Have you seen the new commercial for the all new Kia Soul? It’s sleeker, sexier and more sophisticated than ever. And we’re not just talking about the 2014 Kia Soul. The formerly frumpy Kia Hamsters have totally transformed themselves into lean, mean, head-turning machines, much like the all-new Soul. Watch as they hit the gym and shed their furry folds to the tune of the latest and greatest anthem from Lady Gaga, “Applause.”
Catch An Early Look: All New 2015 Kia Sedona
After skipping the 2013 model year and returning for 2014, the Kia Sedona is getting a full redesign for 2015, which we see for the first time in these new spy shots. The new Sedona isn’t going to look as much like the 2011 KV7 Concept as we had hoped, but we definitely see some key styling cues from the Kia concept minivan.
Even though it’s covered in heavy camouflage, we can see that some of the KV7’s cues on the 2015 Sedona include the vertical front marker lights, the horizontal taillights and the pinched beltline starting at the C-pillar. Kia’s trademark Tiger Nose grille is present and accounted for, as is the telltale dip in the windshield.
All in all, the next-gen Sedona already looks to be a significant improvement over the current, generally boring model, which dates back to 2006 and has a striking resemblance to the Ford Freestar. There is no word yet as to what will power the 2015 Sedona, but our spy shooter said that this prototype was most likely powered by a 2.2-liter diesel.
GM Receives 4 JD Power APEAL Awards
Recently General Motors has received a lot of love from market research firm JD Power, and that continues today with Chevrolet taking four APEAL awards. According to JD Power research, four GM products in total offer owners the highest gratification of ownership in their segment. Three of the awarded vehicles are Chevrolet products, which is the highest amount of any one brand in the study.
Chevrolet received APEAL awards for the Volt, Sonic and Avalanche. This is the third year that the Volt has been the most APEALing product in the compact car segment, while the Sonic and Avalanche have received the award for two years. Ironically, the Avalanche is now out of production and is being discontinued after the 2013 model year.
In addition to the three Chevrolet models, the Buick Encore received the APEAL award for the sub-compact crossover segment.
The APEAL study is based on over 83,000 responses from consumers that gauge the vehicle’s overall appeal within the first 90 days of ownership. The study sort of goes hand in hand with JD Power’s Initial Quality Survey, of which GM was the top performer on as well.