Kia Canada surprises Montreal Auto Show with Track’ster Concept Vehicle

- Canadian debut of high-performance Soul-based concept - Aggressive design, all-wheel drive and 250 horsepower make for a weekend driver’s dream MONTREAL, Jan. 17, 2013 – Today Kia Canada Inc. took the wraps off of the track-inspired Track’ster concept vehicle for its Canadian premier at the Montreal Auto Show – a region which has a strong automotive enthusiast following. The performance-oriented three-door Soul coupe concept hints at what could possibly be the future design language of Kia’s popular Soul Urban Utility Vehicle, a redesign to be launched later this year. “The idea was to make the Track’ster tough looking, like a bulldog,” explained Tom Kearns, chief designer for Kia Motors America, leading the charge for the concept’s development. “But the car had to be approachable as well. We wanted to base the car in reality so people instantly knew it was a Soul, but with a lot of attitude. It had to be a bold interpretation that would change people’s conceptions of what a sporty Kia Soul could be.” Striking Exterior Design: The Track’ster displays an energized attitude, beginning with its eye-catching Whiteout and Inferno Orange exterior paint. The orange paint acts as a contrast on the white, accentuating the sportiness of the Track’ster as the shadows of the white paint draw out the aggressive nature of the concept. Lightweight carbon fibre surrounds Kia’s signature grille, incorporating yet another aspect directly related to racing into the exterior appeal. Integrated headlights, featuring compelling LEDs pronounce the race presence strongly from the front, as do the billet aluminum surrounded LED round fog lights, which play off the trapezoidal features found throughout the concept. Embraced between the fog lights is an oversized lower intake grille, capable of cooling the engine bay even under the most grueling driving conditions. The menacing front end is completed with a lower valance, trimmed in carbon fibre and Inferno Orange paint, riding just inches off the ground. Aggressive front fender flares with custom HRE-K1 monoblock billet performance wheels tucked beneath each corner. The wheels are wrapped in 245/40-19-inch front and massive 285/35-19-inch rear Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 high-performance tires. The wheelbase on the concept is stretched to 2,570 mm, 20 mm more than the production Soul. As expected on a vehicle with the Track'ster's performance intentions, large 355 mm Brembo vented and cross-drilled disc brakes are embraced by six-piston calipers in the front and 345 mm discs are paired with four-piston calipers at the rear. The Soul’s iconic angled roof carries forward on the Track’ster, however, on closer inspection Soul fans will notice that the concept has gone way with the rear doors. The front doors have been extended and decked with billet push-style handles, echoing the other billet aluminum finishes on the exterior. Similar in style to the lower front valance with Inferno Orange accenting, carbon fibre lower side valances incorporate functional rear-brake cooling ducts. Spirited Powertrain: With a look and name such as Track’ster, it is clear that performance is the concept vehicles top priority. A 2.0-litre turbocharged inline-4 engine pumps out 250 horsepower to the pavement, a 66 per cent increase over a production Soul. An electronically controlled four-wheel-drive system connects the power to the road, while a short-throw 6-speed manual transmission, fitted with a racing inspired spherical shift lever gives the driver ultimate control. The Track’ster is lowered on sport suspension tuned specifically for track performance. Go-fast Interior: Opening the driver’s door reveals details that continue from the exterior into the light and airy interior. The Inferno Orange colour finds itself on the deeply bolstered suede-covered racing seats. Granite Gray leather surrounds the entire interior landscape, providing a feeling of strength and stability. Granite Gray suede wraps the sport steering wheel and door panels as well. The instrument cluster glows in a deep red, housing the primary information in a large and easily readable manner. Auxiliary vehicle information is found atop the centre dash panel, while navigation, entertainment and HVAC controls are accessed through a large touch-screen located above the push-button Start/Stop. Behind the front seats is where the Track'ster takes a leap away from Soul similarities. The rear seats have been removed and replaced with a fully integrated equipment tray and spare-tire well. Large paneled bins stow racing gear such as helmets, suits, gloves and tools while emergency supplies are housed within a separate and highly visible Inferno Orange container. A custom rear strut brace incorporates a quick-release handle to allow for fast wheel changes. The Kia Track’ster will be on display at Kia Canada’s Montreal International Auto Show pavilion from January 18 – 27, 2013, at the Palais des congrès de Montrèal, level 7. ### Kia Canada Inc. (www.kia.ca – www.facebook.com/kiacanada) a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart is a subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) which was founded in 1999 and sells and services high quality, class leading vehicles like the Soul, Forte, Optima and Sorento through a network of 180 dealers nationwide. Kia Canada Inc. employs 161 people in its Mississauga, Ontario headquarters and four regional offices across Canada, with an all-new state-of-the-art facility to open in Montreal shortly. Kia’s brand slogan "The Power to Surprise" represents the company's global commitment to surprise the world by providing exciting & inspiring experiences that go beyond expectations.

