One of the most popular at present car "Kia" (the country of origin - Korea) has been pleasing motorists for 13 years. The Sorento model debuted in 2002 in America. After the presentation at the Chicago auto dealerships, the car quickly began to gain popularity. In total, three generations of Kia Sorento were released.

1st generation

The story, as mentioned above, began in 2002. It was then that everyone saw the first Kia Sorento SUV. The country of origin is South Korea, but the assembly was carried out at several Kia Motors factories. The first was in the homeland of the car, the second in Russia, the third in the Philippines, and a little later, due to the increased demand from American buyers, it was decided to assemble in the United States.

As for the Russian plant, which was located in Izhevsk, at that time only screwdriver assembly was carried out there. If we call this process in simple words, then the finished elements came to the workshops, where it was necessary to put them together.

After 4 years, it was decided to upgrade the model. During the restyling, the design of the car was changed and new, more powerful power units were installed.

2nd generation

The first generation was produced for 7 years, but in 2009 a new version of "Kia" was presented in the capital. The country of origin of the Sorento car could change, because the assembly was carried out in different places. As a rule, they are guided in this issue. For example, in Russia it was decided to abandon Izhevsk, and production was moved to Kazakhstan. It was in Ust-Kamenogorsk that a plant was specially built, which was named "Asia Auto". Concern Kia Motors has installed the most modern equipment there, so you don't have to worry about the quality of assembly, reliable cars are supplied to the Russian market. By the way, it should be noted that Korean specialists are closely watching the products that come off the assembly line.

III generation

In 2014, the Koreans presented a completely updated Kia car. The country of origin arranged a "bride" in Paris. A year later, it became possible to purchase a model in the Russian market. However, with one condition - the assembly was carried out on "Avtotor". Back in 2013, the conveyor was transported to Kaliningrad. Those who want an American or Korean assembly will have to pay a considerable sum, since it is not officially sold in the Russian Federation.

Description Kia Sorento 2015

In Russia, it is a fairly popular car. And we can say with complete confidence that right from the first day of sales, the car took a leading position in the segment. At the same time, it is worthwhile to dwell more specifically on how this was done. With any restyling of the car, the appearance changes in one way or another, the same applies to the Kia model range. The country of origin tried to put maximum effort into it. At the front, the Sorento received a new grille, as well as a bumper with new optics. The headlights have acquired LEDs at the front, and LEDs have appeared at the back.

Kia car innovations

What is fundamentally new in their car that the Koreans have proposed? Naturally, bold decisions in appearance and interior decoration, a more economical diesel engine with a turbine, the suspension became stiffer, and the ground clearance decreased by 1 cm, while from the point of view of safety, the rigidity of the body was significantly increased - by about 18%.

As for convenience, "Kia" (country of origin - South Korea) is the leader in this category, in the top version the car is impressive. When you first approach the car, the backlight of the grips immediately turns on, and when you start the engine directly, the position of the front wheels is visible on the screen. For the cold season, the car has nice little things like heated steering wheel and seats on three levels. Most importantly, all these functions are already in the basic version. The dashboard in the car is completely new, the plastic has changed, it has become matte and more comfortable. The steering wheel is not particularly informative, even if there is an amplifier adjustment button directly on it.

Behind, visibility is small but clear. On the go, even in economy mode, the engine reserve lasts for a long time, since under the hood is a turbocharged diesel engine. In order to get into a car, people with a height below average will have to try, there is a very high seating position, and the lower part of the body itself - you feel in this crossover, like in an SUV. The brake pedal was not particularly conveniently located - next to the resting place. This is too low, there is a chance of catching it accidentally. In general, the car has become much better.

2015 Kia Sorento competitors

Who can become a real competitor or is it already for the Korean Kia crossover? Which country is the manufacturer of cars of the same class? South Korea, of course. But we can also mention Japan, the United States, and a number of others. Of the models, it is worth remembering the Chevrolet Captiva with a 2.2-liter engine and a capacity of 184 hp. from. The car is produced by the Bupyeong car company. There is also a Hyundai Santa Fe with the same engine, but with 13 hp. from. stronger, the Opel Antara with similar characteristics to the Captiva. Well, and Toyota RAV4 - all with the same engine displacement, but much less powerful, only 150 horses. The model is assembled in Japan and other countries, because the Toyota concern has 52 factories.

At the moment, the Kia company produces some of the highest quality and most popular cars. A real breakthrough in the automotive industry was the debut of the Kia Sid model, which became a real "bestseller" in the European, and in particular Russian markets. Photo: Kia Sid 2017

Since the start of car production, several restyling has passed, which, no doubt, only has a positive effect on the level of popularity of the model.

According to experts, Sid is the most prominent representative of the European class "C". In today's article we will talk about where the Kia Sid is produced, and which car is better.

It should be noted that the Sid model has become the most ambitious and large-scale project of South Korean automakers. Slovakia became the first place to assemble the car. By the way, the most powerful plant is located here. For Russia, the car has been made since 2007 at the Avtotor Kaliningrad plant.

Russian designers assemble cars using the same technology as their Slovak colleagues. It is worth noting that the Kia Sid of domestic assembly is also equipped with two gasoline units with a volume of 1.4 and 1.6 liters. They are paired with one of the transmission options: a six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic transmission.

For all the years of production, domestic motorists managed to fall in love with the compact "Korean", so the level of sales is still quite high.

Kia Sid production for Europe

Photo: millionth Kia Sid As mentioned above, the most powerful plant that Sid produces is located in the Slovak city of Zilina. It is here that models are assembled for implementation in Europe. Slovak cars are considered reliable and high-quality vehicles that meet all European environmental standards.

It should be noted that the assembly quality is controlled by the best specialists, and at the slightest flaws, the products are immediately sent for revision.

It is interesting that the Zhilinsky enterprise, in contrast to the Kaliningrad one, uses a full assembly cycle. All the main processes take place here: painting, stamping, final assembly. There is also a separate workshop, whose workers make power units and transmissions.

At the Slovak factory, almost the entire assembly process is automated. The workers only operate robotic equipment. All this is controlled by advanced Korean specialists.

Every fifth car assembled in Slovakia is exported to the Russian market.

Russian assembly Kia Sid

Photo: assembly of Kia Sid in Russia The enterprise in Kaliningrad is rightfully considered the largest and most productive in Russia. In addition to Sid, the latest BMW and Hummer models are also assembled here.

"Avtotor" is equipped with all the latest technologies. Before the start of production of Kia Sid, