Welcome to our weekly round-up of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam.Here’s what you missed while you were away.EV regulations prompt Tesla to release fart noise featureU.S. authorities recently implemented regulations stating all electric vehicles travelling under 30 km/h must make some sort of noise to help pedestrians identify there’s a massive chunk of metal moving nearby. Now, over in Europe, that “noise” is by law supposed to sound basically like a traditional car. Boring! In America, however, automakers were allowed to get a little more creative, and Elon Musk seemed to take that as a challenge. He recently Tweet-announced that Teslas will soon come with the ability to emit all sorts of clever sounds, from a cute little goat’s bleat to the clip-clop of coconuts to one of the all-time greatest sound effects: the fart. Winter tire deadline change prompts CAA-Quebec’s Winter Tire Appointment Week pushAfter the legal deadline for winter tires was bumped up to December 1 this year, the Quebec division of CAA took it upon itself to remind residents what that means. You’ve got to, um, change your tires to winters. OK?Winter Tire Appointment Week is indeed a real thing, and probably a good thing, too, even if incredibly dull-sounding. Because with 5.2 million passenger vehicles on Quebec’s roads and less than two months to go before the big day, there’s no time like the present to call your tire shop. Besides, how else are you going to celebrate Winter Tire Appointment Week?Striking U.S. auto union calls for end to imports, including Canada’sThe United Automobile Workers has been on strike against General Motors for almost a month and are now calling for the company to put a stop to the import of all cars from foreign assembly plants, including those in Canada and Mexico. Union reps also apparently expressing qualms about the move toward automation and electric power. Negotiation talks are ongoing, but this recent argument isn’t great news for GM’s Oshawa plant, which was recently made the beneficiary of a $170-million injection from GM.2020 Subaru Crosstrek’s $100 price bump earns it a stack of perks The most capable crossover in its segment is getting an extra dose of convenience, with the 2020 Crosstrek offering new standard and available features at a competitive price. (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.) Subaru It’ll cost a bit more to get into Subaru’s Crosstrek this year than it did last year, but if you’re someone who needs to pile a little bit of everything on their buffet plate – not the Jello, for the love of God, not the Jello – then you might want to consider it. The base 2020 Crosstrek starts at $23,795 and comes standard with a six-speed manual and all-wheel-drive, an Apple CarPlay/Android Auto-ready infotainment system, plus the brand’s EyeSight driver-assist system and X-Mode’s torque-splitting features in the CVT models. Now you can spend that $100 on something important, like that diet coach you obviously need. Canadian drivers sue Kia over alleged service schedule hoodwinkEveryone knows there’s no better way to care for a car than to follow exactly what it says in the owner’s manual. Right? Apparently not if you drive a Kia and live in Canada. A class-action suit alleges Canadian drivers are being misled by Kia in terms of how often they’re told to seek routine service. The book says 12,000 km, but if you live in Canada – most of it, anyway – the brand recommends a visit to the shop every 6,000 km. It’s just too bad you can’t sue
Origin: News Roundup: Tesla’s flatulent update, Quebec’s winter tire celebration and Kia’s alleged muck-up
Kia’s
Kia’s new compact Seltos SUV uncovered, may be headed here
Kia has revealed its brand-new compact crossover, the Seltos, at an event in Delhi, India, its latest offering aimed at younger buyers with a focus on tech.The tech in question comes in the form of an infotainment system, highlighted by a 10.25-inch touchscreen that can be split into three applications at once, and supplemented by an available eight-inch heads-up display on a glass panel behind the steering wheel.Eight-speaker Bose audio will also be a hit with the youths, with optional Sound Mood Lighting that can create a light show timed to the beat of the musicvery hip.The exterior design looks dare we say it quite good, and is miles above what Toyota and Honda have been putting out these days with their wacky chrome eyebrows and strange creases.The Kias tiger-nose grille sits well underneath a muscular brow, and the thin LED headlights splay out over the large turn signals. The rear of the Seltos is refreshingly ordinary, nothing weird or out of place here. Kia still hasnt shown us what the interior of the Seltos will look like, but we can assume it will follow the trends set by the larger SUVs in the lineup, perhaps with a more youthful feel and greater emphasis on technology.In India, the top-of-the-line engine for the Seltos is a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 175 horsepower, but there is also the option of a 147-horsepower 2.0-litre, as well as a 134-horsepower diesel 1.6-litre.We dont expect that the diesel version will make its way up to Canada, but we can always hope! Canadian pricing or availability has not been
Origin: Kia’s new compact Seltos SUV uncovered, may be headed here
Kia’s 2020 Cadenza refresh goes bolder, more high-tech
