These spy photographs of the Kia K3 finally show it in Malaysian trim fully undisguised. We’ve seen the test units running around here twice before, the first time as early as November last year, mere months after the model’s global reveal. Removing the black coveralls reveals a big surprise: Kia’s C-segment contender will be badged as a Cerato over here.

We may be unfamiliar with the name but Kia has used it for a long time, tracing back to the old pre-Forte Spectra sedan and hatchback. Australia, South Africa and Brazil only ever knew the original Forte as a Cerato, and our neighbour Singapore used both nameplates and called it the Kia Cerato Forte. Why would Naza decide to rename it now? Let the speculation begin.

The white car pictured here has a ‘2.0’ badge on it, confirming that there will be two engine options on the new car. It appears to have a sunroof fitted, leading us to believe the red unit sans the black cutaway to be a base 1.6 litre model. In other markets, the direct-injected smaller motor makes 138 hp and 167 Nm while the 2.0 litre bumps it up to 173 hp and 209 Nm.

Both cars appear identical otherwise with shiny 17-inch alloys (the largest design available), LED DRLs and projector (possibly xenon) headlamps. Early looks say the Cerato will retain the Forte’s class-leading specs legacy with even more style. The local launch should be just around the corner now, and more details are sure to be revealed real soon. Just remember, it’s the Kia Cerato, not Forte.

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Say hello to the Kia Horki, Dongfeng Yueda Kia’s new sub-brand for the Chinese market. The new name was unveiled in Shanghai, with a Horki-1 concept based on the Forte being showcased at its show stand.

The Horki name is derived from a combination of two Chinese characters, “Hor” signifying China and “Ki,” for driving – together the word suggests harmony and driving, the company says. The first products are set to make their first appearance on the Chinese market during the second half of 2015, with production slated at one of the JV’s three Yancheng factories.

The introduction of the brand will allow Kia and its JV to follow a dual brand strategy, with clear distinction between Kia and Horki products, with those from the latter set to focus on practicality and cost, with the aim of better meeting the specific needs of Chinese customers.

As for the Horki-1 concept, the company says that there’s no decision on series production as yet. All it says is that the Horki product portfolio will eventually consist of a range of vehicles, including an alternative powered one, and with 2015 some ways away, this one might well just be a pathfinder.

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The Kia Carens was one of the highlights of the Kia stand at the 2013 Seoul Motor Show as the compact MPV was domestically launched at the event, unveiled alongside the Kia Cub Concept that we covered earlier. The Carens is built as both a 5-seater and a 7-seater, and it may look compact but it actually has a pretty long 2,750 mm wheelbase, making it a C-segment MPV.

Four engines are specified for the European market, two diesel and two petrol units. The oil burner is a 1.7L lump, with two tunes, 115 PS and 260 Nm in the lower tune, and 136 PS and 330 Nm in the higher tune. The petrol engines use gasoline direct injection, producing 135 PS and 165 Nm from a 1.6 litre GDI as seen in the Sportage and also on new cee’d, and a 2.0 litre mill with 177 PS and 211 Nm.

These engine choices will vary with different markets, for example don’t expect any of the normally aspirated GDI engines to make their way here – they will probably be replaced with MPI units instead due to fuel quality issues. If we’re lucky, the 1.7L diesel might appear though.

Kia Malaysia has the Malaysian introduction of the Kia Carens in the pipeline, but it will probably only come sometime later in the year or even next year, as the car next in line to be launched after the Rio is the Kia Forte K3. We have already spotted a heavily disguised unit at a port though! The previous generation Carens was launched in Malaysia with a pretty long name – the Naza Citra II Rondo. We expect the new Carens to be launched as a Kia, not a Naza.

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The swanky second-generation Kia Forte five-door hatchback made its debut in Chicago in February, and it was spotted at the Seoul Motor Show in its domestic K3 Euro form. We didn’t stop to pick up details on it, but there shouldn’t be any real variance between the forms technically.

The K3 Euro example looks quite resplendent in white, and the live shots show up the car’s edgy lines quite nicely. What do you think – would you take this one over the sedan?

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Of course, the booted version of the Kia Rio isn’t new, having made its first global appearance as the Kia K2 sedan in Shanghai a full two years ago and then as the Kia Rio sedan in New York shortly after. Still, no harm revisiting the little four-door B-segmenter, especially since it’s turned up at the ongoing Bangkok show.

Although they sit on the same platform as the Rio hatchback, the China-market K2 and the Rio sedan are not exactly one and the same – the former borrows more than a couple of styling cues from the bigger K5. The one you see here is the latter; the work of Kia’s design studios in Irvine, California.

The design of the lower air intake and fog lamps are different to those on the hatchback, and it’s got a bigger grille, too. Also, the hatchback has projector headlamps while the sedan makes do with conventional reflector units. Lamps are LEDs at the back. Boot volume is 390 litres, up from the hatchback’s 288 litres.

The Thai-market car, which sells from 749k baht (RM79k), gets a 1.4 litre Gamma four-cylinder engine that produces 109 PS at 6,300 rpm and 137 Nm at 4,200 rpm, a four-speed auto ‘box and 15-inch wheels wrapped in 185/65 tyres. We’ve driven the Kia Rio hatchback – read our preview drive report on the 1.4 SX here.

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Peter Schreyer mentions his dream of making a convertible for the Kia brand in almost every interview he gives to the media. Unfortunately this has nothing to do with that dream being fulfilled.

The Kia K3 convertible you see in this gallery that is being shown at the 2013 Seoul Motor Show this week is probably only modified to be a promotional vehicle for the Kia Tigers baseball club. Being built on the K3 instead of the Koup, it retains the K3′s four door design, which probably isn’t going to make sense structurally for production.

