About.com SUVs

Kia SUV Overview

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:11 +0000

I have to admit that I have been guilty of a bit of bias. I've had a hard time letting go of the past, and I can feel myself approaching the vehicles from Korea with less than a fully-open mind. I couldn't shake the early econobox image that I had of Hyundai, Daewoo and Kia. Cars like the Pony, the Leganza and the Rio turned me off so badly that I couldn't shake their effect.

I am now stating publicly -- I'm over my prejudice against South Korean vehicles. I'm prepared to judge them on an even playing field against their Japanese, American and European competitors. You'll never see any qualifiers in my reviews, like "pretty good for a Korean SUV" or "what I'd expect from a Korean crossover." From now on, the South Koreans get the same fair, unbiased treatment that every other manufacturer gets. And you know what? I think they'll stand up very well in the cold light of day -- no excuses, qualifications or biases applied.

First in my application of this new evenhandedness, take a look at this cold, hard Kia SUV Overview. Just the facts, ma'am.

Photo � Jason Fogelson

Kia SUV Overview originally appeared on About.com SUVs on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 15:00:11.

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2011 Kia Sorento Photo Gallery

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:05:24 +0000

I'm pretty enthusiastic about the 2011 Kia Sorento. Read my 2011 Kia Sorento Test Drive and Review to confirm that.

I'm not all that enthusiastic about its looks, I have to admit. Not that it looks bad. It doesn't. It looks fine. It just looks incredibly familiar, not very exciting. Kia is certainly capable of some exciting design work - take a look at the Kia Soul as evidence of that. But they didn't burn any calories making the Sorento stand out.

What do you think? Do you want your crossover vehicle to stand out from the crowd, or do you want something a little more, well, boring? Take a look at this 2011 Kia Sorento Photo Gallery, then click on "comments" and share your thoughts.

Photo � Jason Fogelson

2011 Kia Sorento Photo Gallery originally appeared on About.com SUVs on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 00:05:24.

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2011 Kia Sorento Test Drive and Review

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:47:17 +0000

I love factory tours. Any kind of factory tour. I've been to the Harley-Davidson assembly plant in York, Pennsylvania. I've been to the See's Candies factory in Los Angeles. I've been to the Gibson Guitar Factory, the Jack Daniel's Distillery, the Budweiser Brewery... you get the idea. I love factory tours.

Kia recently invited me (along with a bunch of other journalists) to tour the new Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) plant in West Point, Georgia, where the 2011 Kia Sorento will be the first vehicle off of the assembly line. On the way there, and on the way back to Atlanta, I got to drive a few early examples, enough to write this 2011 Kia Sorento Test Drive and Review.

KMMG is a very impressive facility, that is if you like clean, spacious, quiet factories with giant multi-tasking robots. Oh, yes, giant robots, welding and clamping, moving and gesturing and doing work. It was very cool, and so was the Sorento.

Read my 2011 Kia Sorento Test Drive and Review, and I'll get to work on a longer report on the robots..

Photo � Jason Fogelson

2011 Kia Sorento Test Drive and Review originally appeared on About.com SUVs on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 18:47:17.

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2010 Honda Accord Crosstour Photo Gallery

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:05:48 +0000

Aaron Gold, About.com's Guide to Cars, assures me that the new Crosstour looks better in person than it does in this 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour Photo Gallery.

I hope he's right. Because I see more 1985 Toyota Celica Hatchback than I do modern vehicle of the second decade of the 21st Century.

What do you think?

Please take a look at this 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour Photo Gallery and share your thoughts.

Photo � Honda

2010 Honda Accord Crosstour Photo Gallery originally appeared on About.com SUVs on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 00:05:48.

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2010 Honda Accord Crosstour Test Drive and Review

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:01:58 +0000

I'm always glad to have Aaron Gold, About.com's Guide to Cars, review an SUV for us. I'm even more interested when he reviews a crossover, especially one that may be more car than SUV.

Take a look at Aaron's 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour Test Drive and Review. Even from Aaron's point of view, which is considerably closer to the ground than mine is, the new Honda crossover seemed like a bad idea at first. Who is it for? What does it do?

Aaron dissected the Crosstour with his usual laser-like critical sense, and discovered that he didn't hate it as much as he expected to. I understand where's he's coming from, because I had a similar preconception when I reviewed the new 2010 Acura ZDX, a luxury crossover with a perplexing target audience.

Honda and its Acura subsidiary are trying to tell us something with these two new crossovers: The Baby Boomers have officially crossed over, and they are now Empty Nesters. Watch for this group to have a much bigger effect on SUV design in the near future.

