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Kia plans production version of Telluride full-size SUV

Kia is reportedly planning an announcement on a production version of the Telluride, a full-sized three-row SUV it unveiled as a concept at the 2016 Detroit auto show. The news comes after a year in which Kia lost sales in the hot-selling utility vehicle segment. Wards Auto reports Orth Hedrick, Kia's vice president for product planning, as saying the company will "have some announcements soon" about the seven-passenger vehicle. Sister brand Hyundai is also expected to bring a large crossover in 2019 as a 2020 model. The Telluride was built on the modified underpinnings of Kia's Sorento crossover. It featured a 270-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 paired with a 130-hp electric motor that combined for 30 miles per gallon on the highway in all-wheel drive, though of course there's no guarantee the production version would carry identical specifications. Kia reportedly sees a need in its portfolio for a utility vehicle with more space than is offered by the Sorento, a midsize crossover now in its third generation that also offers three rows of seating. The company could use a boost in the popular segment: Sales of the Sorento slipped 13 percent in 2017 to 99,684, while sales also fell 10 percent for the Sportage, to 72,824. Kia last offered a full-size SUV with the short-lived Borrego, which it launched as a 2009 model. The brand is also developing an electric version of the Niro crossover, which it unveiled recently at CES, that gets 238 miles of range.Related Video: Featured Gallery Kia Telluride Concept View 13 Photos Plants/Manufacturing Kia Crossover SUV kia sorento kia niro Sport Utility kia telluride kia telluride concept

More than a half-million Hyundai, Kia compacts recalled for brake light problem

Hyundai and Kia will recall more than a half-million compact cars in the U.S. starting next year because of a brake-light problem. The recall covers more than 390,000 Hyundai Elantras from the 2013 and 2014 model years, and more than 134,000 Kia Forte cars from 2012 through 2014. The Associated Press, citing documents the companies filed with the federal government, reports that a polymer stopper pad between the brake pedal arm and the light switch can deteriorate and keep the brake lights on when the brakes aren't actually engaged. The problem also means a driver can shift out of park without stepping on the brake pedal. Neither automaker reported any crashes or injuries stemming from the issue. Dealers will replace the stopped pads starting Jan. 30 for Kia and Feb. 8 for Hyundai.Related Video:

BMW, Hyundai score big in JD Power's first Tech Experience Index

While automakers are quick to brag about winning a JD Power Initial Quality Study award, the reality, as we've pointed out before, is that these ratings are somewhat misleading, since IQS doesn't necessarily distinguish genuine quality issues. JD Power's new Tech Experience Index aims to solve that problem. The new metric takes the same 90-day approach as IQS but focuses exclusively on technology – collision protection, comfort and convenience, driving assistance, entertainment and connectivity, navigation, and smartphone mirroring. It splits the industry up into just seven segments, based loosely on size, which is why the Chevrolet Camaro is in the same division (mid-size) as Kia Sorento and the Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class is in the same segment as the Hyundai Genesis (mid-size premium). It makes for some screwy bedfellows, to be sure. Still, splitting tech experience away from initial quality should allow customers to make more informed and intelligent decisions when buying new vehicles. In the inaugural study, respondents listed BMW and Hyundai as the big winners, with two segment awards – the 2 Series for small premium and the 4 Series for compact premium, and the Genesis for mid-size premium and Tucson for small segment. The Chevrolet Camaro (midsize), Kia Forte (compact), and Nissan Maxima (large) scored individual wins. Ford also had a surprising hit with the Lincoln MKC, which ranked third in the compact premium segment behind the 4 Series and Lexus IS. This is a coup for the Blue Oval, whose woeful MyFord Touch systems made the brand a victim of the IQS' flaws in the early 2010s. But Ford and other automakers might not want to celebrate just yet. According to JD Power, there's still a lot of room for improvement – navigation systems were the lowest-rated piece of tech in the study. Instead, customers repeatedly saluted collision-avoidance and safety systems, giving the category the best marks of the study and listing blind-spot monitoring and backup cameras as two must-have features – 96 percent of respondents said they wanted those two systems in their next vehicle. But this isn't really a surprise. Implementation of safety systems from brand to brand is similar, and they don't require any input from users, unlike navigation and infotainment systems which are frustratingly deep.