What segment do you think Kia will build a convertible for? We’ve heard all kinds of rumours including a supposedly confirmed convertible Kia Soul, which Kia later firmly denied. And if it happens, will it be a lifestyle convertible built on a front wheel drive platform like the Kia Exceed Concept, or a sporty rear wheel drive convertible built on the Genesis rear wheel drive platform?

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Over in New York, a very special Kia Sportage has made its debut, and it has Wonder Woman dressed all over it. The customised SUV is the seventh of eight special vehicles that Kia and DC Entertainment have envisioned as part of aiding awareness for DC’s We Can Be Heroes campaign, a relief effort to battle hunger in the Horn of Africa.

The 10-month, eight vehicle partnership is based on the iconic characters that make up the Justice League – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. We’ve seen Batman’s ride, an Optima K5, as well as an intimation of The Flash’s vehicle, a Forte. After this one will come the eighth and final vehicle, an amalgamation of all seven Super Heroes in one.

Dressing up the Wonder Woman-inspired Sportage is an aero kit as well as a red and blue exterior colour scheme, complete with star accents and gold trim wrapped around the vehicle, the latter to represent the WW’s Lasso of Truth.

There’s more to the outfit – Wonder Woman’s eagle chest-plate emblem finds its way on to the production grille, and the blue headlight beams are uhm, supposed to reflect her piercing blue eyes. Meanwhile, the windshield features a banner portraying WW’s tiara, and the chrome side panels on the vehicle are supposed to depict her invisible jet.

Inside, the OTT treatment continues, all in the name of the game – red upholstery and dashboard elements are mixed with blue LED lighting to continue the colour spectacle. The red seats feature an embroidered WW logo, and to round things up, the boot is adorned with stars and a see-through panel display that houses WW’s tiara, indestructible bracelets and a glowing Lasso of Truth.

Now you know exactly what Diana of Themyscira would drive, if she ever needed to drive.

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Next to that cute little yellow Cub is a big boy, the Kia Cross GT. While the concept isn’t new – it made its world debut at the Chicago Auto Show last month – it’s still fresh and these live pics from Seoul show the (large) scale of the car better.

The Cross GT offers a view of what Kia is exploring: the potential to offer a larger, more premium offering than the current Sorento SUV. Think of it as a Kia Mohave segment car but reimagined as a CUV instead of a full fledged SUV. At 3.09 metres-long, the Cross GT’s wheelbase is longer than the Sorento’s by 40 cm, and its overall length of 4.89 metres is 21 cm more. It’s also wider by 12 cm, but sits lower.

Penned by Kia’s North American design centre, the Cross GT follows the same theme as the GT sports sedan concept from Frankfurt 2011, with short overhangs, a long wheelbase and an aggressively wide posture. That paint finish is called Fusion Copper, by the way.

Power is courtesy of a 3.8 litre V6, backed by an evolution of Kia’s parallel hybrid system, a pancake-shaped electric motor sandwiched between the V6 and transmission. Total system output is 400 hp and 678 Nm, and the eight-speed auto and torque-vectoring AWD-equipped vehicle has an all-electric range of 32 km.

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We’re in a crazy car week with three big motor shows happening simultaneously – New York, Bangkok and now Seoul. With global attention on the Big Apple, Kia has elected to bring all its big guns to NYC (new Forte Koup, new Soul, Optima facelift) leaving a concept car for its home show. But it’s a cute one, the Kia Cub Concept.

Designed at Kia HQ studio in Seoul, the little Cub is less than four meters long, has rearward-opening rear doors and an “access-all-areas” interior concept without traditional B-pillars. Kia describes the Cub, which revisits the 2007 Kia Kee Concept in a new form, as a car “with a cheerful face and a daring character.”

The Cub’s face features a broad wrap-around “mouth” and there is a dip on the top of the windshield – a motif that we’ve seen before on Kias. The latest interpretation of grille is a shallower design incorporating the turbocharger’s air intake, highlighted in body colour.

The headlamps feature two-point LED lights that are similar to those which first appeared on the Kia Quoris flagship sedan last year. Large 19-inch alloys fill the wheelarches and the front doors have aerodynamic “turning-vanes” at sill level to streamline the flanks.

“The new Kia Cub is a compact, four-door coupe created with a clear focus on driving performance and practicality. Styled to appeal to trend-setting urban dwellers, the Cub features a comfortable four-seater cabin which generates an emotional, feel-good response and delivers everyday, real-world benefits,” said Thomas Oh, senior executive VP and COO at Kia.

The Cub concept features a new version of the company’s 1.6L GDI engine, the unit recently confirmed for the new Kia pro_cee’d GT and cee’d GT sold in Europe. The 204 PS/265 Nm engine is paired to a six-speed manual gearbox in the Euro hatches, giving them a 0-100 km/h time of 7.7 seconds and a top speed of 230 km/h.

Unfortunately, there are no current plans to put the Kia Cub concept into production. The key word is current because Kia is now seriously considering bringing some recent concepts to life.

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The Forte Koup and Soul aren’t the only new cars Kia brought to New York, the fast-growing Korean brand also showed the 2014 Kia Optima facelift. It was at the same show three years ago that Kia rolled out the third-gen TF Optima, which wowed the crowd with sharp lines penned by Peter Schreyer, who is of course now a president at Kia and design head for the Hyundai-Kia group.

For this update, Kia’s Frankfurt-based design team worked on the Optima’s front and rear fascias and the brand’s now signature tabbed grille. The D-segment sedan’s bold image is further accentuated by updated rear diffusers and a sweeping boot lid. There are also front LED positioning and fog lights, along with clear, newly designed LED rear lamps. Still unmistakably Optima K5, which is no bad thing.

Inside, pressing the US-spec Optima’s push start button brings two new displays to life: a 4.3-inch TFT LCD instrument cluster and optional high-resolution 8-inch navigation and telematics screen, featuring UVO eServices, an 8-speaker Infinity sound system, HD Radio, SiriusXM Satellite Radio and SiriusXM Traffic.

