Despite the global economic crisis, Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia have seen a rapid rise in global sales, thanks in part to their value for money offerings, but also a new range of models.

As a result of the new sales records and increased demand, the two carmakers that currently form the world’s fifth largest automotive group, increased the shifts in some of their plants and reevaluated their 2011 overall target to 6.6 million, up from 6.33 million units in the beginning of the year.

The president of Hyundai Motors, Chung Jin-haeng, told Reuters that he has set an even bigger target for 2012: “We aim to sell about 7 million vehicles next year. We expect to reach the target if we run our factories at full capacity.”

He did add though that the target has not yet been finalised and he declined to clarify each carmaker’s sales target separately. Several analysts including Korea Investment & Securities’ Suh Sung-moon think that Jin-haeng is being rather conservative in his estimates. “I expect Hyundai and Kia will be able to achieve sales of 7.2 million vehicles next year, with Hyundai’s China plant starting production and Kia introducing a third shift at its Slovakia plant”, said Suh Sung-moon.

via CarScoop

‘Overlooked’ would be how we’d describe Kia Motors in South Africa up until a few years ago. To remedy this perception, or rather lack thereof, the company has made bold moves, including offering an industry leading 5-year/150 000 km warranty on all their vehicles and more recently by offering a fresh range of stylish new models, which began with the Soul, followed by Cerato and a just few weeks ago, the Sorento SUV.

The Cerato was launched towards the end of last year, around the same time that Chevrolet launched their new Cruze. The two new comers go head-to-head in the compact-sedan market and although our purpose here is not to compare the two, you can judge or yourself by taking a look at our test of the 1.6 Chevrolet Cruze.

Interior
Inside, the Cerato’s cabin offers enough space in both the front and the rear. The black cloth covered seats are comfortable, a big improvement over those of the Soul, which lacked lumbar support. It’s easy enough to find a commanding driving position, thanks to a height and reach adjustable steering-wheel. Instrumentation is clearly legible, although we would like a traditional analogue temperature gauge instead of the blue/red lights used. The indicator stalks and other switch gear have a positive feel about them and all work in a logical manner.

The centre stack in the dashboard houses controls for the air conditioning, radio/cd/mp3 player and flows down towards the transmission console, where you’ll find a useful storage tray in front of the gear lever, as well as two cup holders between the handbrake and armrest. A small but valuable accessory offered by Kia is that of a connector to charge and link your iPod to the radio – something other manufacturers should take note of. While we’re on that point, the sound quality of the radio is nothing fantastic and suffers from over eager bass reproduction.

The Cerato’s interior plastics are well screwed together and equally well finished off. The various textures used in the dashboard help to achieve a smart and tasteful look, while a soft metal finish has been applied to the interior door handles, steering wheel centre, door trims, transmission console and the centre stack.

For a small family of four, ample storage space is available and includes two cup holders (front and rear), a dashboard glove box that is 20% larger than before, a sunglasses holder, as well as storage bins in each door. The rear seat backrest is split in a 60/40 configuration and when folded down, increases carrying capacity over the already ample 415-litres. A nice touch is the rubberised floor mat in the boot, which helps to prevent luggage from rolling around, as well as the anti-dazzle rearview mirror – an expensive option on some more expensive cars.

From a safety aspect, the new Cerato features a comprehensive list of features as standard. Passengers can travel safely knowing they have the benefit of ABS, EBD, driver and front passenger airbags, side and full-length curtain airbags, active head restraints and an auto impact door unlock mechanism.

Exterior
By now you would have noticed the Kia Cerato on the road, even if you weren’t sure what it was at first glance. There’s a very good reason for this. In 2006, Kia appointed Peter Schreyer as their head of design. Peter who? Peter Schreyer joined Kia after 25 years with Audi, during which time he penned the classic lines of the Audi TT. But enough with the history lessons, one look at the Cerato and you’re instantly drawn to a family sedan with bold lines and stylish face – something quite uncharacteristic of most passenger cars in our local C-segment.

Front fog lamps, colour coded side mirrors with integrated indicators, chromed door handles to match the front grille, black accents in the rear bumper and 16-inch alloy wheels, round off the 1.6′s suave look. Our test vehicle wore a coat of Kia’s ‘Dark Cherry’ paint and turned more than a few heads during our test period – we were even waved down in a parking lot only to be told “what a nice colour”.

The Drive
According to Kia, the experience you should have behind the wheel of the new Cerato is one of “precise vehicle control and good ‘feel’”, thanks to the car’s speed-sensitive, motor driven, power-assisted steering. However, we feel the manufacturer still has some way to go to achieving this.

The inherent straight line stability of the new Cerato is fine – only the blustery Cape Doctor warranted steering corrections. Despite the all-new coupled torsion beam axle, the Cerato can get a little ‘squirelly’ over a series of bumps, which is not an endearing trait. The rear suspension also seems to be a little too softly sprung, with a full boot of luggage, or heavy compliment of rear passengers resulting in a more wallowy feel. The new rear suspension setup does have its benefits though – a 12 kg weight saving over the previous multi-link setup, as well as a more compact layout resulting in more interior cabin and cargo space.

As you might well have guessed, cornering in the Cerato is a somewhat benign experience, thanks to an artificial and over assisted steering setup. The car always goes where you point it, but with a definite disconnect between the driver and the road. Around town these attributes are not as pronounced, in fact the light steering is welcomed, but on the open road the steering is more functional than sensational.

