Kia continues its dramatic design makeover with the all-new 2011 Sportage SUV. Slated for a world debut at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show next month, this compact SUV is lower, longer and wider than the current model.
No other details were released, but it's safe to assume it will have four-cylinder power and a choice of front- or all-wheel drive. Worldwide sales are expected to start late this year.
Continue reading 2011 Kia Sportage Headed for 2010 Geneva Auto Show.
Inside Line tests hundreds of vehicles a year, but not every vehicle gets a full write-up. The numbers still tell a story, though, so we present "IL Track Tested." It's a quick rundown of all the data we collected at the track, along with comments direct from the test drivers. Enjoy.
Are you aware that the Acura RDX got a refresh for 2010? Maybe that front-end design was a tip off, or maybe you didn't notice anything at all. Don't feel bad, the changes are minimal both inside and out. Most of them are mere technology updates to keep the RDX in line with the rest of the lineup.
The only real mechanical change is the option of going with front-wheel drive only. Seems like a smart move as a substantial chunk of Acura owners probably don't really need all-wheel drive anyway. Plus, by ditching the extra hardware the RDX shaves nearly 200 pounds which improves mileage and reduces the base price by a couple grand.
So is the reduced weight worth the loss of traction? With its 240-horsepower, turbocharged four-cylinder, the RDX has always been fast out of the hole. Our test drivers took it to the track to see how it fared with its front wheels doing all the work.
Continue reading IL Track Tested: 2010 Acura RDX.
In addition to the 2011 Dodge Charger we showed you earlier today, there's another major refresh headed our way later this year. The 2011 Dodge Durango is also scheduled to return later this year and this prototype hints at the final design.
It's worth noting that this vehicle may emerge as the 2011 Dodge Magnum according to some internal documents. Not sure why Dodge would bother with the switch, it's not like the Magnum helped the previous vehicle much. This time around it won't be a wagon though, think more like a three-row crossover SUV. Pretty sure it will get V6 engines and possibly even a Hemi depending on how much leeway Chrysler has in terms of CAFE.
Here's the next installment of the BMW X5 M, X6 M "Snow Action" series. This time, there's no actual snow action, per se, as the vehicles have been let loose on an ice rink. At first, it's Dynamic Stability Control this, DSC that, but then the drivers switch it off and do some "pirouettes." Er, donuts.
Along with the SLK we spotted last week, our spy photographers captured another Mercedes-Benz vehicle headed for a redesign. The 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML is scheduled for release next year and it appears to be sticking to the same formula as the current model.
None of the styling cues visible here suggest anything more than a mild facelift. LED marker lights are visible up front while the rear is covered in the hard-shell camo favored by the Germans these days.
As we pointed out weeks ago, Mercedes-Benz is switching to a largely turbocharged lineup so expect to see the ML debut with both twin-turbo V6 and twin-turbo V8 engines. There weren't any signs of an AMG-tuned ML with the group, so it's unclear whether or not Mercedes plans to keep building AMG versions of its sport utility vehicles.
Apparently some journalist named Jeremy took BMW's SAVs to task for poor performance in the snow. BMW was not amused, so much so that it produced this video to show just how capable its vehicles are in the white stuff. This may or may not convince you that the X5 or X6 is a stupid vehicle.
You might be thinking, "2011 Kia Sorento? Did he just type 2011? I'm still trying to get used to writing 2010 on my checks."
Yes, it's true. Kia has decided to sell the all-new Kia Sorento as a 2011 model. They're allowed to do it, too, because the regulations say that anything produced after January 1st 2010 can wear the 2011 designation if the manufacturer so chooses.
Frankly, I think it's silly and confusing. Not to mention the fact that Kia will end up selling the 2010 car for some 20 months before the routine 2012 model change comes out a year after this coming September or October.
But Kia must have a very good reason. They have apparently chosen this path because the 2011 Kia Sorento is utterly different from the outgoing 2009 model. Perhaps the forward-looking number and the model-year gap it creates with the past (there is no 2010 Sorento) helps them make their point. "That's how all-new the 2011 Kia Sorento really is," they might say.
And they do have a point. Kia Sorentos of the "2009 and before" variety were body-on-frame SUVs with rear-drive architecture and optional 4WD systems that had a low-range transfer case. This made them fairly stout off-road performers, but a sold rear axle imbued them with a sometimes truckish ride. And they were built in Korea and sent here on huge Ro-Ro ships (roll on, roll off).
The 2011 Kia Sorento (available now) shares none of that. It's now a suburban crossover utility (CUV) that rides on front-drive unibody architecture loosely derived from the Kia Optima sedan (code-named MG). Its all-wheel drive system is more than suitable for snow and maintained dirt roads, but it's not designed to tackle rocky off-road trails. It now rides rather well on a compact multilink independent rear suspension that leaves sufficient interior room for a newly-available third-row seat. And last but certainly not least, the 2011 Kia Sorento is built in Kia's first U.S. plant, located in West Point, Georgia.
Enough, already. This one deserves a look.
The changes start up front, where the 2011 Kia Sorento rides on a MacPherson strut coilover (green) instead of 2009's double wishbone setup. The stabilizer bar is direct-acting, which means its link connects directly to the strut housing (yellow) for a motion ratio that's as close to 1-to1 as you can get with a strut.
Continue reading 2011 Kia Sorento: Suspension Walkaround.
That's about all we could think of when this press release came across our desk. In this case, the LX570 in question is raced in the Stock Full Size class of the SCORE Desert Challenge. According to its owners, it took a first corner hit from another competitor yet went on to win its class in the 200-mile race outside Laughlin, NV.