In addition, the seat designs are new, while an optional new Blind Spot Detection system, which includes rear cross-traffic alert and rear parking sensors, improve active safety. In America, the Optima is available in LX, EX, SX and SX-Limited trims; the latter stuffed with kit such as 18-inch wheels, HIDs, LED fog lamps, electronic parking brake and premium Nappa leather seats.

Two Theta II powerplants with gasoline direct injection are available – a 203 PS 2.4L GDI and a 278 PS 2.0L GDI turbo, in addition to a 2.4 litre hybrid powertrain, all paired to a six-speed automatic with Sportmatic. New for the 2014 Kia Optima, and exclusive to the sporty SX variant, is Drive Mode Select, which adjusts transmission shift points and steering weight, offering owners a customisable driving experience.

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The Seoul Motor Show may be starting today, but Kia has chosen to deploy most of its newest and brightest metal in New York, with a number of debutants making their way to the Jacob Javits Center for the 113th edition of the NYIAS. You’ve already seen the new Forte Koup, and now here’s the all-new Kia Soul.

The freshly-minted urban utility vehicle may bear the same general shape and stance as the outgoing model, but the design – which borrows many cues from the Tracks’ster concept – has grown up, figuratively as well. There’s more passenger and cargo room to be had, and the new Soul rides on a new chassis, one that’s longer, wider and stiffer.

Height is unchanged at 1,610 mm, but the wheelbase length is up by 20.3 mm to 2,570 mm, as is the vehicle’s width, by 15.2 mm to 1,800 mm. Meanwhile, torsional rigidity is up by 28.7% from before, aided by the increased use of ultra high strength/high strength steel and reinforcing key connection points.

Exterior Track’ster design cues include the large trapezoidal lower air intake as well as the low down, extended to the leading edge location of the fog lights, and even the Kia signature grille has been reworked to more closely resemble the concept. The unique “floating” body colour panel – inset into the lift gate – is also a Track’ster-based cue.

The cabin naturally gets more space with the expansion in overall scope – marginal improvements are to be had in terms of front leg room (up by 20.3 mm over the outgoing Soul, to 1,089 mm), rear leg room (up 5.1 mm to 993 mm), front headroom (up by 5.1 mm to 1,006 mm) and front seat shoulder room (up 7.62 mm to 1,409 mm).

Ingress and egress has also been improved, with a lower hip point – reduced by 12.7 mm – and reduced step-in height. Other subtle alterations include a wider opening for the rear lift gate, 60.9 mm more than the current vehicle, which allows this Soul to take in more.

Numbers aside, Kia says that the cabin is also a much quieter place (by 3dB), with plenty of noise reduction features coming into play, the introduction of expansion foam into body cavities and polyurethane-layered carpet being among these.

Materials-wise, the interior features plenty of soft-touch panelling and high-gloss piano-black trim pieces on the centre console and dash, among others. Elsewhere, the centre console features direct carryovers from the Track’ster in the form of a round gear shift knob and push-button start, of which the location is exclusive to the Soul in the Kia lineup.

In the US, the Kia Soul will be available in three trim levels, these being Base, Plus and Exclaim, which not only shape up equipment and kit but engine pairings as well. The Base Soul gets a 1.6 litre Gamma GDI NA mill offering 130 hp at 6,300 rpm and 160 Nm of torque at 4,850 rpm.

The Plus and Exclaim models, meanwhile, wear a 2.0 litre NU unit – updated with GDI, the engine offers 164 hp at 6,200 rpm and 205 Nm at 4,000 rpm. As for transmissions, there are six-speed manual and six-speed auto options. In terms of wheels, the Base ships with 16-inch alloys, while the Plus wears 17-inchers and the Exclaim, 18-inch units.

Aside from more refinement, additional space and improved NVH, significant attention has been focused on improving the Soul’s ride and handling through heavily revised front and rear suspension set ups, while the relocation of the steering box has also yielded benefits to on-centre feel. A Flex Steer system, which allows the driver to select from three distinct steering settings (Comfort, Normal and Sport) is on the options list.

Gizmos include a high-definition capacitive eight-inch touchscreen allied to a second-generation telematics and infotainment system, UVO eServices as well as integrated Pandora internet radio, preloaded into the headunit. Elsewhere, the kit list reads off like a storybook, from leather seats and Infinity audio system right through to push-button ignition and front speaker LED mood lighting. Plenty of Soul, indeed.

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This is it, boys and girls, the all-new second-generation Kia Forte Koup. And what a beaut it is! We’ve seen some pretty impressive designs from the upstart Korean brand recently – both production models and concepts – but we believe this one is something else again. It’s Kia all grown up.

Lower, longer and wider than the original Koup, the new model eschews the current car’s angular looks for a more organic and shapely appearance to bring it in line with the latest Forte. The swept-back headlamps with LED positioning lights give it a striking front end, while the angled shoulder line allows for a shallower glasshouse and sportier profile.

Again we see a split standard EX and high-end SX model variants, each with its own set of appearance and equipment list. What you see in these pictures is the top-of-the-line SX model with its 18-inch alloy wheels, sporty front bumper and grille openings, dual exhaust tips and LED rear lights.

What’s less obvious are the larger front brakes and faux-carbonfibre bumper inserts and rear diffuser. Inside, alloy sport pedals and seats with carbonfibre-style accents set the SX apart. The EX makes do with 16-inch wheels and non-LED rear lamps.

The new two-door Forte Koup gets an all-new engine line-up, mirroring that offered on the five-door Hatchback. The EX gets a 2.0 litre direct-injection engine with 173 hp at 6,500 rpm and 209 Nm of torque at 4,700 rpm. That’s already a healthy bump of 17 hp and 15 Nm over the current Koup 2.0 litre.

