Kia Motors America and AutoTrader.com Partner tp Showcase New Vehicle Classifieds

New Vehicle Dealer Inventory Available on Largest Online Classified Automotive Web Site

# Partnership expected to assist in increased vehicle and dealer inquiries by consumers
# Information on all new Kia vehicles will be easily accessible

IRVINE, Calif., October 22, 2008 - Kia Motors America (KMA) today announced it is teaming up with AutoTrader.com, the nation's leading online classified automotive Web site, to add Kia dealers' new vehicle inventory to the classified listings on the site. Among the first manufacturers to provide this new car feed, the nearly 15 million unique visitors on AutoTrader.com will have access to all new vehicle inventories of Kia dealers nationwide.

"As one of the first manufacturers to provide this kind of information online, this new partnership with AutoTrader.com demonstrates the already-strong online marketing presence Kia Motors maintains and is another step toward providing consumers with access to the most current Kia vehicles on the market today," said Michael Sprague, vice president of marketing, KMA. "With an extensive and ever-expanding line-up we are able to provide a wide array of Kia vehicles to ensure buyers have a broad selection when seeking a new vehicle."

Each listing, automatically uploaded, will include one stock photo, a thumbnail of that photo, a contact link and phone number and links to the new cars listing page for that dealer. Adding these classified listings has shown to increase dealer inquiries through a higher number of consumer e-mails, map and phone inquiries and quotes.

About Kia Motors America

Kia Motors America (KMA) is the sales, marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 640 dealers throughout the United States. For 2007, KMA recorded its 14th consecutive year of record U.S. sales. Kia Motors subscribes to a philosophy of building high value, high quality, safe and dynamic vehicles. Kia Motors prides itself on producing vehicles that are exciting and enabling and evoke the Kia tagline "The Power to Surprise."

Kia Motors America is the "Official Automotive Partner of the NBA." Information about Kia Motors America and its full vehicle line-up is available at its Web site -- www.kia.com.

Reasonably priced sedan is upscale, powerful

It doesn't cost an arm and a leg to enjoy a luxurious, powerful sedan. Take a test-drive in a Kia Amanti to feel quality and performance.

Back in 2005 this midsize sedan earned the J.D. Power and Associates APEAL Award. Since then, Kia has kept making improvements. The 2009 model now offers SIRIUS Satellite Radio and MP3 playback capability, plus a whole new audio system.

Although Kia hasn't as yet disclosed an exact price for the 2009 Amanti, it is expected to be about $26,500, which is a bargain considering what this sedan has to offer: spacious interior, luxurious appointments and a very exciting engine.

What was surprising to me about the Amanti was the V-6 produces a good 264 horsepower and this front-wheel drive sedan accelerates quickly. The engine is linked to a five-speed electronically controlled Sportmatic transmission with overdrive. The Kia Amanti is rated to achieve 20 mpg city and 28 mpg highway - using regular gasoline.

My tester featured the colors of dark red wine/black -- one of eight choices -- giving it a quality exterior appearance as it sate on 17-inch sparkling alloy wheels.

Amanti provides luxury accommodations at a bargain price.

The Amanti has a massive grille with front projection fog lights and clear-lens halogen headlamps. It also has tinted windows and at the rear end it has a dual-exhaust system, plus a very large trunk. It also had the optional leather package, which included upscale appointments, such as two-position memory settings for both the driver's seat and outside mirrors.

As standard equipment the Amanti comes with an 8-way power driver's seat, (4-way power passenger's seat) and both seats can be heated. It also has an auto-dimming rearview mirror with Homelink, leather-covered steering wheel with cruise control and a keyless entry and alarm system. Even the three rear seats are spacious and comfortable.

If you are looking to be swaddled in comfort this is the place.

Another elegant touch: one-touch up/down front windows. The 2009 model now has a 5.5-inch display screen, replacing the 4-inch monitor.

On the road the Amanti responded in the same manner as sedans costing nearly twice as much. I was able to take every bend in up- and down hill curved back roads and accelerate through them with precision.

Kia engineers say the Amanti is built with a precise power rack-and-pinion steering system that will adapt to sudden driving changes. It also has a fully independent suspension, featuring gas pressurized shocks, a double wishbone suspension and rear multilink setup, plus other attributes that are commonly associated with pricier luxury cars.

Regarding safety equipment the Kia Amanti has more standard airbags than any other vehicle in its segment. The Amanti has side-impact airbags for the second row passengers. Most vehicles are offered with front row side-impact airbags only. The Amanti has dual front airbags, and full-length side curtain airbags. The list of standard safety features also includes anti-lock brakes; active front headrests; anti-pinch windows; front and rear three-point seatbelts; and front seatbelt pretensioners with force limiters.

