Archive for Koreans

Kia Motors will produce the Kia SOUL Concept, which will retain its concept name and be called the production Kia Soul. It will be unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. It doesn’t just retain its name, the production version (as shown in the teaser images released by Kia in this post) retains most of how the SOUL Concept looked like.

It looks like a cross between a Suzuki Swift on the side profile including the blacked out A and B pillar, and a Daihatsu Sirion/Perodua Myvi on the rear. The ride height looks slightly high, which leads me to believe this is pretty much a Korean competitor to the likes of the Suzuki SX4, Fiat Sedici and Volkswagen CrossPolo.

Two more images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Kia to unveil production Kia Soul at Paris 2008

This has got to be the most bizarre attempt at a viral video that an automaker has ever come up with. Kia’s seemingly completely random video featuring tennis personality Rafael Nadal and the Kia pro_cee’d 3-door hatchback first shows Nadal playing a tennis match against an alien. Which seems normal enough.

Then the alien sprouts multiple hands, sending a barrage of tennis balls across the court to Nadal, followed by a football. The tennis match suddenly becomes a football match. Suddenly four mini-Nadals come out of Nadal, they do a little “dance” and proceed with a Voltron-ish transformation sequence. Nadal then puts his fists into the mouths and his feet into the butts of the mini-Nadals, and “joins” with them.

UPDATE: Kia has updated the video with a version that shows the mini-Nadal Voltron “shoes” hold on to his feet rather than Nadal wearing them like shoes. I’ve updated the video in good faith to reflect the new version at the request of Kia Motors.

After defeating the alien by kicking a football through it and into the goal, Nadal then transforms into a Kia pro_cee’d, which drives away.

Don’t believe it? Watch the video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Kia’s bizarre Nadal versus Alien video

Hyundai has unveiled the Hyundai i800, which is actually the UK market name for the Hyundai H1 Starex. It will go on sale on the 20th June 2008 onwards for £19,495.

The i800 moniker most likely refers to its ability to carry 8 people comfortably with 851 liters of boot space remaining even when all 8 people are on board. Each passenger has their own individually controllable overhead vent. Admittedly it is a minibus-style MPV, but Hyundai says they have tried to give the i800 a more car-like ambiance.

The Hyundai i800 is 5,125mm long, 1,920mm wide and 1,925mm tall, and has a turning circle of 5.61 meters. Under the hood is a 2.5 liter CRDi turbodiesel engine with a variable geometry turbocharger producing 170 PS and 392Nm of torque. Hyundai says with its 75 liter tank filled with diesel, the i800 can achieve more than 900km of mileage.

A lower powered, lower spec version for more industrial usage will come later at a cheaper price.

More images of the Hyundai i800 after the jump.

Related Posts:
Hyundai H1 Starex 11-seater van
Hyundai Starex MPV spotted in JPJ Putrajaya!

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai i800 8-seater launched in the UK

The Korean domestic market Kia Sportage gets a different exterior look than the facelift that we received last year. The Korean Sportage gets a more Rondo/c’eed-like look on the front end.

Two engine options with a total of three variants are available in Korea - a 2.0 liter CVVT petrol engine with a 2WD drivetrain, or a 2.0 liter turbodiesel with a Variable Geometry turbocharger available with either a 2WD or 4WD drivetrain.

The turbodiesel engine is the more powerful one, putting out 151 PS at 3,800rpm and 320Nm of torque at 2,000rpm as opposed to the petrol engine’s 142 PS at 6000rpm and 188Nm of torque at 4,500rpm.

More images of the KDM Sportage after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Kia Sportage for Korean Domestic Market

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A white Hyundai H1 Starex was spotted in the vicinity of JPJ Putrajaya by reader JDMD, our regular Putrajaya CBU snapshot “supplier”.

Looking at the rows of seats through the windows, we can see that this is the 4 row version of the MPV. The Starex can be configured to seat up to 11 people, but an 8 seater configuration is also available.

Peeking into the interior to have a look at the dashboard reveals manual air conditoning (as opposed to the automatic climate control you can see in the last photo in my previous post on the Starex), and an automatic gearbox shift lever.