Opt for the costlier SX and there’s a turbocharged 1.6 litre engine offering 201 hp at 6,000 rpm and 264 Nm between 1,750 and 4,500 rpm, making it the most powerful Koup yet. A six-speed auto is offered for both models, but SX buyers can opt for a manual gearbox too. Driven wheels are the fronts of course.

What is disappointing is the use of torsion-beams at the back instead of the Forte Hatchback’s multi-link items. Don’t get us wrong; finely tuned, a twist-beam set-up can do wonders, i.e. the Renaultsport Megane. But why use a lesser assembly when a better, more advanced option is readily available?

With this debut, Kia has now refreshed its entire Forte line-up, as the Koup joins the sedan first shown last year and the five-door Hatchback unveiled in February. What do you think of the new Koup’s fashionable looks; does it improve upon the original’s much-loved styling?

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Kia is set to spring a surprise at its home international motor show in Seoul later this week with a new compact, four-door coupe concept named the CUB. Only a rendering picture has been released, showing the car’s shapely appearance and piercing LED headlights.

The Kia CUB will be less than four metres long and have a fashionable styling primed for “trend-setting urban dwellers”. It’s also said to have a super smooth exterior, a cheerful face and a daring character. Right. What all that really mean, we’ll have to wait till Thursday to find out.

Its production feasibility is yet unknown, but Kia has a knack for putting concepts into reality lately. The GT and Track’ster concepts are both slated for production after 2014 and even the most recent Kia concept – the provo sports hatch – is likely to be built soon.

More pictures and details are to follow this Thursday, but the shot above sure looks interesting doesn’t it?

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At the ongoing international media drive programme for the new Kia Carens MPV, Kia gave the assembled journalists a business update on the growth of the company, its targets (global sales of 3.5 million units by 2016) as well as some new product strategies.

Two things caught our attention. In the presentation, Kia officials said that the company is looking into making the Kia GT Concept, a big rear-wheel drive four-door sports sedan from Frankfurt 2011, and the Kia Track’ster Concept, a high-performance two-door Soul. Both concepts – billed as “future iconic vehicles” – share the status of “under serious consideration for production after 2014.”

This is part of Kia’s bid to churn out more exciting models, a move already started with the Kia cee’d GT and Kia pro_cee’d GT hot hatchbacks with 204 PS and 265 Nm from a 1.6 turbo. The duo were unveiled at the recent 2013 Geneva Motor Show alongside the interesting Kia provo concept, which could also be heading for production.

Kia also shared a new product strategy that will replace the traditional mid-life facelift in a car’s life cycle with two “product enhancements”. A car’s typical life cycle is six years, so expect a PE every two years instead of a facelift after three. Kia says that this strategy change will help them better adapt to ever-changing market trends, keeping the cars more up to date.

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As reported last week, Naza Kia has launched the facelifted Kia Sorento at its nationwide Kia Customer Day over the last weekend. We were there at Kia’s flagship Red Cube in PJ too, among hundreds of other interested buyers. So crowded it was, that our attempt at taking live shots of the refreshed SUV had to be abandoned. Over multiple tries.

The line was much clearer come Monday’s office hours, giving us the chance to take plenty of photos inside and out. No interior picture had been released at the launch announcement last week, so here you have the chance to see the local spec Sorento in its full glory.

Naza Kia has chosen to call it the ‘Next-Gen’ Sorento, which essentially it is. Underneath the familiar sheet metal is an all-new platform for substantially improved ride, handling and refinement. The interior is all new too, utilising higher quality materials and is even better specced than before.

Overall it’s a much more significant update than a typical mid-life facelift. It’s a highly focussed programme on improving what’s beneath the skin rather than the more common skin-deep aesthetic upgrades car manufacturers have tried to pass on as facelifts nowadays.

You can read the new Kia Sorento’s full technical specs and standard equipment list in our local launch report here, as well as more pictures and insights from the international premiere reports here and here.

Enjoy our full live gallery below, including side-by-side comparison shots with the outgoing model. And remember, there is more to this facelift than meets the eye.

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Having wowed us with the exciting cee’d GT and pro_cee’d GT models at Geneva, Auto Express now reports that Kia is looking to turn its striking provo concept (pictured) into a production reality.

Kia Motors Europe VP of product planning Benny Oeyen told the British publication that the production Kia provo would serve as a halo model in the Korean firm’s B-segment line-up, which includes the Rio, Venga and a new Soul scheduled to surface at the New York show at the end of the month.

Auto Express says the Rio‘s FWD platform and the provo concept’s petrol-electric drivetrain are likely to be used in the production Kia provo. Oeyen said that “there’s space for a B-coupe,” adding that some market research would be done first to ensure it made financial sense.

As for the RWD GT concept that was first shown two years ago in Frankfurt, that seems to still be on track for production as well, and closer to reality, in fact. “The GT is close to being approved and going into production, but, as with all our cars, they have to be developed on a sound financial footing,” Oeyen said.

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Many carmakers use the “all new” or “new” tag liberally these days, but this refreshed Sorento has a strong case. It might look familiar, with just a new face and tail design, but this Sorento sits on a different platform from the car it replaces. The new platform is shared with the latest Hyundai Santa Fe, and Kia also claims a re-engineered bodyshell plus improved ride, handling and refinement.

The chassis joint areas have been strengthened for enhanced body rigidity and better steering stability. There’s less road noise in the cabin as the engine bay is now lined with three-layer noise-lowering materials, together with a new sound insulator in the transmission tunnel. Legroom for the second and third rows have been increased, and the SUV is now lower by 10 mm for easier boarding.

In Malaysia, the new Kia Sorento will be powered by a 2.4 litre Theta II petrol engine with 176 PS and 227 Nm of torque. Power is channeled to the AWD system via a six-speed automatic gearbox with manual override.

