Figuring out a vehicle’s total cost of ownership before setting out to make the purchase can be very difficult. Luckily for us, Kelley Blue Book has conducted a cost of ownership study factoring insurance, maintenance, repairs and fuel expenses. According to KBB’s findings, pinchpenny  shoppers stand to gain the biggest bang for their buck by choosing Kia automobiles.

Kelley Blue Book director of vehicle valuation Juan Flores said, “Car shoppers should take the time to compare vehicles on their consideration lists to fully understand the financial implications involved with cost of ownership. While a vehicle might be less expensive up front, the cost of fuel for that model, insurance, and other expenditures could make it the less appealing choice for their wallet in the long run.”

According to the researchers at KBB, new Kia Soul, Optima, and Sportage models earned top marks thanks to its great fuel economy, its dramatic improvement in quality, and its rising trade-in values.

Other automakers that stacked up well in the study include Audi, for its low depreciation as well as its respectable mileage for its segment. Audi vehicles that carry high values include the Audi A3, A4, and Q5. Despite an expensive price tag, the Audi A5 premium coupe also emerged a winner with five-year ownership costs at $56,908, a $5,000 advantage over other vehicles of its class.

Segment wise, the Nissan Versa came out on top in the highly contested subcompact segment. At a 5-year ownership projection of $29,252, it is the lowest of any model in the study. The compact crossover Nissan Juke wins for its class at $36,627. In the midsize car segment, the Hyundai Sonata’s estimated 5-year ownership costs were $38,476. The most expensive vehicle to win its segment is the Lexus LS460 for the high-end luxury car segment. The five-year cost of an LS460 is $90,234, attributed to its low up-front costs,  repair costs, minimal depreciation and low insurance.

In the hybrid and electric segment, Honda Insight won the hybrid category at $32,884 over five years. The real surprise in the segment is the Chevrolet Volt plug-in besting the Nissan Leaf. Although the Volt carries a $40,000 price tag, $7,500 federal credit and minimal energy or maintenance expenditures as well as its likely trade-in value makes it a smart buy.

Kelley Blue Book explained that many manufacturers make hybrids and its inherent fuel economy advantages a selling point to frugal minded car buyers. However, KBB’s study revealed that the best-in-category Honda Insight Hybrid is still more than $1,000 more expensive than the Nissan Versa and Kia Soul over a 5-year period.

GALLERY: Kia Soul

Kia has been talking about a rear-wheel drive luxury sedan for a while, and now we’ve got the pictures to prove that they’re serious.

Seen here is the Kia K9 undergoing some winter testing in northern Sweden. We can already see some cues from the Kia GT concept, like the full LED headlights.

The K9 is based on the rear-drive platform from the Hyundai Genesis. That said, engine options could include the brand’s direct-injection 3.8-liter V6 making anywhere from 333 hp to 350 hp. Plus you have to think a V8 will be available, such as the 385 hp 4.6-liter Hyundai unit, or the 429 hp 5.0-liter version. Perhaps most exciting is the possibility of a turbocharged 3.3-liter V6 making 390 hp – as seen in the Kia GT Concept.

As for transmission choices, look for either the 8-speed unit recently introduced in the Genesis lineup, or a possible 10 speed automatic that’s currently in development.

Expect the K9 to arrive later this year as a 2013 model year car and to be aimed squarely at German luxury brands like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

GALLERY: Kia K9

If you were able to keep your eyes off of Adriana Lima to acknowledge that there was indeed a car in Kia‘s Super Bowl ad, then you should find this Optima SX Limited familiar. The top-of-the-line Limited Package for the 2012 Optima SX was made official today at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

The fully-loaded trim sits on top of the turbocharged Optima SX and starts with a $3,300 package as an option. Included at that price is black or white Nappa leather added to the seats, door panels, and center console, LED daytime running lights, wood interior trim, additional exterior chrome, 18-inch wheels, red front brake calipers, a first-aid kit, and the ever-important SXL badging.

But here’s the catch. Reaching for the Limited package requires you to also purchase the $4,350 SX Technology and Premium package, bringing the Optima SX Limited to a whopping $34,900. With it however, you will also get a backup camera, in-dash navigation, eight-speaker Infinity audio system, heated and cooled front seats, four-way power front-passenger seat, panoramic sunroof, heated rear outboard seating, and power-folding mirrors. Unfortunately only three colors are available for the Optima SX Limited: Ebony Black, Snow White Pearl, and Titanium Metallic.

Regardless, you’ll get to enjoy the benefits of a turbocharged, 2.0L engine with 274-hp and a six-speed automatic transmission.

GALLERY: 2012 Kia Optima SX Limited Package

GALLERY: 2012 Kia Optima SX Limited Reveal

You wouldn’t expect a Kia to be the star of an auto show. Then again, you probably wouldn’t expect a 250 hp, widebody Kia Soul.

Unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show, the wildly modified Track’ster is just a concept… for now. Kia has announced that while it has no plans to bring this specific car to market, company execs are awaiting market reaction to judge if a high-performance crossover is in the cards for Kia.

GALLERY: Kia Track’ster Concept

Find out more about the Track’ster below and let us know if you think Kia should build a high performance crossover:

Continue Reading…

Kia, you’re such a tease. Today at the Chicago Auto Show, the Korean automaker revealed what it’s calling the Trak’ster Concept. But this sport cross came with a disclaimer, “there are no current plans to produce the Track’ster”.

Boo! Hiss.

Of course, that has to be the case, with this wild widebody and 250 hp turbocharged Soul just too extreme for the road.

Expanding on Kia’s Optima Super Bowl ad with the tag line “A Dream Car for Real Life”, the Track’ster was created to show what happens when a dream becomes a reality.