While you're waiting for the future, please read Aaron's 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour Test Drive and Review, then click on "comments" below and share your thoughts.

Photo � Honda

2010 Honda Accord Crosstour Test Drive and Review originally appeared on About.com SUVs on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 09:01:58.

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2010 Mazda CX-7 Photo Gallery

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:05:20 +0000

Has Mazda gone too far with this anthropomorphic thing? Please take a look at this 2010 Mazda CX-7 Photo Gallery, and tell me if the new CX-7 doesn't look like it is auditioning for a part in the next Pixar movie. That is one happy looking SUV.

What's wrong with that, though? Shouldn't our cars and SUVs have some personality? And wouldn't the roads be a more pleasant place if those personalities were happy-go-lucky, friendly ones like the new Mazda corporate face. Does everything have to be aggressive and angry?

Click on "comments" below and share your thoughts.

Photo � Jason Fogelson

2010 Mazda CX-7 Photo Gallery originally appeared on About.com SUVs on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 00:05:20.

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2010 Mazda CX-7 Sport Test Drive and Review

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:05:28 +0000

I've been trying to help my friend Andy find a new SUV for about a year and a half now. His old Jeep Grand Cherokee is failing, and he wants to buy something more fuel efficient. Andy's cheap, though -- he doesn't want to spend a lot of money. He uses his vehicle for work, and probably needs the space of a mid-size, rather than a compact, SUV. It's been a long haul, because Andy is very particular.

When I got behind the wheel of the new CX-7, I realized that I might have found Andy's new SUV. It has all the space he needs, and with the new 2.5 liter inline four-cylinder engine, it can get 28 mpg on the highway. And equipped the way Andy would like it, the CX-7 can list for $22,340.

Unfortunately, while I had the CX-7, Andy was very busy with work. So was I. So he didn't get to drive my test vehicle. Maybe I can convince Andy to read my 2010 Mazda CX-7 Sport Test Drive and Review. Maybe I can convince you to read it as well.

Photo � Jason Fogelson

2010 Mazda CX-7 Sport Test Drive and Review originally appeared on About.com SUVs on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 00:05:28.

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2010 Toyota 4Runner Photo Gallery

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:05:19 +0000

For once, a design gets pulled back from the edge, and form once again begins to follow function.

I'm talking about the fifth generation 4Runner, which you can examine in this 2010 Toyota 4Runner Photo Gallery.

The 4th generation 4Runner had gotten too muscular, wore too much cladding, and had gotten away from the original substance of 4Runner for my taste.

In case you don't know, I own a second generation (1994) 4Runner named "Moose," and I think that Moose is pretty much the best thing on four wheels. Of course, I'm extremely biased and I am forced to overlook some obvious flaws and deficiencies to maintain this view, but I still love Moose.

I think that I could grow to love a fifth generation 4Runner in time.

What do you think?

Photo � Jason Fogelson

2010 Toyota 4Runner Photo Gallery originally appeared on About.com SUVs on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 00:05:19.

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2010 Toyota 4Runner Test Drive and Review

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:12:04 +0000

I feel a little like Navin Johnson right now.

Who's Navin Johnson? He was portrayed by Steve Martin in the great 1979 comedy The Jerk. Remember the scene at the gas station where Navin runs to the truck, pulls a book off a stack, and then runs back to tell his boss, played by Jackie Mason, "The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!" If you've never seen it, go rent it right now. Seriously, right now.

I'll wait.

Now that we're on the same page, I feel like Navin R. Johnson when I talk about the fifth generation Toyota 4Runner. "The new 4Runner is here! The new 4Runner is here!"

I'm very excited, and I want you to be, too. Please read my 2010 Toyota 4Runner Test Drive and Review, and let me know what you think.

Photo � Toyota

2010 Toyota 4Runner Test Drive and Review originally appeared on About.com SUVs on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 17:12:04.

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2010 Acura ZDX Photo Gallery

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:05:29 +0000

The more I look at this 2010 Acura ZDX Photo Gallery, the more I worry about the classification of SUVs.

Acura's designers have quite cleverly disguised the ZDX as a coupe, despite the fact that it has four doors; five, in fact, if you count the tailgate as a door. They've hidden the rear door handles in the C-pillar, and made the doors so small-looking from the outside that it's hard to believe that adults could use them. The impression isn't so far off, actually -- I had to contort myself in order to squeeze all 6'2" inside.

If we call the ZDX an SUV, are we extending the definition too far?

But if it's not an SUV, then what is it?

Photo � Jason Fogelson

2010 Acura ZDX Photo Gallery originally appeared on About.com SUVs on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 00:05:29.

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