The equipment list includes 18-inch wheels, LED DRLs, Supervision cluster, 4.3-inch LCD touch-screen audio system with rear view camera, dual-zone climate control with third row vents, panoramic sunroof (retractable at the front section, motor driven blind), cabin mood lamps, push start button with smart key, leather and Bluetooth/AUX/iPod/USB functions.

Safety wise, there’s Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Hill Assist Control, ABS+EBD and six airbags.

No price change, so you can have one for RM158,888 in Snow Pearl White, Bright Silver, Glittering Metal or Mahogany Brown. Kia is offering a five–year warranty with unlimited mileage for the Sorento. Read and view more of the car here.

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Kia is coming up with another crowd-pleaser soon, as previewed by its Geneva-bound provo concept car. A small hatchback with coupe-style sloping profile, the Kia provo looks to be aimed right dead centre at the MINI, Citroën DS3 and Fiat 500 premium supermini market.

The Korean carmaker claims that the provo has been designed for fun – to delight and entrance its owner and bring a smile to the driver’s face. The concept was pictured at a racetrack to highlight that point. If proven right, it will be the first Kia to do so as dynamic prowess has never been part of the brand’s wide-ranging repertoire.

It sure looks the part, though. Designed by Gregory Guillaume at Kia’s European styling base in Frankfurt, the provo is a sleek and muscular representation of Kia’s latest design direction with plenty of unique touches to make it special.

The aggressive front splitter, single-piece LED headlights within the long bonnet and sculpted flanks, wraparound glasshouse and finely detailed rear end all add up to form a purposeful, dynamically able-looking sports hatch contender. Measuring 3.88 metres long, 1.77 metres wide and 1.35 metres tall, the provo concept is slightly larger but lower than the MINI.

Housed under a single piece of glass is the latest take on the Kia ‘tiger nose’ grille, flanked by tiny programmable LED headlamps. The light clusters are made up of more than 850 LEDs and can be used as daytime running lights, dipped/main beam or even race-style illuminations and various humorous and decorative displays to add an extra dimension of customisation and fun.

A unique colour combination is used to good effect here, the contrasting blood orange elements enhancing the provo’s masculine stance. Generous use of carbonfibre panels and high-gloss aluminium add a touch of raciness too, as do the gorgeous 19-inch milled-alloy wheels with racecar-style single centre nuts.

The Kia Europe Design team was able to let imaginations run free on the inside too, with a one-piece carbonfibre dash housing two customisable digital displays, each with a variety of screen displays (normal, cruise, track and entertainment modes available). The front seats are made of a single wave-like panel, lavishly covered in black quilted leather.

It’s not just a styling exercise either. There’s a working turbocharged 1.6 litre GDI engine with 204 hp under the hood driving the front wheels through Kia’s first seven-speed DCT gearbox. It’s also helped along by an electric motor capable of sending a maximum of 45 hp to the rear wheels, achieving on-demand all-wheel drive traction and performance.

There’s no word on any specific production schedule yet, but the provo does show a lot of promise. Hot on the heels of the pro_cee’d GT, perhaps Kia could excite us dynamically after all.

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No this is not the fire-breathing pro_cee’d GT hot hatchback. That one will be shown in Geneva in just over two weeks. What this is, is the regular three-door Kia cee’d, hilariously called the pro_cee’d. It’s the third extension of the cee’d family, joining the standard hatchback and the Sportswagon.

If it looks familiar, that’s because we’ve featured it here before. We now have more details of the pro_cee’d, so here goes. Two engines are offered – a 135 hp/223 Nm 1.6 litre GDi petrol or a slower but more economical 128 hp/261 Nm 1.6 litre CRDi turbodiesel with Intelligent Stop & Go (ISG). Transmission is a choice of a manual or dual-clutch gearbox, both with six-speeds.

Whereas the previous-generation pro_cee’d was merely a cee’d with two less doors, the new model is distinctly different from its donour vehicle. Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Design Officer of Kia Motors Corporation said, “The all-new Kia pro_cee’d is a true clean sheet design. With its distinctive form language and dynamic proportions, muscular stance and athletic lines, this ‘coupe’ follows a very different visual path to the cee’d. It’s a completely different car on every level.”

Much in the same vein as the three-door Renault Megane, the new pro_cee’d is styled more like a coupe than a hatchback. It’s 40 mm lower, with an extensively redesigned bodyshell to enhance rigidity and safety. The doors are 270 mm longer than the ones on the five-door, both to improve rear access as well as to push along the coupe illusion further.

There’s just as much space in the boot as there is in the cee’d (380 litres), which is an improvement of 40 litres than before. Fold the rear seats down and it grows to 1,225 litres, which would then make it an extremely practical coupe. Come the GT, it’ll be an exciting one too.

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Well, lookee here, it’s the Kia Forte K3 again. The second-gen YD mule, first seen on local roads last November, is back doing its evaluation rounds, plying the North-South highway. In this case, near Ipoh.

It’s wearing the same trade plate, though now there’s a bit less cladding than before; the front and rear end masks haven’t been touched, but the rear side panel door apron is gone. Will the striptease act continue the next time the car is seen?

The Kia Forte K3 was launched in Korea last September, so the evaluation mule’s sighting here two months after that could be definitely termed quick.

We reported back then that it wouldn’t be until sometime early this year that the sedan – which debuted in its home market with a 138 hp and 167 Nm 1.6 litre direct-injected four-cylinder mill – would make its debut here, but the word on the grapevine is that it’ll actually be mid-year before it finally arrives, and reportedly the EX variant will be dropped for the YD, here at least.

The Forte has since made its North American debut, the USDM variant debuting in December, and the five-door hatch version premiered recently in Chicago, with up to 201 hp to be had from that one.