The 2020 Kia K7 (Cadenza)Kia Kia took the covers off the refreshed 2020 Cadenza sedan it teased last week, confirming the production sedan will wear a much more aggressive face and hindquarters. More specifically, it revealed the Korean-market K7, which is basically the exact same car we get here with a different nameplate on it. The new Cadenza-K7’s front end is dominated by a larger, concave chrome grille, flanked by thinner, sleeker headlights; while out back the taillights now reach across the full width of the car, joined by a sort of dashed-line bar that will make for one interesting light signature. The 2020 Kia K7 (Cadenza) Kia The interior sees updates in the form of a new 12.3-inch touchscreen and re-positioned venting; the gear shift lever and button layout below the center stack has been refreshed as well. A digital gauge cluster lends the car a more premium feel than its predecessor. Available drivetrains are a mystery for now, since North American and Korean engine offerings aren’t always the same. The 2020 Kia K7 (Cadenza) Kia The 2019 Cadenza comes with a 290-horsepower 3.3-litre V6 with an 8-speed automatic in Canada, but we should get fuller details by year’s end. Expect the 2020 Kia Cadenza to wind up in Canadian showrooms late in 2019 or early next
Origin: Kia’s 2020 Cadenza refresh goes bolder, more high-tech
Teasers suggest Kia’s refreshed 2020 Cadenza will get killer looks
Kia released teaser images early June showing a refreshed K7 model for 2020, the car we call the Cadenza in Canada. The changes are stark, and give the car a much more aggressive and upmarket look compared to the relatively forgettable Cadenza. The front grille is a lot more pronounced, with a larger lower intake, while the rear end gets full-length taillights. Of course, any new vehicle looking to be respected nowadays has to come with LED DRLs, and this one is no exception, with the front and back both being adorned with them. Inside the car is a much more tidy interior with a new dashboard that does away with a lot of the buttons, the functions of which were probably moved to a menu on the touchscreen, which has also been made larger. Under the hood? We’re not sure, but there probably isn’t any plan to stray from the current powertrain, which is a 3.3-litre V6 producing 290 horsepower. Kia updated the transmission from a 6-speed to an 8-speed when it was redesigned in 2017; that transmission is still present in this vehicle. The mid-sized vehicle is usually compared with the Chrysler 300, Toyota Avalon and the company’s own Stinger, although it lacks the all-wheel-drive. This K7 should preview what the Canadian market Cadenza will look like, but there still could be some changes to
Origin: Teasers suggest Kia’s refreshed 2020 Cadenza will get killer looks
Kia’s new compact SUV will be named ‘Seltos’
As if we needed further confirmation the crossover and SUV craze is a permanent market shift and not just a flash in the pan, Kia has announced it is adding yet another compact crossover to its portfolio. It’ll be called the Seltos. Said to be aimed at Millennials – a target group which, it must be noted, isn’t as young as you think any more – the Seltos apparently draws its name from Greek mythology, son of Hercules and father of the Celts. Kia replaced its first consonant with an ‘S’ to denote speed and sportiness. Alright then. Absent of official pictures, we’re left to speculate exactly the form Seltos will take when it hits the market in Korea and other as-yet-unnamed regions later this year. Spy photos are floating about, however, showing a machine whose front end reminds your author of a pleasant mashup of Soul and Telluride. The entire vehicle will be shown later this month. Inside the Seltos, Kia says the cabin is characterized by broad, sweeping shapes and highly technical details. Equipped with a range of tech, the cabin’s design is said to incorporate a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system and something called Sound Mood Lighting. Your author assumes the latter turns the Seltos into a pulsating nightclub when the oontz is cranked to eleven. Specifics such as dimensions and powertrains aren’t mentioned, but alert readers will recall that corporate cousin Hyundai unveiled a car called the Venue earlier this year. It would make more than a dose of sense if the Seltos shared some or most of its
Origin: Kia’s new compact SUV will be named ‘Seltos’
The HabaNiro Concept is Kia’s all-electric Everything Car
What is it? Kia has just unveiled its vision of the future—an all-electric, all-wheel-drive ride with Level 5 autonomy. It is a funky looker with a two-tone theme. Essentially, it has a white exterior with a red interior. The lone exception is the red “arrow” at the back end. Of course, it has non-production doors. In this case, “butterfly wing” doors where the front portals open forward and the back ones move rearward. It does open things up and ease access despite being less than practical. Why does it matter? The HabaNiro creates, says Kia, “an all-electric Everything Car, or ECEV.” It is commuter car, crossover, sport-utility, state-of-the-art technology workroom and adventure vehicle all wrapped up in one. The electric side features a battery capable of delivering a 500-plus kilometre driving range along with two electric motors—one powering the front axle, the second driving the rear axle. One of the core technologies is Kia’s Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving (R.E.A.D.) system. It is said to optimize and personalize the cabin by analyzing the driver’s emotional state real-time. Artificial Intelligence (AI) enables the system to establish a baseline and then customize the cabin accordingly. When will Canada get it? The likelihood of the HabaNiro coming to market in its present form lies between none and absolutely none. Should you buy it? Yes, autonomous driving is a hot topic and every manufacturer is dabbling in it to one degree or another. The Kia HabaNiro is just a tad too pie-in-the-sky to be taken
Origin: The HabaNiro Concept is Kia’s all-electric Everything Car
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