Automotive Trends

Minivans do not garner much favor around the Automotive Trends garage. We will agree that they serve a very practical purpose shuttling around that which is most important to us: our families. But the fact of the matter is the minivan was the first vehicle to supplant and displace our dearly beloved station wagons. And that is a sin to which there is just no atonement for. Read more…

It took a few tries, but Kia now has a legitimate competitor to the excellent Buick LaCrosse and it’s called the Cadenza. Kia has equipped the Cadenza with a strong V6 that uses 293 hp to move it around just as well as the slightly stronger Buick and, although the looks might not quite match the Lacrosse’s luscious lines, it smartly uses a little chrome to pass off as a player that belongs. Inside is where Kia really did their homework, offering all the appropriate features like an excellent Infinity audio system, heated seats all around, a heated steering wheel, panoramic roof, rear sunshade, even a driver’s ventilated seat. Done up nicely with two-tone black and cream leather and stylish dark wood, the Cadenza has to make no apologies for its quiet and comfortable cabin. If we snap into our hyper critical mode the switchgear on the center console lags the best of the competition and the front grille still lacks personality in our opinion, but consider the pluses and add in the value of a ten year warranty and the $42k sticker price is spot on.

Kia made a strong showing at this year’s Detroit Auto Show with its GT4 Stinger concept car that seems to hint at a possible Scion FR-S competitor in the not too distant future. The concept looks great on the show stand and with specs like 315hp from a turbo four, 6-speed manual, Brembo brakes and an aggressive 20″ wheel/tire setup the Stinger should be fun to hustle just about anywhere. We’ve never been ones to turn down affordable sports cars and Scion shouldn’t have the market all to itself so let’s keep fingers crossed that the GT4 figures into Kia’s future product plans.

     Kia unveiled its new large front-wheel drive sedan, called the Cadenza. No, Kia did not name the car after a piece of furniture; that would be a credenza so have no fear of a companion model named the Davenport. Rather, Kia’s newest member of their ever-more-stylish lineup takes a musical theme originally introduced by the small Forte. Now that we’ve gotten the nomenclature out of the way, we can say that this attractive large sedan fills the spot left by the forgettable Amanti sedan that vacated the Kia lineup after 2010. The Cadenza is regarded as Kia’s premium sedan. On sale in other markets since 2009 this updated model debuts in America in the 2^nd quarter of 2013 as a 2014 model. As a premium vehicle the Cadenza features standard equipment such as leather seating, dual zone automatic climate control with rear seat ventilation, Smart Key keyless entry, 10-way power adjustable driver’s seat and Bluetooth wireless technology. Available features include a full-length panoramic sunroof with power retractable sunshade, HID headlamps, Nappa leather seats, a memory enabled 12-way ventilated driver’s seat, adaptive cruise control, Blind Spot Detection system and a Lane Departure Warning System. Powered by a 293 hp 3.3-liter V6 with 255 lb-ft of torque mated to a 6 speed automatic, the Cadenza joins a competitive premium sedan segment but doesn’t promise to lead the pack from the stoplight. Regardless, with its successful track record with the Forte and Optima we are eager to get behind the wheel of this stylish sedan and see just how much this car carries on the Kia family heritage. Read more…

       We’ve already given the Kia Optima our stamp of approval, but now that the even more efficient Hybrid version has spent some time in our fleet we thought it warranted another trip in front of the Automotive Trends’ cameras. You should watch the video for the full story but if you simply must have a spoiler the best thing about the Optima Hybrid is the 6-speed automatic and the worst has got to be the terrible stereo featuring the most frustrating preset setup we’ve encountered in recent memory. How can they be that bad, you ask? Watch the video, we say.

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Like the Sonata. Only Better.

     If you’ve been on the hunt for a new midsize family sedan you’ve probably already read our Hyundai Sonata review, but if you haven’t, allow us to sum up our thoughts on the Korean new kid. We loved everything but the artificial steering and messy handling, especially the unbeatable value and stellar fuel economy. So we had high hopes when the Sonata’s kissing cousin from Kia appeared on our schedule recently. The Optima shares almost everything mechanically with the well-received Sonata but wraps it all in completely distinct sheetmetal and tunes everything to suit Kia’s corporate Mazda-wannabe driving philosophy. We’re going to tip our hand a bit and tell you upfront that Kia has built a better Sonata and the competition has one more midsize contender to worry about. Read more…

      We have a 2011 Kia Optima in the fleet this week. We also managed a day’s reprieve from the rain. So with plenty of battery power in the camera Executive Editor Dye set out for the track to have a go in the Optima and bring you the details on why you shouldn’t be overlooking the sporty family sedan from South Korea. Read more…

      Kia used the Detroit Auto Show to reveal a possible entry into, of all things, a dormant segment. The KV7 is a concept designed to do a van right. It’s not one of these minivans that pretends to be manly or sporty or something it’s not. Kia designers wanted to build a van that was proud of its shape. Read more…