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The facelifted Kia Sorento SUV has been snapped on a Malaysian highway. This brownish-grey (or is it greyish-brown?) unit was spotted by reader Alan Ong, who initially thought it was a Sportage, but was alerted by the slight disguise it was wearing.

The masking tape covers the car’s badges and half of the tail lamps, but not much else, leaving us in no doubt that it is the facelifted Kia Sorento. We first saw the XM facelift last June, sporting a new look that’s more in line with Kia’s latest Schreyer-penned designs. The big SUV looks sleeker than before, especially at the rear, where the big square lights have been replaced by longer, slimmer items.

It’s not just a cosmetic job, though, as this Sorento sits on a different platform than the pre-facelift car. The upgraded underpinnings are shared with the third-generation Hyundai Santa Fe.

There’s also a re-engineered bodyshell, enhanced powertrains for best-in-class fuel economy with lower emissions, improved ride, handling and refinement, plus additional convenience and safety features. The cabin has also been redesigned. Click here for the full story on what’s new.

Early stage local testing or impending launch? We’ll have to wait and see.

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Kia has debuted its Cross GT at the Chicago Auto Show. The concept offers a view of what the company is exploring, the potential to offer a larger, more premium offering than the current Sorento.

Measuring in at 3.09 metres-long, the Cross GT’s wheelbase is longer than the Sorento’s by 40 cm, and its overall length of 4.89 metres is 21 cm more that the Sorento. It’s also wider by 12 cm, but is 4 cm lower less than the latter.

The hybrid follows on that initialised by the GT four-door sports sedan concept from Frankfurt two years ago. While based on the GT’s chassis, the Cross GT is penned by the company’s North American design centre as opposed to the former’s European composition.

Nonetheless, the Cross GT’s proportions are similar to its rear-drive stablemate, with short overhangs, a long wheelbase and an aggressively wide posture, its exterior dressed in a Fusion Copper finish.

Power comes courtesy of a 3.8 litre V6, backed by an evolution of the company’s parallel hybrid system, a pancake-shaped electric motor sandwiched between the V6 and transmission. Total system output is 298 kW (400 hp) and 678 Nm, and the eight-speed automatic and torque-vectoring AWD-equipped vehicle has an all-electric range of 32 km.

Key design elements include dual rear-hinged doors, which offer easier access to the four-seater’s rear bucket seats, as well as a a cargo compartment with a “clam shell” design, incorporating a traditional glass hatch and a tailgate. Plenty of light in that cabin too, with a multi-panelled sky light, replete with hexagonal glass inserts, helping things along.

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With the ongoing Chicago Auto Show and Geneva Motor Show on the horizon, you’ll be seeing the word ‘debut’ here a lot. Like a whole lot. To start the ball rolling, the all-new Kia Forte 5-door hatchback has just made its world debut in the Windy City today, with plenty of surprises under its glitzy new sheet metal.

The first of which is its performance. Obviously more performance oriented than before, the Forte 5-door is offered with two powerful engine choices – a 2.0 litre GDI motor with 173 hp and 209 Nm of torque in the base EX model and a smaller but stronger 1.6 litre turbocharged GDI engine (the same one powering the upcoming cee’d/pro_cee’d GT and Hyundai Veloster Turbo) pushing out a full fat 201 hp and 264 Nm between 1,750 and 4,500 rpm in the range topping SX variant.

Both six-speed manual and automatic transmissions are available, the latter with steering-mounted shift paddles. The engine drives the front wheels (18-inchers on the SX shown here) while sports-tuned MacPherson struts up front and independent multi-link rear suspension put all that power to good use.

Sharing very little with its sedan counterpart, the new hatchback gets a more European-influenced design featuring Kia President and global chief of design Peter Schreyer’s smallest and tidiest Tiger grille yet. Edgier from nose to tail, it proudly shows its sporty intentions with glee.

A prerequisite for the powerful engines is the deep air intake positioned below the front grille. The rear gets chiselled dual exhaust pipes and fancy LED lamps. It manages to look more athletic than the car it replaces despite growing in size – it’s lower, longer and wider than before. Interior space gets a big boost too of course, with 657 litres of usable cargo room with the rear seats folded down.

Inside, the Forte 5-door features premium materials and soft touch points to compliment its raft of interior comforts. Chrome accents, carbonfibre-like textures and leather trims all make an appearance.

The outgoing Kia Forte Hatchback never did make it to our shores so don’t hold your breath over the new one coming here. But when it looks this good while packing so much promise, one can’t help but wish that it does.

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Kia is certainly cranking them out at the moment – the 2014 Cadenza made its US debut in Detroit, and the cee’d GT and pro_cee’d GT are set to premiere in Geneva, as is a hatchback concept.

Before the latter trio emerge, however, the wraps will come off the Cross GT first, and that’s set to happen next week at the Chicago Auto Show. No details about the CUV with a wedgy-front end, save that it’s inspired by nature and driven by technology, whatever that means.

Oh, and that it’ll be larger than the mid-sized XM Sorento. Presumably, this means that the automaker is looking at moving on to bigger things, specific for the US market. Guess we’ll find out when Chicago opens.

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Naza Kia Malaysia has launched the third-generation Kia Rio in Malaysia. The five-door hatch, which made its official debut last night at The Curve, is available in EX and SX trim forms, priced at RM73,888 and RM79,888 respectively, both on-the-road with insurance.

The car is powered by a G4FA 1.4 litre MPI Gamma engine, offering 109 PS at 6,300 rpm and 137 Nm at 4,200 rpm, mated to a four-speed automatic with a ‘manumatic’ manual shift function. The claimed combined cycle for the mill is 16.6 km per litre.

As mentioned in our preview drive report yesterday, the third-gen Rio is extensively equipped for a B-segment offering. Common to both variants are LED daytime running lights, electric folding wing mirrors with LED side repeaters, static bending lights, glove box cooling and Bluetooth connectivity.

