With the recently launched Kia Seltos and the large Telluride making waves in different parts of the world, Kia is continuing its strong expansion in the crossover arena. The fourth-generation 2021 Kia Sorento was already revealed for Asian markets, but more details have been released with the debut of the U.S. version.
From the time Hyundai slipped the tiny Venue crossover “SUV” under the Creta in their lineup, it was only a matter of time before an equivalent Kia was on the way. Even while the Soul still exists globally, Kia has launched the 2021 Kia Sonet in India to be yet another installment to the ever-growing compact crossover segment. The Sonet packs the Seltos’ design features into a smaller footprint.
SUVs are so popular nowadays that they have all but eliminated market share for almost all other types of passenger vehicles, not least of them minivans. So to update their 2021 Kia Carnival, Kia took inspiration from the very popular “Improvise, Adapt, Overcome” meme. The new Carnival minivan has been infused with SUV styling elements to keep its head high in this raging sea of SUVs.
The third-generation Kia Optima was a design revelation for the boring sedan segment when it was launched in 2011. The fourth-gen followed in 2016, bringing some edgy styling to the table and the once ugly duckling turned into a darn good-looking swan. For its fifth gen, Kia has dropped the Optima name altogether and has launched it as the 2021 Kia K5, which has been its Korean-market name for the past decade.
A week ago, Kia had uncovered the facelifted version of their smallest hatchback, the 2021 Kia Picanto. This time the manufacturer has gone for a segment above and refreshed the next hatchback in their lineup, the Kia Rio. The 2021 Kia Rio brings in a mild yet adequate facelift and a bit more tech inside the car and under the hood.
Superminis never made a wave in our market despite having a decent number of good contenders. However, the segment is big when it comes to fleets, with Kia’s Picanto going up against the Chevy Spark, Mazda 2 and Peugeot 208. A facelift for the 2021 Kia Picanto has been rolled out in its home market.
Kia Motors Corporation has revealed the first official images of the new Kia Sorento, ahead of its first public appearance at the 2020 Geneva International Motor Show in March, which will be followed by a regional launch in the Middle East soon.
Kia is in the process of expanding its SUV lineup. With the Telluride pegged at the top, they have now globally launched a new quasi-SUV, the Kia Seltos, as their entry-level offering. It was first unveiled in India a few months ago and we hear an influencer-filled media launch event was quietly conducted in the UAE, which is probably why local reviews are sparse.
Safety is at the forefront of car development right now. Hyundai Motor Group has chipped into this transformation by developing an airbag that will deploy into the space between the driver and front passenger to prevent them from colliding into each other.
The decade-old Kia Mohave has finally been updated. Kia officially released a couple of images of the new generation model via their facebook page in South Korea.