Search the Community

If you're one of those people out there who happened to buy the KIA Rio last decade, you may no longer recognise KIA cars of today. The thing is the South Korean automaker is picturing itself as 90 percent of an European brand. With that being said, the company has been decorating its cars with everything European, from LEDs to leather interiors and electronically retractable side mirrors. In addition to that, the South Korean brand is also seemingly pursuing the ST, RS, and GTI lineups from its rivals. All of these lineups are pretty legendary as they tend to make it to the cover of most car magazines every year. For KIA, on the other hand, it has already prepared the pro_cee'd GT to kick off with. KIA cee'd GT Launched just recently in Great Britain, the three-door sporty hatchback (or Sportback, as Audi would say) runs on a 1.6-litre turbo engine that promises a total power output of 201bhp. The good thing is, the pro_cee'd GT may not be KIA's only GT lineup as the company has confirmed that the Rio GT is a possibility. A KIA insider confirmed with Auto Express that if everything went well and that the KIA pro_cee'd GT was received warmly, the GT lineups could be seen expanded, possibly including the Rio GT. However, there may still be one other problem. It is said that KIA will also see how its five-door procee'd GT fares in the global automotive market before continuing with the Rio GT. But then again, the model won't be launched until 2014 and by then, the Rio would have been three years old. Well, if only KIA would 'pro_cee'd' with the Rio GT sooner..

If you happen to be quite well off or have some spare savings, it might be a good idea to consider staying at China. The economy in the country keeps growing positively that it has become a good place to live in. This has been proven even further with the recent huge investment by Volkswagen (VW) and the fact that the South Korean automaker KIA has now launched a new brand targeted specifically at the Chinese market. The brand is known as Horki and comes under parent company KIA. What we know is that, in Mandarin, 'Hor' or 'He' means together whereas 'Ki' or 'Qi' means air or atmosphere. And the word as a whole, means 'harmony'. Well, that makes sense to us as we think the first Horki concept vehicle looks dynamic indeed. For now, there's only one model that KIA is building for the brand Horki. Of course, we believe that there'll be more models later on. The model has yet to receive its official name but it is based on the platform also used by the KIA Forte. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that the first Horki model borrows design cues from the KIA Forte. As a matter of fact, from what we can see as far as design is concerned, this Horki concept vehicle doesn't have any similar design from any of KIA models. Slated for a 2015 release date in the Chinese automotive market, the first Horki model looks aggressive as well as sleek. This can be seen on the designs of the headlamps, front grille, air intakes, and rear taillights

Despite the recent massive recalls of Hyundai cars, the South Korean automaker keeps on trying to attract customers with its vehicle lineups. This time, it's the 'baby' Sonata's turn to amaze customers with its styling and features. Officially known as the Mingtu, the Chinese media prefer to call it the Sonata Lite. Regardless of what the more appropriate name is, the car looks quite attractive indeed. Judging from the leaked image, the Mingtu sports some visual styling cues that come from its bigger brother, the original Sonata. Yet, it has its own uniqueness to show as well. The headlamps, for example, are not the same as those of its bigger brother. Also, on the front bumper, there're LED daytime running lights ready to assist the car in terms of illumination. The Hyundai Mingtu is actually intended to occupy the gap that exists between the Sonata and the Elantra in a new segment in the Chinese car market. Rumour has it that this 'baby' Sonata will feature both 1.8 and 2.0-litre engines along with a six-speed manual or an automatic transmission. The image of the Mingtu can be seen on a billboard next to Hyundai's stand in the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show. If you can't wait to see this little baby with your own eyes, don't miss out the event that will start opening its doors to the press on the 20th April 2013.

If you own a Hyundai car, especially the Elantra, you might want to be more careful and try to avoid accidents as much as you can. Otherwise, you might risk ending up slicing your ear or probably even other body parts. No, we aren't making things up. This has happened to at least one Hyundai owner that we know of. It's a common thing for airbags to deploy in the event of a crash. However, for this sedan model from Hyundai, the Elantra, the deployment of the airbags just might prove not to be as smooth as expected. Thing is, when the airbags are deployed, a headliner support bracket will also be propelled. Unfortunately, in the case of the Hyundai Elantra, the bracket might become loose and even be completely dismounted. As a result, the bracket might end up flying across the car cabin, carrying a possible threat of causing laceration injuries to any of the passengers inside the car. The Elantra owner we talked about earlier had his ear sliced by this headliner support bracket and had reported it to Hyundai. According to Hyundai, this defect only applies to its aforementioned sedan model units that were built sometime between 2011 and 2013. To address this issue, the South Korean automaker is now recalling 186,254 units of the Elantra affected. For Elantra owners that have yet to receive notification from Hyundai or to find out more about this defect, it's advisable to contact Hyundai. Well, while we honestly think that it's possible to fix this issue simply by applying adhesive strips to the headliner, we do recommend that you contact your local Hyundai dealerships that will apply the fix in the upcoming May. Chances are, you will get the fix for free anyway.