2013 Kia Rio Awarded by MotorWeek
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| Kia Motors America Executive Vice President of Communications/Marketing Michael Sprague (left) receiving MotorWeek's Drivers' Choice Award from Motorweek host John Davis (right)
[photo via PRNewsFoto/Kia Motors America]
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Make some room in the trophy case, another award for a Kia
vehicle has made the space a bit cramped. That’s ok, though, we love awards! A
few weeks ago, the 2013 Kia Rio was awarded with one of MotorWeek’s Drivers’Choice Awards. The Rio won best in the subcompact car category and this isn’t
its first time. For a second straight year, the Rio has been awarded this award
by MotorWeek. MotorWeek is one of the
longest-running automotive television programs and awarded the Rio for its “impressive
styling, practicality, and tremendous value”. MotorWeek annually judges vehicles on 13 different lifestyle
categories and awards the best car in each segment (cars, trucks, utility
vehicles, subcompacts, etc.) based on their scores in performance, technology,
drivability, and more.
The Kia Rio may be the smallest car offered by Kia Motors
but has no shortage of style and reliability. MotorWeek host John Davis said, "No subcompact has road
manners that impress us more than the Kia Rio. Sleek, sporty and affordable,
the Kia Rio delivers full-size comfort and technology in a pint-size
package." The 2013 edition has a roomy cabin (big enough to comfortably
road trip in) and impeccable mileage at an EPA estimated 30/36 MPG
(city/highway with ECO package). If you recall, I road-tripped in a Kia Rio5-door in December and I can attest to the roominess and amazing fuel
efficiency.
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| 2013 Kia Rio [photo via Kia Motors America] |
If you could pick a Rio to travel in, which would you choose
– the regular 4-door Rio or the sporty 5-door Rio hatchback? Either way, the
class-leading 138-HP GDI engine won’t steer you wrong!
Best Bet: 2013 Kia Sportage Honored
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| 2013 Kia Sportage [photo via Motor Trend - motortrend.com] |
An annual book published in cooperation with the Center for
Auto Safety, The Car Book, has
awarded the 2013 Kia Sportage with a “Best Bet” distinction. The Car Book is a type of consumer guide
that can supplement your research when doing automotive research. Evaluating every
aspect of safety, performance, maintenance, and more is a tall order, but The Car Book does the grueling research
every year. The guide doesn’t just include vehicle safety ratings, though.
Dealer prices and insurance cost breakdowns by car are included in the guide
and it continues to be a useful tool for those preparing to buy a vehicle. To
be featured in the guide, cars are judged on the following Car Book categories: safety features, fuel economy, rollover, front
and side crash tests, maintenance and repair costs, and complaints. Crash test
performance is the category of greatest importance, and cars that have ratings
across all of those categories are deemed as potential “Best Bets”.
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| 2012's edition of Jack Gillis' The Car Book |
Uncompromising safety features and outstanding performance
aided in the 2013 Sportage receiving the honor. The 2013 Sportage has all-wheel
drive and was recently found to be one of the least expensive vehicles toinsure. No stranger to accolades, the 2013 Sportage was also named an IIHS Top
Safety Pick due to its excellent crash test results in both the moderate
overlap front tests and side impact tests. Executive Vice President of Kia
Motors America, Michael Sprague, is proud receive the “Best Bet” and added, "As
Kia's longest running nameplate, the Sportage offers sleek styling, modern
amenities and fun-to-drive performance in a capable compact CUV."
Have you ever used The
Car Book to aid in making decisions while car shopping? Do you think you
will use the guide in the future?
Concept Cars: More than a Simple Idea
“Concept car” is surely a word you’ve heard thrown around before. If you’re a gearhead, motor-enthusiast, or attend auto shows, you know exactly what a concept car is. Those new to the automotive scene, however, might not be sure what a concept car is and why they aren’t on the road. Concept cars are vehicles made by manufacturers to feature new styling(s) and/or use of new technology. Auto shows are the main event in which manufacturers showcase their concept cars to gauge consumer response. Usually concept cars feature profound and cutting edge designs that are atypical to the regular stylings of a specific auto maker. “So, why aren’t these things on the road?”, you ask. Well, because they never go directly into production for many reasons – safety, cost, and viability/practicality being the biggest concerns.
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| Kia Motors President Peter Schreyer [photo via motorward.com] |
Kia takes much pride in and places much emphasis on their design. In 2006 Kia claimed that design was their “core future growth engine” and even hired Peter Schreyer, former Audi and award-winning Volkswagen designer, as Chief Design Officer. On December 28th, 2012, Schreyer was named President of Kia Motors. Schreyer oversees Kia design at various design centers all over the world, including Kia’s primary design facility at Namyang Design Center. In 2007, a Kia concept car shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show, featured a new grille design that eventually (in 2009) came to be the instantly identifiable “tiger nose” design seen on Kia models today.
In anticipation of the Geneva Auto Show, Kia released teaser photos of a new “urban concept car” in mid-January. The 2013 Geneva Auto Show isn’t until March, but this highly stylized concept car has been seen all over auto blogs and features the first Kia in years without the recognizable tiger nose grille. Based on photos, the car is only a two-door model. Little is known about this concept car, but car aficionados believe that this could be a concept to potentially rival the Nissan Juke. We’ll know more about this concept next month when it’s debuted in Geneva.
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| Kia's "Urban Concept" car to debut at Geneva Auto Show in March 2013. |
A second Kia concept recently made its debut at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show. The “Cross GT” concept is a crossover-concept larger than the Sorento. The Cross GT is 8.4 inches longer, and 4.9 inches wider than its Sorento counterpart. This crossover-concept, unlike the smaller urban concept car, does have the tiger nose grille and features a raked roofline that abruptly ends at the rear and vaguely looks like a past Kia concept – the 2012 Track’ster concept.
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| CrossGT concept as seen at Chicago Auto Show. [photo via autoblog.com] |
What do you think of these concept cars from Kia? Do you have any other favorite past concept cars or any cars you’d love to see turned into a reality?
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