Performance
The 1.6 Kia Cerato, is powered by, yes you guessed it, a 1,6-litre 16-valve engine, which produces a useful 91 kW at 6 300 rpm. This makes it one of the most powerful engines in its class, on par with Toyota’s 1.6 Auris and Corolla models and second only to the snappy little Renault Twingo RS. The 5-speed gearbox is easy to operate but could do with an extra cog to further improve fuel consumption and reduce noise at cruising speeds. And cruise the Cerato does, with just over 1.2 tonnes to haul around, the gutsy engine pulls well and maintains a comfortable pace with relative ease. Despite not having a 6th gear to lower engine speed (the Cerato maintains close to 3 500 rpm at 120 km/h), the engine returned an admirable fuel consumption of 7.6 l/100km.

What we like…

• New face of Kia breathes a bit of life into the traditionally bland styling of the C-segment.
• Gutsy and economical 1,6-litre engine.
• iPod & Aux-In connections and anti-dazzle rearview mirror as standard.

What we would like…

• Steering feel.
• A more composed rear suspension setup when carting heavier rear passengers and loads.

When the KIA Soul made its local debut a few months ago, managing director of KIA Motors South Africa, Ray Levin, said “This is a brand new urban crossover packed full of liberating ideas”. Brand new it certainly is, but we’re not sure about the ‘liberating ideas’ part. One thing is for sure though, it’s like no other car on the road today.

Exterior
Riding 165 mm above the ground with short overhangs both front and rear, the Soul is positioned in the MPV / SUV arena (the KIA Sedona MPV rides just 2 mm higher, while the new Sorento SUV sits 19 mm higher) but looks like neither. KIA call the Soul an ‘urban crossover’, or ‘crossover utility vehicle’ (CUV), which we suppose is a term that fits the Soul better than it ever could VW’s CrossPolo or the now extinct MG Rover Streetwise.

At the front, the Soul’s high bonnet and rounded forms imply power and strength, while the bulging wheel arches and wide track give the car a broad stance that heightens its sense of stability. Large head lamps and a chrome grille give Soul a ‘friendly face’ and the prominent centre bumper shouts ‘tough-not-rough’. The A-pillars are masked with a high-gloss black moulding for a wrap-around look that is crucial to the Soul’s appearance.

It’s a quirky design that elicits a second glance wherever it goes and whether you love it or hate it, getting noticed on our crowded city streets says something.

Interior
The Soul makes extensive use of plastics to form a cockpit that is adequate rather than attractive. The centre console breaks the mold by standing out from and extending the width of the dashboard, with a grey highlight incorporating the radio and climate controls. The switch-gear is simple to use and well laid out, with all instrumentation being lit up with red back-lighting. The illuminated instrument panel is a pleasure to read during the day, but without being able to adjust the brightness it’s overpowering at night and takes away some of the contrast provided between a darker cabin and brighter headlights. Pleasantly surprising features were the satellite controls on the steering wheel for adjusting the radio, as well as USB connection for plugging-in your iPod or MP3 player. Electrically powered windows, both front and rear, provide a touch of convenience in a well put together interior, free of any squeaks or rattles.

As can be expected from its boxy design there is plenty of space inside the KIA Soul, especially when it comes to headroom. The glove box is one of the largest we’ve witnessed, but the bright red interior colour it shares with the sunglasses case atop the dash, clashed with the rest of our test car and looked out of place – unless of course you opt for a red Soul. The Soul welcomes four adult passengers with plenty of legroom, in addition to the stratospheric levels of headroom available. However, the driver’s seat lacks support for one’s back, particularly for the arch area, which is far from ideal. Luggage space is an adequate 671 litres, handling the weekly shopping and school runs with ease – and the rear seats can be folded down in a 60/40 split for extra carrying capacity.

On the safety front, the KIA Soul is equipped with three-point safety belts for all passengers, with pretensioners and load-limiters in the front. Active headrests move forward and upward within milliseconds of an impact to cushion the head and prevent whiplash. Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) are standard on all models, as are the dual front airbags. Side and full-length curtain airbags are available on the ‘high-spec’ models.

The Drive
The Soul finds a good balance between the power of its engine and handling of its chassis. Considering its ride height, the Soul handles well and does not suffer from excessive bodyroll as one might expect by looking at the car’s proportions. The steering is light and responsive, with a sharp turning circle that makes driving around town a doddle. When pushed, the Soul will understeer, but its handling is completely predictable and easily remedied by easing off the throttle. In fact, its predictable handling helps to make the Soul a fun car to drive and even though it’s not sporty by design, the Soul does humour you if you decide to ‘hotfoot’ it through a set of turns. The combination ABS and EBD linked to disc brakes up front and drums at the rear, work well to bring the Soul to a stop.

The Soul is at home on city streets, however once out of town and travelling at our national speed limit the upright nature of the Soul lends itself to wind noise. Coupled with the high-revving engine and steering that isn’t speed sensitive, or tightened as speed increases, open road driving can become tiring over long distances.

Performance
The KIA Soul is powered by a 1,6-litre DOHC 16-valve engine that produces 91 kW at 6 300 rpm and 156 N.m of torque at 4 600 rpm. It’s a lively engine that thrives on revs but sounds quicker than it is. The zero to 100 km/h sprint is dealt with in 10.4 seconds and top speed is 177 km/h. The Soul won’t win any robot-to-robot races, but the willing and vocal engine makes it fun to try anyway. KIA claims a combined fuel consumption of 6.6 L/100km, but with the Cape Doctor at full puff during our test period, we averaged quite a bit higher.

Overall the Soul is a likable city car. It’s quirky design is something few manufacturers can offer. Along with an adequate array of safety and convenient features, for the performance and price KIA offers a ‘Soul-lution’ that won’t break the bank.

What we like…

• Unique styling – the Soul is the first Korean car to receive recognition from the world renowned ‘red dot’ design awards.
• Fun to drive in and around town.
• KIA’s 5-year warranty and 4-year service plan.

What we would like…

• Improved sound insulation from engine and wind noise.
• Ability to adjust the brightness of the instrument back-lighting.