The Amanti also has electronic stability control, traction control, brake assist, which are part of the optional Electronic Stability Control Package.

From the rear the Kia Amanti presents styling very similar to some high dollar British cars.

Kia comes with a 10-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty, plus a 24-hour roadside assistance plan.

Put all this together and compare the price to just about any other midsize car and it becomes quite evident that luxury, quality and performance doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.

Tom Keane MOTOR MATTERS

Larger SUV is Kia's newest model

MADISON, Wis. -- The Kia Borrego has strong engines, roomy, comfortable seats, top crash test ratings, plentiful features and a surprisingly quiet interior.

It's just too bad that the Borrego, new for 2009, is a sizable sport utility vehicle that comes to the United States this year as consumers are turning away from truckish SUVs toward more fuel-efficient vehicles.

At 16 feet long and with three rows of seats standard, the seven-passenger Borrego is the largest SUV from South Korean automaker Kia, topping the Sorento, which remains at showrooms. The Borrego also is the first Kia -- car or SUV -- to offer a V-8 in the States.

And it's the Kia with the highest starting manufacturer's suggested retail price: $26,995 for a base LX with two-wheel drive and 276-horsepower V-6.

The previous highest-priced Kia was the Amanti sedan at $26,220.

With four-wheel drive, the Borrego starts at $29,045, and with 337-horsepower V-8, the starting retail price goes over $30,000.

Both SUV engines produce more power than those in many competitors. For example, the Borrego's 3.8-liter, double overhead cam V-6 has 26 more horses and 14 more foot-pounds of torque, to 267 foot-pounds at 4,400 rpm, than the 250-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 that's in the 2009 Honda Pilot.

Yet the base retail price for a two-wheel drive Pilot is some $1,200 more: $28,265, including destination charge.

Similar in size to the Pilot and the 2009 Ford Explorer, the Borrego looks bigger than it handles and is one of the few new SUVs that's built the way traditional SUVs were built -- as a body-on-frame model.

This contrasts with the more trendy car-based crossover SUVs that have been flooding the market and allows the Borrego to offer greater capability for off-roading and strong towing. Indeed, the Borrego with V-8 is rated to tow 7,500 pounds compared with the 4,500-pound maximum in a Pilot with V-6. The Pilot is not offered with a V-8.

Kia has never offered a truck-based SUV before, and the platform for the Borrego is new. The SUV has a front wishbone suspension configuration and an independent multilink rear suspension.

The ride in the tester with optional, uplevel 18-inch wheels and tires was hardly refined compared with that of the crossover SUVs.

Even though passengers remained above the bumps, they readily noticed a lot of jiggling as the Borrego went over sizable road bumps.

There was a sense of body lean and mass shifting, too, as the SUV went around curves. Unsprung weight -- a heavy bouncing of wheels and heavy components at the vehicle's four corners -- was a reminder that this isn't a car-like ride.

But the Borrego's hefty 4,200-plus-pound weight doesn't hold back the engine power.

The test two-wheel drive Borrego had the V-6 and five-speed automatic transmission, and I never lacked for good power. The SUV moved swiftly from stoplights and kept a brisk pace easily, and the transmission shifted smoothly.

If a buyer isn't going to do heavy towing, the V-6 -- with the best fuel economy rating of 17 miles per gallon in city driving and 21 mpg on the highway -- could be a good choice. In comparison, with the 4.6-liter V-8, the Borrego is rated at 15/22 mpg with two-wheel drive.

Both federal government mileage ratings are lower than that of many other three-row crossover SUVs, such as the Pilot and Saturn Outlook.

But in the test Borrego, I got pretty close to the 17 mpg rating for city driving, and that was without trying.

The Borrego is pleasantly styled, in a mainstream way. It looks like many other SUVs, and never turned a head during the test drive. I enjoyed the good views out the front and sides that the tall-riding Borrego afforded. But the dominating feature I saw from the driver's seat was the large, tall hood over the engine.

Thank goodness the test vehicle had optional running boards at the doors, because I would have had to hoist myself quite a bit to get inside.

I could hard believe that the turning circle on the four-wheel drive was so tidy: 36.5 feet. This is better than some sedans.

Headroom and legroom are generous, though passengers in the two rearmost seats rest on seat cushions that are near the floor, so knees sit up a bit. But thanks to second-row seats that slide forward and aft, the legroom among the rows can be adjusted and apportioned as needed.

