Columbian Autocar Corporation, the exclusive distributor of Kia vehicles in the Philippines had on central display the stylish luxury sedan Cadenza. It showcases the continuing evolution in Kia’s striking design language, presenting a new concept in luxury sedans in terms of performance and technology. Other units on display were the following: Kia Sorento in 7-seater and 5-seater variants, Kia Soul, Kia Forte Koup, Kia Rio and the Kia Picanto – all sporting the tiger-nose grille platform

Also, an elaborate presentation that attracted a large audience during the opening day highlighted Kia’s display at the PIMS. The show featured the dramatic performances of Dulce, the Madrigal Singers and Douglas Nierras’ Powerdance entitled “Nature Calls – A Night at the Savannah.” This musical and dance presentation related to the “Drive the Green Road” theme of the motor show.

Test drives of Kia vehicles were also made available during the four-day car exhibition to heighten visitors’ Kia experience.

The event venues were located in the cities of Bucaramanga, Barranquilla, Medellin, Cali, Pereira and Bogotá during this past May and June. The music, color, and entertainment did not stop at any time as the mobile venues were visible on the country’s highways.

The launch of the event took place at the EXITO MALL, which offers the highest concentration of people in the city of Bucaramanga. About 1,000 people visited during the two days we were there. Kia kiosk was strategically located by the mall’s main entrance, and billboards and outdoors ads were very eye-catching and representative of our brand.

Our next stop was Barranquilla, where people just loved enjoying the live-broadcasted soccer matches and the city’s warm weather. The registration spot for the test drive was located at the entrance of the event and soccer game kiosks were available for everyone to enjoy.

In Medellin, about 2,800 people felt the excitement of the event with games, prizes and gifts. The test drives, soccer games, music and overall party atmosphere attracted many people. In Cali, 4,500 people experienced firsthand all the features, technology and design of our Kia cars. More than 110 Kia vehicles were sold during this stop.

Later on in Pereira the rain did not stop people from joining the Kia soccer party. All assistants including our local dealers, partners and media stood with us until the late hours of the night. In every city we had free press and advertising in the most important local newspapers. We also hosted a national recognized radio show from our venue.

The closure of the tour was celebrated in the beautiful city of Bogotá. We provided a service clinic for existing and potential Kia customers. 682 people of all ages and genders registered for the soccer game. They found it very entertaining and some of them tried more than four times hoping to win prizes.

The celebration lasted for three days at one of the most important malls of the city. All buyers and everyone who got a quote participated in a raffle of 5 tickets for the final match of the FIFA World Cup South AfricaTM. About 35,000 flyers were given away at the venue and video game spots reached 245 participants.

A VIP sitting area was offered to all participants processing car purchases and a big café area offered a buffet of snacks to test-drive participants and special guests, thereby giving us more time to offer all the special benefits.

Also, recognized national celebrities not only assisted with the event but also participated in the test drive. The picture below shows top model Natalia Paris who was signing autographs for children and buyers!

The event was very successful. Alvaro Mejia, a famous Colombian driver, was a special guest and he kindly gave tutorials on the different functions of the vehicles parts and accessories.

Our numbers show that about 14,591 people attended, 751 cars were sold at the venue and 1,734 Test Drives were provided.

We achieved our goal and we are very proud of image boost Kia received during the event. It was a new and wonderful experience for our team. Thank you to Kia Motors Corporation for proposing this creative initiative, and thank you to our dealer network for their great support.
We can’t wait until next year to go on tour again!

The newly applied AWD system offers greater responsiveness compared to the previous electronic magnetic coil method and employs an electronic hydraulic motor method that can reduce vibrations and noise to deliver a smoother driving experience. The use of a hydraulic motor allows direct operation of the system to maximize power transmission responsiveness.

The AWD system evaluates road and driving conditions by receiving data signals from various sensors and exerts exacting control over the clutch’s clamping force, allowing for variable control over the driving power that is relayed to the rear wheels.

According to this principle, the new AWD system can offer optimized driving power control depending on driving conditions. During off-road driving, the rear wheel driving power is maximized. It is then minimized for areas with lots of noise and vibration. During driving at high and constant speeds, settings are differentiated to maintain optimum fuel efficiency.

For example, during constant speed driving, the driving power is almost completely transferred to the front wheels. When cornering, driving power is relayed to the rear wheels in accordance to the turning radius and vehicle speed. If one or two of the front wheels slide, an appropriate amount of driving power is then relayed to the back wheels depending on the level of sliding.

