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KIA Motors unveils Nigerian-made SUV

By Benjamin Alade
08 May 2015   |   1:31 am
TO strengthen Nigeria’s local automobile market, KIA Motors, has unveiled the 2015 made in Nigeria Sorento in the country. According to the firm, the KIA Sorento is redesigned with a sleeker, more sculpted exterior and exudes sophistication with an edge, highly stylized, modern utility vehicle with improved handling and dynamic power coupled in Nigeria.
Kia Sorento 2015

Kia Sorento 2015

TO strengthen Nigeria’s local automobile market, KIA Motors, has unveiled the 2015 made in Nigeria Sorento in the country.    According to the firm, the KIA Sorento is redesigned with a sleeker, more sculpted exterior and exudes sophistication with an edge, highly stylized, modern utility vehicle with improved handling and dynamic power coupled in Nigeria.

The Korea-based manufacturer explained that the new KIA Sorento is a stylish and practical Sport Utility Vehicle with exceptional versatility. The smoother, swept-back profile and deeply sculpted surfaces give the Kia Sorento a lithe, elegant appearance.

Its spacious interior follows the horizontal lines of the overall design concept and delivers a luxurious look and sense with top-quality materials throughout the cabin.

The new Kia Sorento which comes with seven seats has a longer wheelbase specifically made for Nigerian roads and provides more passenger room than its predecessor.

The luggage area is larger, with sliding, 60:40-split seat row it is more versatile, holding up to 1,732 litres. The Kia Sorento has a powerful and efficient 270 ps engine with four-wheel drive fitted with Kia’s new Dynamax™ All-Wheel-Drive system with torque vectoring.

It has a High-tech specification ranging frompremium features including the rear camera and smart parking systemthat makes it easy to manoeuvre and park. Smart Key entry with PushButton Start makes it outstandingly easy to get in and drive the sporty Sorento.

The interior has a Mood lamp, led combination rear lamp andilluminated Door Scuff which gives feeling of luxury over a SUV ride. Speaking at the official launch in Lagos Motor Fair, Chief Commercial Officer, KIA Motors Nigeria, SandeepMalhotra said, with the availability of Dynamax™ All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) system, Sorento delivers a smooth, refined drive even on rough roads.

It presents twoengine trims to fully customize your experience. Engines range fromthe fuel-efficient 2.4litre, 4-cylinder with its impressiveperformance to the 3.3litre V6 AWD, which offers 5,000 pound towingcapacity.

The 2015 Sorento guarantees comfort at its peak. It’s a spaciouscabin with clean, modern styling. The driver-focused, featuring a14-way Power-adjustable driver’s seat from Nappa leather seat trim tothe quality soft touch materials gives premium comfort everywhere yougo.

The third generation Sorento Sport Utility Vehicle SUV received the ‘Top Safety Pick’ award by achieving a ‘Good’ rating in every one ofthe IIHS’s demanding tests.

According to him, this is the latest accolade from aglobally-respected crash safety organization; the new Sorento has already been awarded the maximum five star crash safety rating by EuroNCAP.

The car’s passenger compartment came in for particular praisefor remaining stable in the event of a collision, and offering goodprotection for passengers of different physiques, no matter where theywere seated in the car.

“The all-new Kia Sorento is among the safest models in its class andreceived accolade from IIHS a highly respected vehicle safetyinstitution. We’ve gone to great lengths to enhance every aspect of Sorento, with active and passive safety systems a top priority.

“The new Sorento is engineered to guarantee a perfect experience for teeming users without compromising on the carbon footprint to reduceon environmental impact throughout the period of ownership.

It hasbecome the latest Kia model to achieve internationally recognizedcertification for its whole-life impact on the environment”, he said. TÜV Nord, a leading independent technical inspection organization,has certified the new Kia Sorento according to the ISO 14040 LifeCycle Assessment (LCA) standard.

LCA forecasts the environmentalimpact of a vehicle during its full life, as well as a wide range ofdevelopment and manufacturing factors – including raw materialextraction, pre-production testing and the efficiency of factoryfacilities.

Comparing the new Sorento to its predecessor, the mid-size sportsutility vehicle improved its ‘Photochemical Oxidants CreationPotential’ (POCP) by nearly 13 per cent.

POCP measures the amount ofsmog created by a vehicle’s manufacturing process and by the vehicleitself throughout its life. Also speaking at the launch, Assistant Manager, Events & PublicRelations KIA Motors Nigeria, Olawale Jimoh stated that KIA Motorsassembles 25 vehicles per day and it is targeted at producing 25,000per annum.

“Aside from Sorento, there are other main scheme models comprising of Serato, Sportage, Kia Quoris, Picanto, Rio, Sorento, Optima are allassembled in Nigeria.

“Other unique feature that makes the Sorento stands out is its 6 speedautomatic drive and a touch screen sound system with six premiumsurrounding speakers.

The car is actually made to fit into theclimate condition of Nigeria and because of the highly densitypopulation in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt and other cities inNigeria where you have heavy traffic, the Sorento has an Eco Modewhich helps to minimize fuel consumption, he said.

The new model’s standard-fit Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) systemensures the car remains stable when simultaneously braking andcornering, particularly on low-grip surfaces, by carefully controllingboth the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and electric motor-drivenpower steering.

Both systems are activated as soon as the car’ssensors detect a loss in traction, helping the driver to remain safelyin control of the vehicle.

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