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Kia Ray – first images of Korean market-only compact

November 9, 2011 at 4:00 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Kia


Click to enlarge.

Kia has revealed the first official images of its new Ray compact vehicle, which will be sold exclusively in Korea. The production Ray shouldn’t be confused with the Ray Concept that the company presented at the Chicago Auto Show last year – this one is very much a box-type city car, far removed from the latter in terms of styling and shape.

There are very little details about the Ray, which the company says combines fuel economy with a spacious and highly versatile interior. Indeed, there’s not even a mention of powertrain options for the vehicle – that’s set to be announced closer to the vehicle’s launch.


Click to enlarge.

Design-wise, the Ray features a simple exterior silhouette, and the front combines the brand’s signature radiator grille with unique headlamps and LED daytime running lights. The rear, meanwhile, presents a wide and stable stance, accentuated by prominent LED rear combination lamps and vertically positioned bumper reflectors

The passenger-side rear door – in this case, on the right hand side – is a sliding-type unit, enabling not just easier ingress and egress in tight parking spaces but also provides a wide, unobstructed side opening for cargo storage.

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The Grand Prize of Test Drive Kia On Tour 2011 goes to Mohd Ismail Ibrahim – he drives home a Forte 1.6 EX!

October 20, 2011 at 1:27 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Kia, Koreans, Local News

By now many would have already heard of, or participated in the Test Drive Kia On Tour 2011 campaign, a roadshow organised by Naza Kia. Test Drive Kia On Tour started in May at 1Utama PJ before heading to Penang and Johor Bahru, stopping over in Seremban and Melaka. The final leg was recently held at The Curve, Mutiara Damansara.

Those who went got to check out and test drive Naza Kia’s products such as the Forte, new Sportage and Sorento SUV. The company is happy with the response – a total of 600 bookings were collected throughout, from a total of 3,144 test drives conducted.

A big pull was that those who went and test drove stood a chance to win a Forte, besides mystery gifts for those who signed up as fans of Kia Malaysia’s Facebook page. Some 4,896 people “liked” Naza Kia and 9,000 entries were received for the grand prize draw.

This morning, it was announced at Menara Naza Kg Baru that Mohd Ismail Ibrahim from Kuala Lumpur has won the grand prize. The 38-year old baker received the keys to his new Forte from SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, Joint Group Executive Chairman of the Naza Group.

Interestingly, the Forte winner (who currently drives a Myvi) test drove a Forte at The Curve, so he’s getting what he was interested in!

The team is already planning for next year. “Next year, we will take the Test Drive Kia On Tour roadshow to more destinations in the country,” said Datuk Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar, COO of Naza Kia, adding that there should be six legs including locations in East Coast and East Malaysia.

Instead of trying to lure people to showrooms, Naza Kia is bringing its showroom to the people, which is a clever move.

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Test Drive Kia on Tour – Final leg at The Curve this week

October 13, 2011 at 9:44 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Kia, Koreans, Local News

Naza Kia, the official distributor of Kia vehicles in Malaysia, will host the final leg of its popular Test Drive Kia on Tour 2011 roadshow in Petaling Jaya, Selangor this week. The five-day event will be held from now till 16 Oct (Sunday) at The Curve in Mutiara Damansara.

At the roadshow, customers will be given a chance to test drive the new Sportage as well as the Forte and Sorento SUV. Those who test drive any of the vehicles at the any of the roadshows will be in the running to win a Forte 1.6EX. The lucky winner will be announced at the end of the roadshow at The Curve.

There are also mystery gifts for those who test drive or sign up to be a Kia Malaysia fan on Facebook on the spot.

The Test Drive Kia on Tour 2011 roadshow kicked off in May at 1Utama PJ before moving to Penang in August and Johor Bahru in September.

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New Kia Optima spotted being tested by JPJ officers

October 2, 2011 at 6:39 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Kia, Koreans, Spyshots

The new Kia Optima is currently on test with JPJ, and it seems it’s being driven quite frequently as well, as it’s been spotted twice by two different readers in the span of a week. Reader Adrian Yong snapped the Optima parked at an undisclosed location, while Khairil got his opportunity to snap photos at the Tapah R&R, north-bound. Perhaps we could see the Optima launched before the end of the year, or in the first half of next year? We’ve already driven the Kia Optima during an international press drive event in Australia, so you can read our first impression test drive review story posted earlier this year. The model we tested had a 2.4 litre GDI engine.

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Hyundai and Kia increase European production capacity

September 27, 2011 at 12:20 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, Kia, Koreans


The Koreans have been on form for quite some time now, and they’re even making headway in Europe, the toughest battleground for Asian manufacturers. Demand for new models has pushed Hyundai to increase production at its Czech Republic factory.

Originally, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech (HMMC) planned to move from two-shift to three-shift production at the start of October, but has been doing so since last week (19 Sept). The company hired 800 new employees to work on this extra shift. In total, Hyundai and its suppliers employ 10,000 people in the Nošovice area of the Czech Republic.

The up in production is thanks to rising demand for the ix35 (Tucson to us) and Frankfurt debutant new i30, which will hit the showrooms early next year. By the way, HMMC has stepped from one shift to three in less than three years.

Sister brand Kia also has plans to increase production. The more youthful brand of the duo will introduce a third production shift at its European production hub in Slovakia along with 1,000 new staff. Three-shift operations are scheduled to start in Zilina by the first quarter of 2012.