In particular, during the ‘Lock’ mode, power is delivered to all four wheels to help the vehicle through adverse driving conditions.

Additionally, to ensure handling stability when the AWD system is activated on rough roads, a handling logic function that distributes front/rear driving power through yaw/lateral acceleration control was added to minimize over- and under-steering and to improve turning ability.

All of these features provide the Sportage with the leading AWD system among competitors in its class.

I took the liberty of taking photos of some of the Kia cars I’ve seen on my trip and thought I’d share them with you. I hope you enjoy them and the rest of the summer, too!

Kia Carnival (Sedona) at the Arctic Circle in Finland

Kia Carnival (Sedona) in Rovaniemi (Arctic Circle) in Finland at a very bright 10:15pm.

Kia in Tallinn, Estonia

Kia cee’d is Finland’s top selling vehicle… here it is near the harbour in Helsinki.

Kia cee’d wagon in Helsinki’s design district

Kia Motors Finland is currently having its most successful year in its history – thanks to great dealers and cars like these!

Kia Motors Finland supplied us with a great loaner during our visit which we took to Porvoo – Finland’s second-oldest city.

Kia Sorento along the water of Porvoo, Finland.

The design process is always an exciting stage. As designers, we take it serious when defining our users and their likes because we are essentially designing for them. The image board is a collage of materials and finishes based on the extensive research done on user needs.

The popularization of automobiles has led to the prominence of regional diversity. To satisfy the fast-changing demands of consumers, Optima introduced a new sporty sedan concept of “smart mobility beyond simple transportation” after conducting image studies for color and material development. Much care and attention was devoted to developing quality patterns and materials for trims to maximize the sporty sedan image.

These Images and materials are then translated into our production interiors, such as seat cloth patterns, accent finishes, textures and colors.
In the case of carbon patterns, a greater three dimensional effect is achieved. A hardy and smooth material for the indicator imparts a solid and refined feel.

Painting and leather wrapping further enhances the sporty and upscale image, while the double-layered wood grain plays up the sedan’s sophistication.

Kia also studied “emotional technology” and grafted our findings to the process of designing cars. In other words, we took a psychological approach to improve drivers’ moods according to their bio rhythms. The research was aimed at providing drivers with more energy and a comfortable interior environment.

We developed smart, heated seats that use heat-transferring fibers. The superior heat-emitting, anti-bacterial and far-infrared radiation properties contribute to producing a pleasant driving condition while the absence of electromagnetic waves promotes positive energy.

We needed to differentiate the exterior color to emphasize the sporty sedan concept. To this end, we selected Snow White Pearl and Satin Metal to convey Optima’s unique appeal and character; Platinum Graphite that expresses solidity and energy; and Light Graphite that imparts a rich imagination. We think the colors complete the look of the new concept sporty sedan. Do you agree?

Generally, the ride and handling of our new cars have been developed to suit the specific road conditions, environment and driving characteristics of various regions of the world.

In other words, a Sportage sold in Europe will look pretty much the same as a Sportage in the US or Korea. However, drivers may feel some difference once they get behind the wheel.

Roads in European countries like Belgium tend to have rough surfaces and are full of curves while drivers there enjoy high speeds. As such, European drivers prefer vehicles that deliver a hard ride and immediate response. In contrast, the US mostly has wide and long-stretching roads that are well paved. Long-haul driving is also common in the US. That’s why American drivers look for riding comfort and neutral handling. Korean drivers have similar preferences as their US counterparts. That said, not all drivers fit these descriptions. Unlike other European countries, the emphasis in the UK on ride and handling is rather different. Because the UK has more unpaved roads than other parts of Europe and leans towards sporty driving, Kia cars sold in the UK have different ride and handling qualities than those sold in other European countries.

Australia, however, presents a tricky situation.

In some ways, the vast continent appears to have similarities with the US. However, Australia is also similar to Europe due to its unpaved roads, long-haul driving and unique bitumen paving.

For that reason, some Kia cars have the same ride and handling characteristics as those sold in the US while others share the same qualities as cars sold in Europe.

