New Kia Optima saloon

The all-new Kia Optima goes on sale on the 1st February as Kia targets the business fleet car market with this new model, with a diesel-only line-up. The car is available in six-speed manual or automatic transmissions with four trim levels available – all with a very high level of standard specification. The new Kia Optima offers class-leading space and CO2 emissions as low as 128g/km of CO2 and a combined mpg of 57.6, so is an ideal shortlist for any company car driver.

The Optima was unveiled at the New York Auto Show and became Korea’s top-selling car within a month of going on sale. To date nearly 300,000 Optimas have been sold worldwide and the car was designed by Kia’s Chief Design Officer (Peter Schreyer) and his team.  

Kia Optima

It now joins the Kia family of Sorento, Soul, Venga, Sportage, c’eed, Picanto, Rio and provides Kia a full range of vehicles to offer across a fleet company car policy.

The UK model line-up and pricing  

Kia Sorento

The Kia Sorento has just been voted the Best SUV at the Total 4X4 magazine awards for the second year running, beating off some stiff competition in a highly contested segment.

Editor Alan Kidd, said,”The Sorento was our reigning champion in the full-size SUV class, and it impressed us every bit as much this year as last. It’s style, poise, kit and practicality all score heavily in its favour. Make no mistake, this award wasn’t about just being cheap. The Sorento beat a long list of premium opponents because it’s very good at everything that matters. Its bargain price and unbeatable seven year warranty merely seal the deal”.

The latest version of the Kia 4×4 Sorento was launched in the UK in February 2010 and is available in two and four wheel drive versions, but it is the four-wheel drive that picked up this award. Kia contract hire on the whole range is on the site now if you fancy a 4X4 this winter.

Kia new four-door sports sedan

Kia is planning to unveil a brand new four-door sports sedan (saloon) concept at the IAA 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, plus the world premiere of the three-door version of the all-new Rio and a facelift version of the Kia Soul.

The new four-door sedan concept has a powerful, dynamic, forward-looking style and this new design clearly signals a new styling direction for the Kia brand. The car has rear-wheel drive and the sleek and muscular proportions of this sports sedan are married to a sophisticated and elegant four-seater cockpit.

Peter Schreyer, Kia Motors Chief Deign Officer, commented,”No matter from which perspective you look at it – this concept car is roaring with energy and ready for take-off. I believe the car is a strong statement from Kia: we are ready to fast forward to an all-new chapter”.  The new concept is certainly eye-catching and Kia continues to excel in attractive, yet affordable quality cars. We have Kia contract hire on the site now on all of their current range, including Picanto, Sportage, Sorento, Carens, C’eed, Rio, Soul and Venga.

Kia

Kia has been awarded a place on the vehicle purchase framework agreement from Buying Solutions, to offer Kia vehicles to central government and other public sector organisations, such as the NHS Trust and local councils.

The entire range of Kia cars will be made available via Buying Solutions including the Picanto city car, Kia Rio, Kia Sorento 4×4 and Kia Sportage. Most of the Kia car range come with safety features such as ABS with EBD, up to 6 airbags, Electronic Stability Control and most have  full Euro 5 NCAP safety ratings as well.

John Hargreaves, Head of Fleet and Remarketing at Kia Motors, said,”By working closely with Buying Solutions, Kia will reach a wider fleet audience within the public sector, and will be able to offer corporate fleet loans to sector departments”. Kia car leasing is also available off the site now.

Kia KV7

Kia has announced that is set to launch a new concept car at the North American International Auto Show 2011 which is being held in Detroit from the 10th to the 23rd January 2011.

Kia’s most recent concept car was the POP, a compact urban electric vehicle, which was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, however this new concept debuts a new convention-challenging design that may result in a production model. Kia’s design team has been delivering production vehicles such as the Soul, Sportage and Sorento which did resemble the original concept designs so it will be interesting to see if this trend continues.

New Kia Sportage

Kia is bringing out their fourth consecutive model to be developed on UK roads, with the new Kia Sportage. Neil Kent, Product Specialist, from Kia Motors (UK) said,” Once we had completed testing for ride quality, steering and dynamics with our European colleagues,vehicles were then brought to the UK for final set-up, benchmarking and evaluation. UK testing is invaluable as it allows us to ensure we have the right levels of comfort and performance for the very specific road conditions we have here”.

Kia Sportage on UK road testing

The new Kia Sportage has a striking design, a great on the road ability and looks likely to continue the success of the outgoing model and will be built at the state-of-the-art Zilina plant in Slovakia. This new model follows on from the other successful launches of the Soul, Venga and Sorento.

Used Car Expert Magazine has revealed the top 5 best and worst performers in 4X4 vehicle depreciation over a three year period. Depreciation is the biggest cost to a motorist and when you buy your vehicle this is something you may not really consider.

That is why contract hire is such an attractive option as the risk on depreciation is with the leasing company, not you. This is also why a car that costs more to buy may actually have a lower rental on contract hire.

Here are the findings from Used Car Expert:

Kia Cadenza

Kia Motors Corporation has released the first image of its new stylish saloon,the Cadenza. This all-new luxury saloon will make its debut at motor shows across the Middle East towards the end of this year.

The Cadenza has a bold headlamp design with LED surrounds plus a prominent grille and attractive tail-lights. Luxury features include heated steering wheel, power extendable seat cushions, automated defogging of the windscreen and ventilated front seats to cool you down on a hot day.

Currently Kia has no plans to bring this car into the UK, but the model shows that Kia is developing its design-led philosophy across all parts of the globe. Next year Kia will be launching the Venga and all-new Sorento.