FAIL: Kia Sportage Tumbles Downhill [Video]

There's a right way and a wrong way to drive a vehicle down a steep hill. The folks in this previous generation Kia Sportage chose the wrong way, but fortunately for them, the incident ended without any bloodshed. Watch the video after the break.

Euro NCAP's Best and Worst Performers of 2010

The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), which is similar to the American IIHS testing regimen, has released a list with the safest car in each vehicle category and the two worst performers overall of 2010. The cars that attained the coveted five star rating and achieved the highest overall score in their respective segment are:

------ Executive category: BMW 5 Series
------ Small Family category: Alfa Romeo Giulietta
------ Supermini category: Honda CR-Z
------ Small off-road 4×4 category: Kia Sportage
------ Small MPV category: Toyota Verso

On the other side of the fence are two models that achieved the poorest results of 2010. These are the Citroen Nemo with three stars and China's Landwind CV9 that received only two stars.

The European body noted that the cars in the top list "accomplished a high combined score based on the scores in each of the individual four areas of Euro NCAP’s assessment, while notably exceeding the thresholds for a 5 star overall rating". Along with the five top achievers, Euro NCAP said that the Suzuki Swift, Kia Venga, BMW X1, VW Sharan/Seat Alhambra, Citroen C4 all exceeded the 80% mark in overall score putting them on the runner-up list for the safest cars of 2010.

Commenting on the results, Dr Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP Secretary General said: “Every year, car manufacturers constantly work to innovate and make their cars better and safer for the driver, whatever the size of the vehicle. The presence in these categories of high performing 5 star cars demonstrates car manufacturers’ commitment to safety for all sizes of vehicles.”

In early 2009, Euro NCAP implemented tougher crash testing procedures that make it more difficult for vehicles to receive a five-star rating. Last year, the European body crash tested a total of twenty-nine vehicles from numerous categories, of which 65 per cent reached the five star rating, compared to 90% in 2009.

New Kia Sportage Compact SUV: Spied - or Not?

Sometimes, unless you receive additional information from a reliable inside source, you can't be 100 percent sure of what's hiding under a heavily camouflaged prototype. This seems to be the case with Kia-World's latest spy photos that allegedly show the next generation Kia Sportage compact SUV, said to be officially unveiled in early 2010. By comparing the shape of the side-window line, we've eliminated the possibility of it being a 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe or a 2010 Kia Sorento (the most obvious alternatives), but whether or not it's actually the 2010 Kia Sportage, is something that we cannot answer with absolute certainty (talk about playing it safe...). Now that we've filled your mind with doubts, feel free to check the photos after the jump.

Kia Goes Green in Paris with Sportage Diesel-Hybrid Concept

At this week's Paris Motor Show, Kia displayed the Sportage Mild Hybrid eco concept. Based on the latest generation of the South Korean firm's compact SUV model, the concept hooks up Kia's 1.7-liter turbo diesel engine, which produces 115-horsepower and 260Nm of peak torque, to a 5 kW electric motor with a double layer capacitor.

Kia also made small changes to the Sportage's body to reduce aerodynamic drag and added low-rolling resistance tires. According to the company, the Sportage Mild Hybrid emits just 117 g/km of CO2. Kia did not release fuel economy estimates.

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Kia Releases Full UK Pricing on All-New Sportage

After the recent launch of the limited production Sportage First Edition models, Kia UK has announced pricing (see US pricing here) on the full-range of its compact SUV that goes on sale in the country on November 1st. The full lineup consists of four engines, including two petrol units, a 140HP 1.6-liter powerplant and a 2.0-liter with 161HP, and two diesels, a 1.7-liter delivering 115HP and a 2.0-liter with 136HP.

There are also three trim grades badged '1', '2' and '3', with all-wheel-drive (AWD) versions available at the mid and high grade level given the KX preface. The flagship models are offered with a fully integrated satellite navigation system, featuring a 7-inch full-map color touchscreen mounted into the central dash console.

On the Road prices range from £16,645 for the front-wheel drive 1.6 GDi 1 model to £26,170 for the range-topping 2.0 CRDi 3 variant with all-wheel drive and an automatic transmission.

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