But things will be different from now on.
In October, the Kia Forte (known as Cerato in some regions) 5-door will debut in Australia where hatchbacks form the mainstream in the C-segment. The Australian launch of Kia’s rising star, the all-new Sportage, is also in October. Kia’s Australian sales subsidiary put in a request for the Forte (sedan, KOUP and 5-door) and Sportage to have their ride and handling tailored to Australian needs. About one million vehicles are sold annually in Australia, which is rather low considering the huge land mass (Annual car sales volume is also one million in Korea). Nevertheless, the Overseas Product Team and the Vehicle Testing Team of our R&D center in Korea decided to accept the request given the strong determination of the Australian sales subsidiary to achieve a dramatic brand transformation based on high expectations for the Forte 5-door and Sportage. Members of the two teams traveled to Australia and went on an extended tour around the country with local automobile journalists and local Kia personnel. The cars taken on the tour were the Sportage 2.0 (gasoline 2WD, diesel 4WD), Forte 2.0 and of course several competing models.

During our tour, we experienced all the road conditions in Australia, from urban driving, highways and country roads to unpaved roads, bitumen roads, winding lanes and deserts.

It was a grueling schedule with extensive driving every day, standing meetings every two hours, and evening wrap-up sessions. But everyone enthusiastically contributed their views.

On the last day, we reached a consensus on the best ride and handling for Australia and drew up a master development schedule. It marked the end of a review, development and application process based on organic cooperation between the product, research and Australian sales units.

For many months thereafter, the three units exchanged opinions and proceeded with sample development, installation, review and corrections. Eventually, we developed a Forte and Sportage with chassis and suspension characteristics optimized for Australia. These were Kia’s first cars tuned specifically for the Australian market.

The Forte and Sportage specially developed for Australia will arrive at local Australian dealerships in October.

Congratulations, Australia!

Diesel R-2.0 Engine
Si-hyeok Ryu, Sr. Research Engineer, Passenger Diesel Engine Design Team

The Sportage is powered by the strongest “hearts”: the independently developed high-tech clean passenger diesel R engine and the internationally recognized Theta II 2.0 World Engine.

First, let’s take a look at the diesel R-2.0 engine that boasts world-leading output and fuel efficiency among same-class peers. It is being hailed as an eco-friendly option in the 2.0 liter class passenger diesel engine market, a segment which has been experiencing the fiercest competition among global automakers.

The R-2.0 engine benefits from the third generation common rail system and is equipped with numerous new technologies such as the 1800 bar Piezo injector, highly-efficient electronic variable turbo charger and a particulate filter that is directly attached to the engine.

The engine also boasts performance far above same-class vehicles, with maximum output of 184 horsepower and maximum torque of 40.0kgm. At the same time, it also offers class-leading fuel efficiency of 15.6km/l.

In addition, the Sportage’s diesel R-2.0 engine comes with environmentally-friendly technology and competitiveness as it satisfies Euro-5 emissions standards which are one of the strictest environmental standards.

The strong and earth-positive passenger diesel R-engine is without a doubt, the heart of the Sportage!

Theta II 2.0 Gasoline Engine
Seung-seok Lee, Sr. Research Engineer, Gasoline Engine Design Team

The Theta II 2.0 liter engine for the Sportage is the internationally recognized World Engine. However, Kia Motors engineers were not content to rest with that fact and applied an array of optimized new technologies to fine tune the Theta II engine for the Sportage.

The newly reborn Theta II 2.0 liter engine is equipped with new technologies such as Continuously Variable Valve Timing (CVVT), VIS (Variable Induction System) and a cylinder head that lowers the exhaust temperature. As a result, the engine offers class-leading performance of 166 maximum horsepower and 20.1 kgm maximum torque. Now let’s take a closer look at some of the new technologies featured in the Sportage.

First, the CVVT enables optimal intake/exhaust valve timing to improve fuel efficiency and reduce exhaust gases like hydrocarbon by up to 30%.

The variable induction system is a technology that controls the intake port by engine speed ranges (mid-range, low/high speed) to enable optimized performance throughout all driving speed ranges.

Lastly, the cylinder head that reduces exhaust temperature enhances the heat transmission of exhaust gas by increasing the heat transference area of the engine’s combustion chamber. This reduces the temperature of exhaust gas and can improve fuel efficiency during high-speed driving by approximately 3%. In other words, it’s a technology that reduces the temperature of gases emitted outside the vehicle to enhance fuel efficiency.

There are many other new technologies present in the Theta II 20.0 liter engine that contribute to its excellent power and fuel efficiency. Listen to the strong “heartbeat” within the Sportage!

※ Editor’s note: Power/torque/MPG figures may differ by region.