When they laid out their future product plan in a 12-hour press conference in Detroit two months ago, Chrysler-Fiat officials said the alliance would start selling a diesel Jeep Wrangler with an auto start/stop feature in the fourth quarter of 2010. Little did we know they were talking about Europe. Not the U.S. At a press conference in Detroit. Oh, right. Of course not. We should have known.
Kudos to the Toledo Blade (and Autoblog) for getting the clarification on this detail from Michael Manley, president of the Jeep brand.
As compensation, the Wrangler will possibly, apparently get a version of the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 later this summer.
Toledo Blade via Autoblog
Nissan and Infiniti confirmed today that they will have a booth at the 2010 New York Auto Show in late March. Additionally, the redesigned 2011 Infiniti QX56 will make its official debut there. This will be the first major U.S. show Nissan has attended this season, after skipping the LA, Detroit and upcoming Chicago auto shows.
Blurry images of the second-generation QX56 full-size sport utility leaked out of a dealers' meeting in Las Vegas last fall. The new QX was developed in Japan, rather than the U.S., and it's said to use unit-body construction as opposed to the first truck's body-on-frame architecture.
#NAIAS We'd anticipated the 2011 Lincoln MKX would get Ford's 350-horsepower, 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, but Lincoln officials evidently decided that the normally aspirated 3.7-liter V6 would get the job done. This V6 will make 305 hp and 280 pound-feet of torque -- respectable increases over the 2010 MKX's smaller 3.5-liter V6 (265 hp, 250 lb-ft). The refreshed 2011 MKX goes on sale this spring.
Chief engineer Elaine Bannon cited the 3.7-liter's combination of power and fuel economy as factors in the decision to use it over the twin-turbocharged EcoBoost. But given that the larger, seven-passenger MKT has the same fuel economy rating (16/22) with both the 3.7-liter and twin-turbo 3.5-liter, we suspect the decision had more to do with keeping base prices near the $40K mark. Lincoln hasn't announced 2011 pricing, yet, though.
As a consolation, the control layout should feel a lot more modern than last year's MKX, since the MyLincoln Touch interface is standard in the 2011 model (the system was non-operational in the hand-built showcar in Detroit's Cobo Arena). Also, we spent quite a few minutes walking around the MKX, and it wears the waterfall grille a lot better than it did last year's harmonica.
Jeep rooms next to Ferrari at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, so it would have been a sad sight if the brand had nothing new to display. The Jeep Liberty Renegade and Jeep Wrangler Islander don't exactly qualify as new vehicles, but they're brightly painted to give them a shot at standing out from the Ferrari Red.
The 2010 Liberty Renegade is exactly what you remember from the first-gen Liberty Renegade, less the auxiliary light rack. It's a mid-grade trim level between the Sport and Limited trims. Four-wheel drive is standard, and you get the expected contrasting fender flares and moldings, plus white-letter P235.70R16 all-terrain tires and skid plates. Inside, there's new seat fabric. The Renegade goes on sale in the first quarter of this year; pricing hasn't been announced.
There's also a retro motif to the Jeep Wrangler Islander, which is a throwback to an option group last offered in 1992. That Wrangler, too, came in a flamboyant shade of blue (Surf Blue Pearl Coat). If you can't pull the trigger on that paint code, you can have silver, black or white. But you won't be able to lose the "Tiki Bob" logos adorning the hood and the gray/blue seats.
This option pack also includes Jeep's 17-inch Moab wheels, heavy-duty rubber floor mats and contrasting blue stitching on the steering wheel. Look for a price tag of $1,120 when the Islander group becomes available on regular and Unlimited Wranglers in the second quarter of 2010.
The Wrangler Mountain option group is pretty much the same idea. It also comes with the Moab wheels, while adding tubular side rails, taillamp guards and a fuel filler door from the Mopar catalog. You can get it with Rescue Green, Deep Water Blue or Brilliant Black paint. The cost is a steep $1,820, so the fuel door better be carbon fiber or at least genuine 14-carat gold.
Yesterday we brought you semi-truck drifting. Today it's drifting in a Mercedes G55 AMG, and damn if it doesn't lift that inside wheel through the roundabout. This diversion comes to you courtesy of our vehicle testing assistant, Mike Magrath.
No one in the media had leaked anything about the GMC Granite yet, so General Motors took on the deed by itself. This detail photo was released today on the GM Labs design blog ahead of the Granite's debut next week at the Detroit Auto Show.
GM has described the Granite as an urban utility vehicle concept, which likely means it has all the toughness of a daisy combined with some really clever storage solutions for your smart phone.
Also, based on this computer-drawn silhouette, the Granite is smaller than any current GMC production vehicle, including the Terrain. It's also virtually identical in size and shape to the Scion xB.
So GMC is building us a box-shaped car named after an igneous rock.
Although it just debuted for 2009, Kia has put its seven-passenger Borrego SUV on ice for 2010: There will be no 2010 Kia Borrego. The long-term prognosis appears doubtful, too, as a Kia official told the Car Connection's Marty Padgett, "TBD."
We questioned Kia's decision to launch a traditional, body-on-frame SUV, particularly one with a V8 engine, in mid-2008. Fuel prices were uncomfortably high when it launched, and though they've since moderated, most people aren't looking to old-school trucks anymore for family transportation. This makes it doubly hard for a newcomer to get noticed, and evidently, the Borrego hasn't. Only 9,500 have been sold in 2009 as of November.
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