Designed to add some bulldog aggressions says Tom Kearns, chief designer for Kia Motors America, along with some significantly wider fender flares that add 5-inches to the width of the factory car, the Track’ster has a sportier appeal thanks to the removal of two doors. Inside the big fenders are 19-inch HRE wheels with 245 wide front tires and 285 wide rears. Keeping with the track theme, braking potential has also been upgraded with 6-piston front calipers and 14-ich rotors, while out back are four-piston units with 13.6-inch disks.

Power is generated by a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cyinder making 250 hp – a 66 percent increase over the standard car. That power makes it to the ground through an electronically controlled four-wheel drive system and (of course) a six-speed manual transmission.

The interior of the Tack’ster further conveys its track-ready capabilities with orange suede racing seats up front. The rear seating area has been removed to make room for a spare tire and the tools you’ll need to work on your car at the track.

As though teasing us with such an impressive performance crossover and then denying plans to build it weren’t bad enough, Kearns continues to tease us more, commenting that concept cars like this, “allow KMA’s design team to dream about what could be. Whether that dream becomes a reality or not is a separate question.”

GALLERY: 2013 Kia Track’ster Concept

GALLERY: 2013 Kia Track’ster Reveal

In the auto business, 2011 proved to be the year of the Koreans; both Hyundai and affiliate Kia sold a record number of vehicles, while their shares outperformed those of other automakers, including the likes of heavyweights such as General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen.

That said, some of the sales in new vehicles from the Koreans actually cannibalized others within their ranks, notably the Kia Optima (K5 in South Korea), which after its latest redesign saw orders triple, though some of that came at the expense of Hyundai’s Sonata, which only saw demand increase by some 5.2 percent in the same period.

There’s every chance the same thing could happen again with Kia planning to launch the more upmarket K9, designed to go after the same customers as the Hyundai’s Genesis and Equus.

Frank Ahrens, a spokesman for Hyundai said the car-to-car rivalry between the two brands extends to all segments. Further complicating matters is the fact that although Hyundai and Kia are overseen by the same chairman (Chung Mong Koo) and share a development center, they are run as two separate companies and arch rivals at that.

There’s no question that Hyundai’s original 51 percent purchase of Kia Motors back in 1998 rejuvenated the brand and helped it grow into a purveyor of world-class vehicles with competitive prices. All the same, the companies need to sort out their differences now more than ever because it seems global competition is going to intensify in 2012 especially with Honda and Toyota returning to pre-disaster capacity.

This will likely mean Hyundai and Kia will need to develop a successful alignment strategy for their respective product lines, for example: focusing one brand on premium products and the other on volume sales. In doing so, they stand a greater chance of stealing sales from Japanese, American and European rivals instead of each other.

It seems that signs of greater product differentiation between Hyundai and Kia’s offerings are afoot; Kia’s European COO, Paul Philpott, said during a recent interview that “Hyundai will become the mainstream brand with Kia [functioning as] the sportier, dynamic little brother.”

[Source: Bloomberg]

Did you think that every automaker’s secrets were revealed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit? Think again.

At least ten new models will debut at this year’s Chicago Auto Show, which kicks-off this Wednesday, February 8th. Here’s a quick round up of what to expect:

Acura

The ILX Sports Sedan will debut, and replace the TSX. The new ILX will be based on Honda’s Civic platform, and share the powertrain choices. Additionally, the ILX will show off three engines, including a Hybrid. The ILX will be targeted towards a younger crowd, and is being called a “gateway” to the luxury brand lineup.

Joining the ILX will be a new RDX. The popular SUV will be redesigned and will show off a wider track, a longer wheelbase and a new V6 engine. The RDX will be showing off some new technologies as well, including Pandora Internet Radio, and a Text-to-Speech SMS voice texting.

See the rest of our Chicago Auto Show preview below:

Continue Reading…

Kia‘s new Track’ster concept is set to be debuted at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, and Kia is building more hype today as the Korean brand released a new photo of the sporty crossover.

While it is only a picture of the back end of the car, it shows some interesting design elements, namely the “C” shaped tail lights, dual exhaust pipes and flared rear fenders which look like sports car style air intakes on the bottom corners of the car.

The Track’ster is based on the Kia soul platform, although it will take on an image of its own sporting two doors, a chopped roof line and we can only assume a turbo charged engine, probably the 1.6L four cylinder found in the Veloster Turbo.

Check out AutoGuide’s coverage of the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

Unveiled at the 2009 Detroit Motor Show, the Kia Soul’ster concept dared to prove basic transportation could also be stylish and interesting.

Three years have come and gone but new information has finally surfaced about the Kia, buried in a press release about the Track’ster concept – set to be unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show next week. Despite previous reports that the Soul’ster convertible has been axed, the Kia release says the convertible crossover is “currently under final assessment for production.”

The original Soulster concept looked like a modern Suzuki Sidekick with a chopped windscreen and an innovative two-piece top that allows passengers to open up the front and rear roof independently. The design also features attractive material finishes such as the anodized metal thick roll-bar, fender vents and skid-pad inserts.

If approved, the Soul’ster should be available with a 1.6L 4-cylinder that delivers 138-hp and a more powerful 2.0L that makes 164-hp.

GALLERY: Kia Soul’ster

Click here to read AutoGuide’s 2012 Kia Soul Review

Kia is looking to create some excitement at next week’s Chicago Auto Show, debuting a new concept car called the Track’ster.

Based on the brand’s popular Soul crossover, the hopped-up Track’ster will be the “ultimate performance” Soul and feature sleek new body that does away with two doors for an aggressive coupe look.

There are no details on the engine, but look for something exciting, along the lines of the turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder found in the new Veloster Turbo, which makes 201 hp.

Look for dull details from the big reveal next week and until then, check out AutoGuide’s Chicago Auto Show preview here.