The fit and finish on the test Borrego were excellent, and controls were within easy reach. The display screen for the optional navigation system is smaller than that of Toyotas and Hondas, and the automatic transmission includes a shift-it-yourself mechanism that isn't found in a lot of other SUVs.

The Borrego, like all Kias, comes with a lengthy powertrain warranty that's good for 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. Most competitors offer three years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Kia installed a long list of standard safety equipment, including frontal and curtain air bags, electronic stability control, antilock brakes and front-seat, anti-whiplash head restraints. A backup warning system is standard, too, but a rearview camera is optional.

Kia officials have modest sales goals of 12,000 this year for the Borrego.

Five That Put the "Mini" Back in Minivan

Can mini-minivans bring the cool better than their oh-so-uncool full-size brethren?

When minivans were introduced as a genre a quarter-century ago--VW's Microbus/Vanagon notwithstanding--their whole shtick was that they were mini. Today's "minivans," however, have grown nearly as big, heavy, and cumbersome as the Ford Econolines and Dodge Ram vans of the 1980s. If this is what the world meant by "mini," miniskirts would extend all the way to the floor and the Mini Cooper would be the size of a Suburban.

Well, as they say, everything old is new again. And in this economy, everything new is getting small again. Not surprisingly, sales of the two mini-minivans currently for sale in the U.S., the Mazda 5 and the Kia Rondo, have jumped dramatically in recent months, in spite of a new-car market that is undergoing a bit of miniaturization itself.

And more are coming. Next summer, Ford will bring over from Europe its right-sized urban cargo-box, the Ford Transit Connect, and there are more Euro vehicles that would be well matched for U.S. buyers if they were allowed through the Golden Door. All five vehicles on this list--U.S. market or no--possess carlike handling, true versatility, and excellent fuel economy, traits that can't help but put this tres-uncool segment on track to get pretty darn hot. Again.

Kia Rondo

If there is any car company that speaks to the no-nonsense, family-first sensibilities that minivans were meant to serve, it is Kia. Thus, that the dowdy but well-packaged Rondo fits that bill so well surprises few members of our staff.

Of the two mini-minivans available in the U.S. at this time, the Rondo is the cheapest, quietest, and the only one available with seven seats and a choice of four-cylinder or V-6 power (don't expect mind-blowing acceleration from either). And although it looks more like a duck than a supercar, at least it doesn't have the Mazda 5's stigmatized sliding doors.

The Kia Rondo drives well, carries a great warranty, and is easy on the budget (if not on the eyes). And if the 25-percent increase in year-to-date sales is any indication, it's something we'll be seeing a lot more of in the future.

BY STEVE SILER
Car and Driver

Way-back machine: Compact Kia Rondo has three rows of seats

The Kia Rondo is a small car that seats seven people. It competes with the Mazda5. They are the only "microvans" on the U.S. market. It's fuel-efficient, has decent crash-test scores and can be purchased for less than $20,000.

So suppose you have a family with lots of kids - or a couple of kids who bring their friends along. You need a car with seats, lots of them.

But suppose that, in these troubled times, you can't afford a full-grown minivan, which can sticker for $35,000 or more. In fact, things are so tight for you right now that under $20K sounds a lot more like it. Plus, you park in tiny city spaces, where the term "minivan" is a misnomer - those things are behemoths. As for a big SUV with a third row, you don't want an occasional need for seats to constantly cost you at the pump.

You want a nimble, frugal small car - with big-car people-hauling ability. Sounds like you want the impossible.

Actually, not the impossible, just the uncommon. Of all the models sold in the U.S., exactly two little vehicles fit those criteria. These are "microvans" - little wagons with a "way-back" third row of seats. One is the Mazda5. You may never have noticed the other one: the Kia Rondo.

The Mazda gets lots of positive buzz, including a Consumer Reports recommendation and rave reviews in these pages. But the Rondo is worth a look. It's competitive in many ways.

It's small - the same length as a Toyota Corolla. Yet it seats seven people in a 2-3-2 configuration (the Mazda seats six as 2-2-2).

Think clown car.

The Rondo's 162-horsepower four-cylinder pulls down EPA ratings of 20 mpg city, 27 highway, 22 overall with a four-speed automatic. (The Mazda's numbers with an auto are 21/27/23.)

And Kia offers an optional 182-horse V-6 (the Mazda has only the four) that rates 18 mpg city, 26 highway, 21 overall. That engine gets a five-speed automatic with gated shifter. The V-6 equipped test car got 20.3 mpg in strictly stop-and-go city driving.