There’s also LED rear combination lamps, tilt/telescopic steering, an Akarmys-enhanced six-speaker audio system with MP3, iPod and aux connectability, a leather-wrapped steering with audio and hands-free functionality, alloy pedals, sensor-based rear park assist, 60:40 split folding rear seats and rear fog lamps.

Safety kit is also comprehensive, the five-star NCAP-rated Rio coming with Isofix mountings, six airbags (front, front side, front/rear curtain), electronic stability control, ABS/EBD, TCS, brake assist and Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) as standard fitment.

The higher SX adds on front fog lamps, a sunroof, full auto air-conditioner with an integrated cluster ioniser and a Supervision cluster instrument panel. Also on, a rain sensor and auto windscreen defog system as well as a Smart Key system with push-start ignition (the EX makes do with a keyed ignition).

The SX also wears five-spoke 17-inch alloys with 205/45 series rubbers, while the EX is equipped with five twin-spoke 16-inch alloys, wrapped with 195/55 tyres. Suspension is made up of Macpherson strut fronts and a torsion beam axle rear.

Equipped with disc brakes all-around, the improved braking system on the new Rio is good enough to offer a 36.2 metre stopping distance from 100–0 km/h. Other numbers for the 4,045 mm long hatch are a 43 litre capacity fuel tank and a boot offering 288 litres of volume space.

Five exterior colours are available, these being Deep Blue, Signal Red, Clear White and Bright Silver, with the signature Electronic Blue shade only available for the 1.4 SX. The Rio comes with a five-year, unlimited mileage warranty.

Naza Kia is targeting a monthly sales target of 200 units for the new Rio, and on the whole is looking to increase its annual sales volume by 22% to 15,000 units, aided by the arrival of the new UB.

As part of the company’s pre-launch activities for the car, a Rio Runabout contest was held via the Kia Malaysia Facebook page, with a Rio 1.4 SX as the prize. The contest, which ran from December 16 to January 24, required contestants to solve six puzzles that were displayed on the Kia Malaysia Facebook page.

A total of 5,000 entries were received, and the top 10 finalists were shortlisted for the grand finale contest that took place yesterday. The 10 were required to complete on-ground challenges at five separate locations in the Klang Valley, and the winner of the grand finale was presented with the car at the launch event.

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Some cars stick in the mind long after the fact. This one happens to be one of them, but for another reason, which I’ll get to later. But first, say hello to the third-generation Kia Rio hatch, which will be making its official debut later tonight.

The B-segment offering has been spotted enough times, on the road as well as at the COTY2U Autoshow 2012, and its premiere tonight is also no surprise, the fact being made known last week. It’s also known that the UB, which was unveiled in Geneva in 2011, will make its way here in five-door hatch form.

It has grown in terms of size – the new Rio measures in at 4,045 mm long, an increase of 20 mm over the previous gen. It’s also wider at 1,720 mm, up by 25 mm, and the wheelbase has been increased by 70 mm to 2,570 mm. The only reduction is with height, by 15 mm over the older car, at 1,470 mm. As for boot space, there’s 288 litres available for storage.

Powering the Rio is a 1.4 litre MPI Gamma mill, and the DOHC with CVVT unit is good for 109 PS at 6,300 rpm and 137 Nm at 4,200 rpm. The G4FA is paired to a four-speed automatic, replete with what Kia calls a ‘manumatic’ manual shift function.

It’ll be available in two trim levels, the EX and SX, and common to both is a good spread of kit. Standard equipment includes LED daytime running lights, electric folding wing mirrors with LED side repeaters, static bending lights, tilt/telescopic steering as well as an Akarmys-enhanced six-speaker audio system with MP3 and aux.

There’s also Bluetooth connectivity, a leather-wrapped steering with audio controls, a rear spoiler, alloy pedals, 60:40 split folding rear seats and rear fog lamps. Elsewhere, the car features disc brakes all-around and EPS.

As for safety, the Rio is certainly comprehensively equipped, with Isofix mountings, six airbags (front, front side, front/rear curtain), electronic stability control, ABS/EBD, TCS, brake assist and Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) on the list.

Befitting its higher specification, the SX adds on front fog lamps, a sunroof, a Supervision cluster instrument panel, full auto air-conditioner with an integrated cluster ioniser as well as a Smart Key system with push-start ignition, the EX making do with a standard keyed ignition. The SX also gets five-spoke 17-inch alloys with 205/45 series tyres, while the EX is clad with five twin-spoke 16-inch units and 195/55 rubbers.

Ahead of the car’s launch, there was a preview drive for it two weeks ago. A simple enough outing, involving a day drive out to the Golden Palm Tree Resort in Sepang and back. At this juncture, I have to apologise for the rather small batch of photos (none of the engine and rear seat), as well as limited driving notes about the car, but we’ll get to the reason why this is so in a bit.

Nothing much to add as far as looks go, except to say that the UB is a pretty sharp looker in the metal; Kia is aiming its sights at the likes of the Ford Fiesta and Suzuki Swift with this one, and in its SX guise, the Rio should win many new friends based on its flash. It’s certainly eye-catching, especially with those 17-inchers and clad in Electronic Blue.

The cheer continues on to the interior. The layout of the dash bears Teutonic styling hints, which will appeal to those into such fashion, and the plastics are good to the sight, if a little less so to the touch.

Still, the contact points are very well done, the feel of the steering, switchgear and gearshift adding a sense of premium to things. The rear is an acceptably comfortable place to be in; despite reduced leg and shoulder room than previously, space perception is good, aided by improved headroom (45 mm up) and additional distance between first and second row seats. The seats themselves could be a bit firmer though.

