Kia's premieres for Shanghai Auto Show
are two cars that have been specifically designed, engineered, and built for
Chinese buyers.
The first one is called the Pegas, and it's a
compact sedan that targets young buyers. It benefits from the brand's instantly
recognizable design, and comes with the 'tiger nose' grille, a visual signature
of all modern Kias sold around the world.
It has a 2,750 mm wheelbase, and a maximum
boot capacity of 475 liters, which, according to the automaker, makes it
"one of the most versatile, useful cars in its class". The company
didn’t have much to say about it, except that it gets a large sunroof, and a
front passenger central armrest to enhance comfort on long journeys.
Powering the new Kia Pegas is a 1.4-liter
multi-point injection petrol engine that churns out 95 PS and 133 Nm of torque. The output is channeled to the front wheels through a
standard 5-speed manual transmission, or an optional 4-speed auto.
Known
as the Rio in other markets, is the new Kia K2 Cross. It adds plastic cladding
all around, a 45 mm increased ground clearance, and new roof rails -
while maintaining the same wheelbase length as the hatch, even if the extra
bits add 40 mm to its length, and 30 mm to its width.
Customers will get to choose between a pair of
petrol engines, a 1.4-liter with 100 PS and 132 Nm of
torque, and a 1.6-liter that develops 123 PS and 151 Nm of
torque, which work together with a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission.
Kia will open the order books for the new Pegas and
K2 Cross in China in the second half of the year.