Kia Optima Hybrid Gets a True Winnipeg Winter Test

Anytime I mention the Kia Optima Hybrid to customers they ask the same question, “How do they work in winter?” In order to answer this question I took a Kia Hybrid on an extended 2 day demonstration. Lots of people write about how the Kia Hybrid operates in winter in places like Vancouver, or Chicago, but Winnipeggers will only trust a true Winnipeg test so now we are giving it the true Winnipeg in January test. By the way average Winnipeg temperature in January is between -23 and -13 degrees C. The Kia Optima Hybrid that I drove was a 2012 hybrid that carried a MSRP of $30,895 plus freight, fees and taxes. Currently at time of writing Kia is showing a $3400 rebate on this vehicle which brings it level with its non hybrid counterpart.

When I was given the keys to this vehicle, it was 6pm at night, so it was dark already. The car was parked in the back lot where it had been sitting unused for the last 30 days or so. It was a cold January evening (-18 degrees C) and the car was sitting under 6 inches of snow and parked behind a plow windrow that was 8 inches high. After clearing the windshield and the driver's door I hopped in and pushed the quick start button. It started up right away and the seat quickly adjusted to the preset position. I let it warm up for a minute while I brushed the rest of the snow away from the top of the vehicle. When I hopped back in the vehicle I turned off the traction control and spun my way out of the snow that I was parked in. I drove the car up to the building and put a license plate on it. When I returned to the car it had already heated up. This was much quicker than I had expected and I was impressed. The number one thing that customers want to know when dealing with a hybrid is what is the fuel economy. Will it save enough fuel to pay for itself? The second is how long will the battery last and how much will it cost to replace it? Let me address the second point first. Kia Canada has put a 96 month 160,000 km limited warranty on the entire hybrid system. So if your battery fails within the first 8 years or 160,000 km it will be covered. This will mean that for the majority of consumers, battery life, and replacement value are non-issues.

Kia Optima Hybrid is in the Guiness Book of World records for “Lowest fuel consumption, 48 U.S. states: gasoline hybrid car” verified by a Guinness World Records adjudicator. In this display they achieved an average of 3.3l/100km. The one thing that we find in Winnipeg in January driving through the heart of the city is that you can throw energuide ratings out the window. No matter what vehicle you drive, ratings will actually be about 75% of actual gas mileage. Others may argue this but with my driving style and vehicle use I generally find these numbers are accurate no matter what vehicle I drive. This was true with the Optima Hybrid. Energuide ratings for this vehicle are 5.8 l/100km for city driving. Energuide ratings for the non-hybrid Optima are 8.6l/100km. The true mileage that I found for these two vehicles under this condition were 8.1 for the Hybrid and 11.7 for the GDI Optima. The Optima Hybrid still saves considerable fuel in Winnipeg in winter over its non-hybrid brother. One disclaimer though is that the vehicle did not run as an electric vehicle until about 17km into the trip so it was sitting between 11 and 12 l/100km until the last km in which it started running completely off the EV and average gas consumption plummeted. So for those who ask the question if the Hybrid will pay for itself , in this application the answer is resoundingly yes. Current rebates on the Hybrid make this vehicle priced about the same as the Optima EX. Therefore, costs of purchasing are approximately the same regardless whether you choose Hybrid or Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI). If the vehicle is driven 100,000km with this difference in fuel consumption, the savings will amount to $3780. This number is based on fuel at $1.05/litre. Savings will be greater at a higher gas price. Remember that this is based on winter driving alone. This will increase for anyone who commutes more than 20km per trip. As stated the EV motor started running after 17 km so gas mileage started to improve considerably. At the other end of the spectrum, if you are using your car just to go to the store and get a loaf of bread, you may not notice any winter savings. I will note that while driving the Hybrid in summer, I was running on full EV by the time I went around the block. So for all those that ask me if a Hybrid can stand up to our Winnipeg winters I will say “definitely”. It cold weather started after a long sit, it handled well on snow covered roads, it saved fuel over the long run, and it is priced competitively with the non-hybrid version.