Kia is joining the electric car game, at least in Korea. Kia will build 2500 of the all-electric Ray EV for the Korean government. As of now, there aren’t any plans to sell the Ray EV to the public. My guess would be that this is a test run to get their feet wet. Using the government as a guinea pig is a much safer bet than using the general public.

The Ray is a small boxy type vehicle – similar to the Soul or Nissan Cube. Here are some quick specs:

• 86 mile driving range
• 16.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack
• 50 kW electric motor
• 0-62 MPH in 15.9 seconds1
• 123 lb-ft of torque
• Fast charge in 25 minutes

Nothing ground breaking here. As planned, the Ray would not work in the United States. However, I see now reason why it couldn’t work elsewhere, giving Kia some experience with electric vehicles. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that Kia learns quickly.

Kia Ray EV Gallery

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Kia has decided to show us a preview of the upcoming 2012 Kia Rio. So far so good – looking at the new Rio doesn’t make my eyes bleed. That’s a pretty huge improvement over the current model, which we won’t speak of any more.

The 2012 Rio is longer, wider, and shorter (in height) than the outgoing model. The hardware is up in the air at this point, though there is word of a small 1.2 liter turbo engine… not sure if we’ll see that here in the US or not.

2012 Kia Rio Gallery

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Thank you for inquiring about the Rondo. As the saying goes, ‘all good things must come to an end.’ But with endings, come new beginnings…

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When it was made public that Kia was introducing an all-new body on frame SUV in 2009, I called them crazy.  Well, sales haven’t exactly been hot, or even lukewarm.  Kia will not be making a 2010 Borrego – which all but promises that the Borrego is toast.

Lots of vehicles arent’ renewed after a single cycle of a few years.  But a single model year?  I don’t remember ever seeing an automaker pull the plug so fast.  That’s just a lot of R&D costs to turn your back on so fast.

On the other hand, let’s face it – people aren’t going to start buying the Borrego in droves.  It’s best to pull off the band-aid quickly, deal with the pain, and move on.  Lesson learned.

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Some spy shots of Kia’s latest large sedan, the 2011 Cadenza. No specs, no info at this time. Just these pics.

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Love Kia or hate Kia, this is not a brand that sits back and watches the world go by. Instead of following GM’s method of failure, Kia has instead opted to keep their products fresh. Even after a pretty big update for 2009, Kia has an all-new Sportage due for the 2011 model year. The 2011 Sportage is estimated to arrive sometime mid-2010.

Currently Sportage buyers can opt for a 4 cylinder or a V6 – and I don’t see any reason for that to change. Unless Kia retricts the Sportage to a 4 cylinder engine only, and reserves the V6 for the Sorento. When more details beocme available, you’ll see them here.

See more spy shots here.

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  Kia issued a recall for 6,680 Rondos, model years 2008 and 2009.  The problem is a bad fuel pump on certain LX and EX models, equipped with the 2.4 liter engine.  The bad pump could fail to deliver gas to the engine, causing a powerless situation.  Not exactly an ideal situation when you’re cruising on the highway at 65 MPH, eh? 

If you’re driving an 08 or 09 Rondo that has the 2.4 liter engine, keep an eye on your mailbox for a recall notice.  If you don’t want to wait that long, call Kia at 800-333-4542 now.

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In New York, Kia debuted the redesigned 2009 Optima.  Of course, the new Optima is simply a Hyundai Sonata underneath the sheet metal.  So hardware-wise, you’re looking at a pretty solid car.  The design team at Kia, well, they must be of the “Extra super ultra cautious” type.  The design of the 09 Optima is just as forgettable as the outgoing model.

Kia did manage to find a few extra ponies with the new Optima.  The new 2.4 liter 4 cylinder makes 175 HP, which is right around the top of it’s class.  The V6 is a small one, at 2.7 liters.  It makes just 190 HP, which lags the class average significantly.  In fact, it makes me wonder why Kia offers a V6 at all.

For those of you who can’t picture it, this is the 2008 Optima:

As you can see, it’s very forgettable too.  I had to look it up, as I couldn’t picture it in my mind at all.  If Kia wants to move more midsize sedans, then they need to make a statement with their styling.  Boring, forgetting designs don’t work in today’s market.  Even the Accord and Camry are stepping out there and making a statement.

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The 2010 Kia Spectra was caught on camera just recently, though it’s covered up pretty well.  This car will replace the current Spectra in 2009, though it may actually be released with a new name.  The name Spectra really has no brand equity, so a new name wouldn’t do much harm.  If anything, it could do some good.

Naming aside, you can’t really see much on the car in it’s current state.  It doesn’t appear to have hideous proportions, which is a start I guess.  Hopefully Kia will have addressed the safety concerns of the current Spectra, and refine it a little bit.  No one expects Lexus, but an improvement wouldn’t hurt either.

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Are you in the market for a brand spankin’ new Kia Rio, and thinking “Gosh darn it, if only they offered a hybrid, I’d buy that”?  No?  Me neither.  But Kia thinks that someone is thinking along those lines, and that’s why they’re developing the 2009 Rio Hybrid.  Estimated pricing is $18,000 or so in US dollars, though we aren’t likely to see it here.  Nope, only the folks in Europe and Australia will get ahold of this puppy.  Something about exchange rates and profitability.  With the US Dollar in the tank, I guess that makes sense.

It’s a mild hybrid though – no full electric mode like the Prius and it’s cousins.  Weak.  It’s a Kia, it’s overpriced ( 18k for a Kia?  Please. ), and it’s a mild hybrid so expect weak MPG gains.  That’s three strikes, my friend.

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