acura RDX. Kia will be right along with them with its freshly announced rough-and-tumble concept for the event. Unfortunately, the Korean automaker is keeping tight-lipped about the vehicle, even the name. The brand promises the concept is based on one of its most popular models, and styling tweaks from Kia's California design studio mean a more off-road-ready appearance. When asked if the concept is a sturdier take on one of Kia's CUVs, a brand spokesperson told Autoblog, "I don't know if I would call it a crossover." The wait to learn the vehicle's true identity isn't too long, though. A teaser image and the name arrive on January 29, according to the spokesperson. We wouldn't be too surprised if Kia might not have a more rugged take on the Soul in mind. The model already gets an optional SUV Styling Pack (pictured above and below) in Europe that could serve as inspiration for this new concept. Kia Chicago Auto Show Announcement After 20 years of growth and maturation, Kia continues to carry its momentum into 2015 following a year of record sales and the arrival of the all-new 2016 Sorento CUV. Kia will embrace its challenger spirit in Chicago with the debut of an all-new concept – conceived at Kia's California design studio – that re-imagines one of the brand's most popular vehicles. Built for city dwellers seeking an adventurous escape and intended to enable a variety outdoor activities, this concept proves that practical urban wheels can also be rugged and capable. Related Video:

Kia Soul EV starts production in Korea

As sister company Hyundai delivers its first Tucson fuel cell vehicles in California, Kia has kicked off volume production of the Soul EV in Korea. We've driven the prototype and are excited about the arrival of this electric vehicle. Kia is already calling the production start a landmark event, but let's remember that other automakers have been building production EVs for years now. The EVs won't be exported outside of Korea until later in 2014, but the automaker is hoping to make 5,000 a year at its Gwangju facility. The first batch is headed to "select European countries" with more coming to Europe at a later date. The vehicle might be coming to the US in the third quarter. The Soul EV is Kia's second production EV, following the Ray EV. Kia only made 2,500 of them for governmental agency use in Korea. We've got a little video on the Soul EV here. As a reminder, the Soul has a 27-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery which is good for a now-official range (on the European test cycle) of 212 kilometers. That's 132 miles, but expect a good chunk to get knocked off when it gets rated on the US text cycle. For example, the Nissan Leaf is rated at 199 kilometers (123 miles) in Europe but only 84 miles from the EPA. Read Kia's press release below. Start of production for all-electric Kia Soul EV Volume production of Soul EV for export is a landmark in Kia's history Ideal for commuters, Soul EV goes on sale outside Korea later in 2014 Class-leading drive range of 212 km certified for Europe 81.4 kW motor produces 285 Nm of torque for 'fun-to-drive' motoring The first vehicles off the production line are destined for select European countries and are scheduled to go on sale across the continent during the second half of the year. The Soul EV is manufactured at Kia's Gwangju facility in Korea, where annual output of the electric car is planned to reach 5,000 units. "Now that production of export models has begun, the new Soul EV is truly at the forefront of Kia's 'Clean Mobility' program, providing environmentally-friendly transport to our customers around the world," comments Thomas Oh, Executive Vice President and COO, Kia Motors Corporation.