The Rondo's exterior is anonymous and trapezoidal - it appears to have been popped out of a loaf pan. But the Mazda5 is slightly odd looking as well, particularly in its hindquarters, and these cars' squareness is how they can pack so much useable space within such a small exterior.

Inside the Kia, the materials are suprisingly nice for such a cheap ride. (Starting MSRP, stripped, is 17,395. A heavily optioned V-6 test vehicle stickered at $23,495 with heated leather seats, a sunroof and excellent sound system.)

Storage cubbies are provided throughout the cabin, even in the way-back. Driving visibility is great, and handling is competent. The front seating is upright, with cramped legroom. and it doesn't adjust much. A lot of drivers will struggle to find a comfortable driving position, and though a competent city car, it would surely be uncomfortable on long trips.

In the second row, legroom is copious. That row slides on a track, which allows space to be shared with the third row, where any adult passengers who ventured back there would face hardships that seem more North Korean than South. The way-back is for kids.

The second- and third-row seatbacks are split, offering a variety of passenger and cargo configurations.

The Rondo's advantages over the Mazda5:

* It's extremely quiet inside for a wagon body style. The Mazda has road noise.

* It can seat that extra passenger.

* You can spring for the V-6.

* Its optional Infinity 315-watt sound system is killer.

* It has a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty, twice that of the Mazda5.

* When comparably equipped, it's less expensive.

The Mazda's advantages over the Rondo:

* Its interior is stylish and comfortable.

* You can get a navigation system.

* It has sliding doors for easier entry.

* And though it seats one fewer passenger in the second row, a little aisle between the second-row buckets provides easier access to the third row (and a little poke-through legroom for those in back).

* The Mazda's final advantage: It's not a Kia.

Let's talk about that for a moment. It's true that Kias don't have the resale value of many other makes (though if you don't plan on reselling, no problem.) And it's true that in their early years Korean cars were the butts of jokes. (Here's one from '91: How do we know the LAPD lied about Rodney King? Answer: They said he led them on a high-speed chase - in a Hyundai!) But these cars have rapidly improved in recent years. A telling detail is the Kia Rondo's crash-test scores: It earned five stars (the highest rating) in government frontal crash tests, five stars in driver side impact, and four stars for passenger side impact and rollover risk - respectable scores all around. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety hasn't yet rated the Rondo, but other Kia models have recently done well in the IIHS' stringent offset frontal crash test.

However, FYI that Kia as a brand still ranks weakly in the J.D. Power and Associates reliability ratings. Though at least it has that long warranty.

The only sign of a quality quirk in the test-driven Rondo was the control for the windshield wiper. The intermittent setting was wired backwards, with the fast marking yielding a slow wiper speed and vice versa. Otherwise, the car seemed typical of its price point.

If you want to put a lot of butts in a lot of seats, for not a lot of bucks, your list of possibilities is short. So test-drive both the Mazda5 and the Rondo and see what you think. Kia's well-chosen slogan, after all, is "The Power to Surprise."

By Greg Rasa
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

Big and bulky, it's the Kia Borrego

When you need to move seven people 50 miles, it's unfortunate that public transit isn't always the answer. The problem is mathematical: seven times $25 (the cost of a train ticket) is $175. The alternative is to drive, and in this case that costs only about $20, plus another $13 for parking.

Ah, you say, but you have to have a vehicle capable of carrying seven. And miraculously, I did: A Kia Borrego. Don't worry if you've never heard of it, because it's new. And really big. This is the kind of gigantic body-on-frame SUV that could leave a trail of crushed crossover vehicles in its wake.

This is a dinosaur of a car in 2008, knowing what we know about our energy future. I heard a presentation this week by the author Richard Heinberg (Peak Everything) and he said it was "a very real possibility" that the airline industry will be barely functioning in three years. Why? Because fossil fuels have peaked, and we don't have a real substitute for them.

But we're still fiddling while Rome burns, aren't we? And I'm part of the problem, choosing to drive that huge gas-guzzling Kia on my family trip just because it saves me money. It has a 4.6-liter, 375-horsepower V-8 engine under the hood, sourced from the Hyundai Genesis. To be fair to Kia, the Borrego project was launched all of four years ago (that's how long new product cycles take). Nobody gave a thought to gas prices then ($2 a gallon, remember?), and it looked like the SUV phenomenon was going to last forever.

You don't necessarily have to go with that V-8; a 242-horsepower, 3.3-liter six is available, but even with that one you can expect only 18 mpg combined (the V-8 gets 17).