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Test Drive Kia on Tour goes to Johor Bahru this weekend

September 21, 2011 at 11:38 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Kia, Koreans, Local News

Naza Kia, the official distributor of Kia vehicles in Malaysia, will take its Test Drive Kia on Tour 2011 roadshow to Johor Bahru this weekend. The three-day roadshow will be held from Sept 23 to 25 at the KSL City Mall in JB.

The activities actually start today with a 13-car Kia convoy that will be flagged off at Menara Naza, KL. The journey south will include stops at Seremban and Melaka. Driven by Naza Kia personnel, the motorcade includes Kia models such as the Forte, Forte Koup and new Sportage.

In Seremban, the convoy will have brief stops at Tesco Seremban and Dataran Seremban while in Melaka, it will stop at the Melaka Mall, Dataran Pahlawan, Aeon Bandaraya and Mydin Melaka. They will spend an hour at each of these locations, distribute pamphlets and freebies. On Sept 22, the group will have stops at JB’s Sutera Mall, Perling Mall, Plaza Pelangi and Pelangi Leisure Mall before anchoring at KSL City Mall.

This is the third leg of Naza Kia’s Test Drive Kia on Tour 2011, which started in May at 1Utama PJ before moving to Penang in August. After JB, the roadshow will end with one more Klang Valley event in October.

Those who test drive any Kia at one of these roadshows will be in the running to win a Forte 1.6EX. The lucky winner will be announced when the roadshow ends in October. In JB, Naza Kia is giving mystery gifts for customers who test drive or sign up to be a Kia Malaysia fan on Facebook on the spot.

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Frankfurt: Kia Rio 3-door eyes trendy European streets

September 16, 2011 at 3:51 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Cars, Kia, Koreans

We’ve previously seen the five-door Kia Rio for the European market, now is the turn of the three-door Rio to have its world debut at Frankfurt. The Rio is a B-segment Kia, which we’ve also seen in sedan form for the US market. China’s notchback has slightly different styling and is called the K2.

Designed primarily for chic Euro streets, the new three-door Rio’s task is to attract first time Kia buyers and to rack up conquest sales. The on-form Korean brand expects 20 to 25% of total Rio sales to be of the 3-door car.

It has the same key dimensions as the 5-door model (length 4,045 mm, width 1,720 mm, height 1,455 mm and wheelbase 2,570 mm) and retains the same roofline that is among the lowest in Kia’s Euro range for some sporty appeal. Up to 10 body colours are offered – White, Black, Silver, Red, Beige, Electronic Blue, Deep Blue, Brown, Graphite and Yellow.

The 3-door will be available with the same range of powertrains, equipment and options as the 5-door. Customers have a choice of four three- and four-cylinder engines – with a 75 to 109 PS power range.

The fastest Rio will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 11.5 seconds on to a top speed of 183 km/h. Fuel consumption will be as low as 3.2 litres per 100 km for the newly-introduced EcoDynamics diesel model, which also delivers a super low CO2 rating of just 85 g/km.

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Frankfurt preview: Kia’s RWD 4-door concept is called GT

September 12, 2011 at 8:27 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Cars, International News, Kia, Koreans

Fast rising brand Kia will be bringing a dramatic rear-wheel drive four-door sports sedan to the Frankfurt show. We’ve seen some pics of the concept already, but details were scarce. Now we know that the big sedan will be called GT, thanks to leaked official pics.

Apparently, this will be the first in a series of concept cars that will see the Korean brand explore new market segments with style-led models. This approach is already in place to some extend in the brand’s main model lines – the Forte, Optima and Sportage are eye catching cars in their respective segments.

“No matter from which perspective you look at it – this concept car is roaring with energy and ready for take-off. I believe the car is a strong statement from Kia: we are ready to fast forward to an all-new chapter,” said Kia’s design boss Peter Schreyer.

As for what’s under there, Autocar UK says that it’s based on the Hyundai Genesis saloon with a big V8 engine under the hood. Don’t expect a production version of the GT in the near future though.

“We have made good progress recently. But it is now important for us to improve our brand power. Concepts like these will help a lot with that. But we are prepared to take our time. We will test plenty of ideas before we make any decisions about production,” Kia’s vice chairman and CEO, Hank Lee, told the mag.

More pics after the jump. Do you think Kia is ready to challenge the premium boys?
[Read more...]

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VIDEO: Kia Soul Hamsters – everyday they shufflin!

August 29, 2011 at 8:42 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Kia, Koreans, Videos

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Kia Rio – five-door to make European market debut

August 22, 2011 at 1:34 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Kia

The third-generation Kia Rio is set to make its European market entrance, joining the compact fray in the UK at the beginning of next month. The UB hatch, which made its debut in Geneva earlier this year, arrives in five-door form first, followed by the three-door version towards the end of the year. There’s also of course a sedan form of the vehicle, the Rio Sedan unveiled in New York in April, which is set to begin selling in the US in January next year, as well as the K2 derivative for the Chinese market.

Universally, the Rio will have six engine choices in all from a 69 hp 1.1 litre three-cylinder diesel unit up to a 1.6 litre GDI mill producing 138 hp, the last set for North America. Four engine choices will be available for the UK – two petrol and two diesel, among them a 107 hp 1.4 litre petrol and a 89 hp 1.4 litre turbodiesel.

Large gallery of the UK spec’d hatch after the jump.
[Read more...]

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