Fuel Economy Comparo: Kia Optima Hybrid vs. Toyota Camry Hybrid

Story by John LeBlanc Feel free to thank the rising price of fuel and stricter government-mandated fuel economy ratings for today’s variety of new gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles. Once limited to being quirky or small when they arrived in the late 1990s, hybrids now come in all shapes and sizes.

Kia not abandoning its small car roots

Story by John LeBlanc Human nature demands improvement. This is why when given the opportunity to move their products upmarket, the people who run car companies jump at the chance like kernels of corn in a hot-air popper. You only have to look at the likes of Germany’s Volkswagen or Japan’s Toyota to see companies […]

Road Test: 2013 Kia Sportage SX

Story and photos by John LeBlanc If evolution is supposed to improve the breed, how did we end up with the crossover-utility vehicle? Taller, heavier, thirstier and less cargo-accomodating than the station wagons they’ve essentially replaced, here we are 13 years into the 21st century and there are more crossovers on new car dealer lots […]

Road Test: 2012 Kia Rio EX Sedan

Story and photos by John LeBlanc If you’ve jumped into the new-car market for the first time in a few years, you’ll have discovered that small cars aren’t that small anymore. And a good example of this paradigm shift in tiny wheels is the new-for-2012 Kia Rio sedan. Unlike its bottom-of-the-class forebearer, though, the second-generation […]

Comparo: 2012 Ford Fiesta vs. Kia Rio 5 vs. Toyota Yaris

Story and photos by John LeBlanc Bottom feeders, tin cans, s—boxes — if you haven’t been in the market for a new small car lately, these are just some of the adjectives you may associate with subcompact cars. However, automakers are trying to lower their government-mandated corporate average fuel economy ratings, so to soften the […]

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