Kia's getting faster, maybe even more furious, too

June 6, 2007 - By John LeBlanc

Maybe they'll watch curling now, too

When it comes to the appreciation of smaller, fuel efficient vehicles, Canadians, have historically been farther ahead than our friends south of the border.

But that may be changing.

According to data from J.D. Power and Associates’ Power Information Network, rising U.S. gasoline prices are finally having an effect on the sales of new large and midsize trucks.

“We’re seeing a broad, long-term — but gradual — movement to smaller vehicles,” says Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis at PIN.

In the U.S., vehicles with four-cylinder engines, as a percentage of total retail sales, has increased from 27.5 per cent in April 2004 to 35.7 per cent in April 2007. In Canada, these percentages have traditionally been higher, and react less to the fluctuation in gas prices.

During the same three-year period in Canada, four-bangers represented 48.2 per cent of new car sales in April 2004. There was only a marginal increase to 49.9 per cent this past April. Even when four-cylinder penetration peaked at 52.1 per cent in September 2005 didn’t excessively bend the bell curve.

Libby notes that not every U.S. new-vehicle segment has been affected by rising gas prices.

For example, PIN findings also indicate that owner loyalty for large and midsize cars, small crossovers and small SUVs in the States has remained relatively unchanged in recent months.

Kia to get faster, more furious?

At last year’s Canadian launch of the new 2007 Magentis, Kia officials attempted to alter the perception that Kias are just cheaper Hyundais by claiming their new family sedan was targeted towards those who love to drive.

According to Kia, by offering outstanding “driving dynamics” due to new “European tuning,” the new Magentis was ready to take on other sporty family sedans like the Mazda6, Pontiac G6 and Ford Fusion.

Needless to say, the boast raised a few journalists’ eyebrows. Mainly because compared with a Hyundai Sonata — which the front-drive Magentis is based heavily on — the handling difference was negligible. And with zero performance upgrades, it was “nice try, but no cigar.”

But now Autocar out of the U.K. is reporting that the Hyundai-owned brand is ready to walk its performance talk.

According to the publication, Kia over the next three years will be introducing high-performance models branded XR. (Think Chrysler SRT cars, or Chevrolet SS models.)

At a press event in South Korea, Kia displayed an XR-badged Cee’d (a European-market compact five-door). Although the engine was unaltered, the mockup had bigger wheels and tires, and various spoilers.

It was reported that Kia is investigating turbocharged engines for the European market and supercharged engines for the U.S. market.

Kia Canada spokesperson Cort Nielsen couldn’t confirm if XR-branded Kias are coming our way any time soon.

Sad days for heel 'n' toe fetishists

Are you still mourning the death of VHS recorders, non-anesthetic dental surgery or outdoor plumbing?

Well you’d better get a tissue handy. It looks as if dual clutch transmissions (DCTs) are now making the manual transmission obsolete as well.

Sold under the brand names “DSG Direct-Shift Gearbox” (Volkswagen) and “S Tronic” (Audi), DCTs are semi-automatic transmissions with separate clutches for odd and even gears. Shifts can be achieved without interrupting power by applying the engine’s torque to one clutch just as torque is being removed from the other clutch.

The result: A combination of outstanding performance with excellent fuel efficiency.

Today, VW limits its DCT applications to its transverse-mounted engine cars, like the GTI, Jetta, Audi A3 and TT.

You might think DCTs are just a fad, just like you thought the Internet was a passing thing. But the German automaker confirmed its long-term commitment to them this month by announcing the addition of one more gear to its revolutionary six-speed gearbox. The world’s first seven-speed DCT is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2008.

There are more indicators of the paradigm shift that DCT is causing within the industry: VW is thought to be working on a family of DCTs to go into the entire lineup, Porsche will soon start offering DCTs in its sports cars, and even BMW is said to be working on its own double-clutch tranny.

- John LeBlanc, Publisher, www.straight-six.com

This article originally appeared in The Toronto Star's Wheels.