On to the driving dynamics. In this regard, the Rio doesn’t veer too much away from its ilk, but what’s on should be good enough for most buyers. Korean cars aren’t really renowned for their outright handling in base form, and so when pushed, the Rio’s suspension shows up its soft legs, all the more evident as a rear seat passenger.

Nonetheless, the assisting electronics keep things honest – I only managed to provoke the car once inside a turn, and the Rio kept its composure ably enough, and it even felt impressive doing so. Driven in more sedate fashion, the car does very well.

Pace-wise, the Gamma mill isn’t racy, and lags a little off the blocks, but once it gets going the response picks up. It also sounds zingy when pushed, but otherwise noise and vibration levels on the whole are good. The ride is a bit on the firm side with the 17s, but not jarring. Presumably, the EX and its 16s would be better in this regard, but I never got to it, because a golf buggy put paid to everything.

Ah yes, a golf buggy. Arriving at the resort and lunch, the cars were being lined up, so I decided to take the opportunity to take more photos. As I was snapping away, a combination of ill-luck saw one of the resort’s buggies accelerating into me, the driver blissfully unaware that my bulk was in his path. The photo just above was taken seconds before the eventful event.

I’ll save the details of that fateful encounter for another time and place, but the short of it is that having a buggy run you down and then push you along isn’t a very pleasant experience, as you can probably surmise. That poleaxe job pretty much ended the drive for me, as well as for my camera. The term ‘suffering for your art’ has never sounded more apt. Thankfully, it didn’t turn out to be ‘dying’.

Hopefully, we’ll have a more thorough look at the car sometime soon, and issue a more complete report on it. I might even be the one to have that go, you never know. I mean, the Rio and I are interminably intertwined – I’ll certainly never forget her or that day. In any case, I’m a sucker for punishment. That I’m heading out the door after this to cover the launch says it all.

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Watch out European hot hatches – the Koreans are coming after you! The Kia cee’d GT and Kia pro_cee’d GT hatchbacks are Kia’s 2013 Geneva Motor Show debutants, and they’ll be powered by the same 1.6 litre turbocharged four cylinder motor, which producies 204 PS and 265Nm.

Both the 5-door Kia cee’d GT and it’s 3-door sibling the Kia pro_cee’d GT will transmit their 1.6 litre turbo engine’s power to the front wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox, which will allow them to do the 100km/h sprint in 7.9 seconds. These numbers aren’t blistering high, but perhaps Kia’s making room for the group’s more powerful 278 PS 2.0 litre turbo?

After sorting out factors like looks and quality, Hyundai-Kia is looking at driving feel next, and we should expect more hot hatches like this new GT duo. The company is building a 10,000 sq ft test centre at Nürburgring at the cost of US$7.3 million, which will provide a stomping ground for the Korean carmaker to evaluate its new cars.

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Here’s a concept car Kia will be showing at the upcoming Geneva show. We don’t know its name yet, or even the segment it’s intended for, but these high-res official pics give a good view of what we can expect.

“With the company’s signature tiger-nose morphing into a mischievous yet friendly grille and headlight arrangement, coupled with strong styling lines that exude speed and energy from every angle, Kia’s newest concept vehicle is guaranteed to attract attention,” the very short press release reads.

Autocar UK says that this concept could point to a future Nissan Juke rival, and that you can expect the evolved tiger-nose grille to be on future production Kias. Like?

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Kia Motors America (KMA) introduced the 2014 Kia Cadenza sedan for the North American market at the 2013 NAIAS in Detroit. The Cadenza will be KMA’s flagship in the US, but in Kia’s complete range, it sits between the Optima K5 and Quoris K9 limo.

The brand is heading upmarket, far from its roots as a budget brand, but KMA says that there’s demand for such a car. “Since the introduction of the range-topping Optima SXL last year, we have seen an increasing number of customers in our retail outlets looking for a sedan with even more upscale amenities and technology,” said Michael Sprague, KMA’s executive vice president of marketing & communications.

The US market Cadenza is powered by Kia’s most powerful V6 engine ever, a 3.3 litre GDI unit with 293 hp at 6,400 rpm and 345 Nm of torque at 5,200 rpm. The all-aluminum engine features Dual CVVT, a maintenance-free timing chain and a three-step variable induction system for enhanced torque. Power is transferred to the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission with shift paddles.

Expected to arrive in Kia showrooms in the second quarter of 2013, the Cadenza can be had with toys such as Advanced Smart Cruise Control (ASCC), Blind Spot Detection (BSD) and Lane-Departure Warning System (LDWS).

Inside, you’ll find SiriusXM Traffic and UVO eServices displayed on a high res eight-inch touch screen, a back-up camera, 550-watt Infinity 12-speaker ICE system and a full-length panoramic sunroof, among other things.

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In December 2012, we told you that the Kia Rio will be launching this month, and Naza Kia Malaysia has now confirmed the date – January 30.

“2012 was a strong year for Kia in Malaysia with sales growing 13% to 12,309 units. For 2013, we expect our sales volume to expand by double digits and the all-new Rio will play an integral part in achieving this target,” said Datuk Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar, COO of Naza Kia.

“The all-new Rio was Kia’s best-selling model outside of Korea in 2012 with 466,826 units sold, and we are confident it will be just as successful in Malaysia,” he added.

Key features of the B-segment Rio include LED daytime running lights, sunroof, LED rear lamps, Arkamys audio system, motor-driven power steering (Hyundai and Kia’s term for EPS), electronic stability control (ESC) and six airbags. Click here to read more about the Rio’s specs from our previous post.

The hatchback is powered by a 1.4 litre MPI Gamma engine. The DOHC with CVVT unit makes 109 PS and 136 Nm of torque. Naza Kia Malaysia is keen to highlight the car’s trendy design – it has won the International Design Excellence Award in the USA and the Product Design Award at the 2012 Red Dot Design Awards in Europe.

Specs and pics can be found in our previous post.

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