Continue reading for more photos of the Starex in Putrajaya.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai Starex MPV spotted in JPJ Putrajaya!

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Hicom-Chevrolet Sdn Bhd unveiled three cars today - the Chevrolet Aveo notchback sedan, the facelifted Chevrolet Optra Magnum sedan and the facelifted Chevrolet Optra Magnum Estate. Continue reading about the cars after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hicom-Chevrolet launches Chevrolet Optra Magnum sedan and estate, Chevrolet Aveo notchback

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Kia Motors has unveiled a revolutionary driving control system with an update to the Kia KEE concept called the Kia KEE_wii.

Instead of a conventional steering, accelerator and brake pedals, the Kia KEE_wii uses a small ‘controller which fits comfortably into two hands. Making steering motions with the small controller will turn the car in whichever direction the driver likes whilst accelerator and brakes are button operated.

An added benefit is that passengers can take the controls and enjoy the dynamic drive of the KEE_wii from any seat in the car.

To counter the reduced visibility faced by a “driver” sitting in the back seats, Kia has developed a new system called the Independent Driver Input Operating Technique that utilises radar to avoid accidents.

Related Posts:
Kia Kee 2+2 Sports Coupe Concept

Hyundai will be launching its first mass production hybrid car in 2009, the Hyundai Avante LPI (also known as the Elantra LPI). This will be followed by other models and by 2012 Hyundai plans to have production fuel cell electric vehicles as well.

The Hyundai Avante LPI will run on both Liquefied Petroleum Gas and electricity. No specs have been unveiled, and it’s not known whether the powertrain can use regular gasoline or not, but the way it is worded seems to indicate it does not use regular gasoline, although that is a planned future development.

“The importance of developing futuristic, environmentally-friendly cars is increasing for sustainable growth. Therefore, technology for advanced cars, like the hybrid, is imperative,” said Hyundai-Kia Chairman Chung Mong Koo.

Source

Kia has given the Kia Optima some changes to the front and rear that gives the sedan a drastic all new look and feel - from a grown-up mature executive sedan into something younger and sportier, much like the USDM Accord turned into the Euro Accord. The front now no longer looks like a shorter version of the Kia Sportage, but takes on a design similiar to the Kia KOUP Concept.

Aside from the obvious new front headlamps, grille, and rear lamp cluster treatment, the Optima also gets a new front bumper with a lower air intake split into 3 instead of one large one, LED wing mirror turn signals, and a new meter panel on the inside featuring a triple-pod design much like the Mazda 3 or the Honda City.

The 2.0 liter CVVT Theta II engine now puts out 158 PS (likely 163 PS in the Korean market just like the facelifted Sonata), and the 2.4 liter also gets a 15% power upgrade to 161 horsepower. The top of the range 2.7 liter V6 now puts out 190 horses and 250Nm. These engines now gain Dual CVVT on both intake and exhaust, an upgrade of the previous single CVVT on the intake side, as well as a variable length intake manifold.

On the inside, there is of course the new meter panel I mentioned. Other than that, sat-nav is now an option with the Optima.

Look after the jump for plenty more photos.

Click here to read the rest of 2009 Kia Optima Facelift unveiled at NYIAS 2008

This nice red coupe which reminds me a little of the European market Honda Civic hatch was showcased by Kia Motors at the 2008 New York International Auto Show, and it is called the Kia KOUP Concept. It actually looks very production ready, and only needs a more toned down interior (or maybe not?) with more production ready head lamps and tail lamps and you can already imagine it being driven on roads.

The front wheel drive, front engined coupe is powered by a turbocharged direct injected version of the 2.0 liter Hyundai/Kia Theta II engine (derived from the GEMA engine family), which produces 290 horsepower and a wide torque spread of 392Nm over 2,000rpm to 4,000rpm.

The front suspension is the usual MacPherson strut system while the rear is an independent dual link design. The Kia KOUP also features Continuous Damping Control - not sure what it does but Kia says it helps with the vehicle’s handling.

Check out more photos and a video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Kia KOUP Concept shown at NYIAS 2008