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Preview: 2023 Kia Sportage takes on dramatic look

Kia late on Monday provided a preview look at the next generation of its Sportage crossover.

The full reveal will take place in July, with sales in the United States likely to follow in early 2022. The small crossover will arrive in our market as a 2023 model.

2023 Kia Sportage (European spec)

The redesigned Sportage has taken on a dramatic new look, with elements like a clamshell hood up front and the pinched leading edge of the tailgate looking similar to what we see on Kia’s new EV6 electric crossover introduced for 2022. And like most new Kias, there’s a grille spanning the width of the vehicle’s face. Another interesting element are the headlights, whose main clusters are set low in the face and bounded by boomerang-shaped daytime lights.

Kia, which refers to its new design language as Opposites United, says the inspiration comes from elements of “nature and modernity.”

2023 Kia Sportage (European spec)

Inside is a premium design that wouldn’t look out of place in an Audi. Present is a driver-orientated dash layout dominated by a curved display integrating the instrument cluster and infotainment screen. There is also multiple controls on the steering wheel together with a rotary dial for the gear selector, below which is a second dial for the drive mode selector.

That’s all the information Kia has released for now, but we have some clues as to what to expect for the mechanicals. The vehicle is the corporate twin to the new Hyundai Tucson introduced for 2022. This means we can expect a similar powertrain offering, at least here in the U.S. The Hyundai offers a 2.5-liter inline-4 with 187 hp as standard. It’s mated to an 8-speed automatic.

2022 Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid

Above this is a pair of hybrids, one a plug-in hybrid. In both cases there’s a 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-4 mated to a single electric motor integrated with a 6-speed automatic. The regular hybrid setup is good for 226 hp while the plug-in hybrid setup is good for 261 hp. The plug-in hybrid also has a 13.8-kilowatt-hour battery that will deliver an estimated 32 miles of electric range.

Stay tuned for more details following the July reveal event.

Source

June 8, 2021
DECLARING MODS ON YOUR CAR INSURANCE COULD SAVE YOU MONEY

New analysis from insurance broker Adrian Flux suggests that declaring mods on your car insurance can actually save you over £1250…

We’ve heard it before. Drivers not wanting to declare mods on their car insurance through fear it’ll sky rocket their annual premium. Not only is that breaking the law – if your car has been modified, you must declare the changes to your insurer or your cover is likely to be invalidated – it may also affect how much money you could actually save.

Analysis from insurance broker Adrian Flux shows that declaring mods can actually lower the cost of your cover by more than a whopping 60%. And for a heavily-modified car on comprehensive cover, that saving can even be greater than £1,250.

How can declaring mods on my car insurance lower my premium?

Gavin Hill, standard and niche floor underwriting manager at Adrian Flux, said: “It’s become a bit of a myth in different car communities that modifying your car will hit you in the pocket twice.

“While it can cost a lot of money to make these alterations, when declared they can actually make a massive reduction to your insurance premium. That’s because we know someone who has modified their car will take even greater care than usual in driving and looking after their vehicle – as well as the financial investment in modifying their car, these drivers have also invested their time.

“Claims statistics from insurers back up the fact that these genuine enthusiasts are less likely to make a claim as a result. A lot of mods don’t affect performance but almost all will affect your insurance if you don’t declare them and then make a claim. It really doesn’t pay to hide your mods.”

The study, which can be read in full here, found that with the right criteria, a 24-year-old Seat Leon Cupra owner could see their annual insurance plummet from £1,960 to £699 by confirming they have made the following modifications: suspension, exhaust, induction kit, tinted windows, remap, uprated brakes, intercooler, manifold, alloy wheels, interior changes and vinyl wrap.

Something as simple as declaring a dump valve could even save £50 for a plumber aged 43 when insuring a Vauxhall Astra.

Out of more than 20,000 car modifications declared in a month, the most common are alloy wheels, exhaust system changes and uprated, lowered or stiffened suspension springs.

Source

June 7, 2021
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez drives to victory at 2021 Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix

The 2021 Formula One World Championship saw another thrilling race with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday at the Baku City Circuit.

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen looked set to win but it was his teammate, Sergio Perez, who ended up crossing the finish line first, followed by Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in second and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly in third.

Verstappen had led for much of the race but a tire failure at one of the fastest sectors of the track pitched him into the wall with three laps to run, ending his day and setting the stage for a two-lap shootout between Perez and Mercedes-Benz AMG’s Lewis Hamilton. But first there was a safety car period to clear up the debris from Verstappen’s mishap.

Following the safety car restart, bad luck then struck Hamilton. The defending world champion accidentally switched on a brake balance setting normally used during the safety car period, causing his car’s brakes to lock at Turn 1. He was able to rejoin the race but could only manage 15th place at the finish.

Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez at the 2021 Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix

The race started with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on pole and Hamilton by his side on the front row, and Verstappen directly behind them. Leclerc made a good start but was passed by Hamilton on the second lap and Verstappen on the seventh. Verstappen was then able to move into the lead on lap 13 after Hamilton was slowed during a pit stop. He then managed to build up his lead but lost some of the gap due to a crash by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll on lap 31, which also appeared to be a caused by a tire failure.

Further down the field, there was a brilliant fight between Leclerc, Gasly and Vettel, with Vettel having moved up from his 11th starting place on the grid, thanks in part to the race stops. Both Gasly and Vettel were able to get ahead of Leclerc who had to settle for fourth at the end of the race. Rounding out the top five was McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Following the weekend’s action, Verstappen remains in the lead spot in the 2021 Drivers’ Championship with 105 points, versus Hamilton in second with 101 points and Perez having moved up into third with 69 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull leads with 174 points versus the 148 of Mercedes and 94 of Ferrari. The next race on the calendar is the French Grand Prix in a fortnight.

In other F1 news, it was confirmed on Sunday that veteran McLaren shareholder Mansour Ojjeh had died earlier in the day from health issues while at his home in Geneva, Switzerland. He controlled 14.32% of McLaren Group via his TAG Group, which first became a shareholder of McLaren in 1984.

Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez at the 2021 Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Below are the full results from the 2021 Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix:

1) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing
2) Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin +1.385 seconds
3) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri +2.762 seconds
4) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +3.828 seconds
5) Lando Norris, McLaren +4.754 seconds
6) Fernando Alonso, Alpine +6.382 seconds
7) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri +6.624 seconds
8) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +7.709 seconds
9) Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren +8.874 seconds
10) Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo +9.576 seconds
11) Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo +10.254 seconds
12) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-Benz AMG +11.264 seconds
13) Mick Schumacher, Haas +14.241 seconds
14) Nikita Mazepin, Haas +14.315 seconds
15) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG +17.668 seconds
16) Nicholas Latifi, Williams +42.379 seconds
17) George Russell, Williams DNF
18) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing DNF
NC) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin DNF
NC) Esteban Ocon, Alpine DNF

Source

June 7, 2021