The Borrego is a dinosaur, and we know what happened to them. They no longer walk the earth, right? And in that same pipeline now is a whole new class of car. Plug-in hybrid cars, with the ability to travel 30 to 40 miles on battery power alone, then switch to gas power, are the adaptable mammals of our time. The $700 billion bailout legislation contained a lot of pork, but one good provision was $1 billion in tax credits for plug-ins.

Plug-ins are something both Obama and McCain (and Bush too) can champion. These 100-mpg vehicles will be cruising American roads long after the Sequoias and Borregos, like the dinosaurs, are reduced to fossilized remains.

By Jim Motavalli

Kia Borrego enters full-size SUV arena

If you've ever tried to time the Stock Market, you know it's not easy. The challenge is much the same when it comes to developing a new vehicle.

I'm sure that when Kia started working on its new full-size SUV a few years ago, they didn't figure on $4.00/gallon gasoline and the ensuing migration of buyers into smaller vehicles. But that's the reality as the 2009 Borrego hits the streets.

Fortunately, the midsize and large sport utility segment, while smaller than it used to be, is still substantial. These days, the only people in that market are those who really need/want what only a big SUV can do -- haul and tow. And those people should like what they see from the newest Kia.

The 2009 Borrego is offered in LX, EX and Limited trims. Two- and four-wheel drive systems are available, and both can be had with either V-6 or V-8 power. Prices range from $26,995 for the LX V-6, 4x2, to $33,745, for the EX V-8 4x4.

Borrego has a function first, no-nonsense look about it, befitting a big SUV. The upright lines are beveled at the corners and capped with a wide, chrome grille. Size-wise, Borrego stretches 192.3 inches long. It is both longer and wider than class contemporaries like the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevy TrailBlazer or Toyota 4Runner.

One disadvantage that Kia faces in coming to market now is that they run into a different set of expectations. Years ago, SUVs were more truck-like on the inside. But, in the boom years for big SUVs, buyers became conditioned to expect more, and the interiors on some higher end SUVs started to rival luxury cars in terms of content and refinement.

The bar that Borrego has to vault has therefore been raised by the competition. Kia's response is a strong one. All trim levels have standard three-row seating. Up front, the driver takes in a clean, legible layout of gauges, framed by a meaty, four-spoke steering wheel. Controls in the main aren't hard to figure out or operate, although the location of the parking brake could use a re-think. Its current spot makes it easy to bruise a shin as you reach your left foot for the dead pedal.

Interiors are predominantly plastic, so the trick for the designer becomes breaking things up with different colors and textures. Borrego does pretty well with this, at least in the EX model I test-drove.

Visibility is generally good in all directions. Inboard storage includes molded door pockets; glove box; a main, covered, center console bin; small trays and cubbyholes. Big items go in the way-back, where Borrego offers an either/or choice for storage that's typical of three seat SUVs.

When all rows are full of passengers, there's not much room left over for gear (12.4 cubic feet). However, both the second and third row seats fold nearly flat forward when not required for passengers, and so stowed, they expand cargo capacity to as much as 97.6 cubic feet.

The back row is comfortable for kids and can even hold an adult or two for the short run. Row two is suitable for any size, and the available rear seat entertainment package ($1,500 on EX level) will keep the troops occupied on trips.

Both engine choices offer more power than any previous Kia product. The 3.8-liter V-6 produces a class-competitive 276 horsepower and 267 lb.-ft. of torque. The V-8 packs 337 hp and 323 lb.-ft. under hood. The V-6 is linked to a five-speed automatic transmission, while the V-8 gets a six-speed auto.

EPA rates the six at 17 miles per gallon city, 21 highway (4x2), 16/21 mpg (4x4). With the V-8, you can expect 15/22 mpg (4x2) and 15/20 mpg (4x4). Towing capability reaches 5,000 pounds with the V-6, while V-8 models are rated at 7,500 pounds. The available 4WD system is a full-time, on-demand setup.

Integrated onboard electronics (ABS, Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control) work in concert to help the driver maintain control. While not aimed at rock climbers, Borrego is certainly capable of light off-roading. Undercarriage skid plates are standard equipment. So are Hill Start Assist Control and Downhill Brake Control.

The civilized Borrego is equally at home on paved surfaces.

The former prevents rollback when starting up a steep incline, while the latter helps maintain a controlled, steady pace on steep downhill grades.

Either the V-6 or V-8 in the Kia Borrego is capable of handling sport utility vehicle requirements.

Borrego is a solid SUV, worthy of careful consideration. Its biggest challenge isn't matching up with its competition as much as it is dealing with demands of selling in a rough, big truck market.

Dan Lyons MOTOR MATTERS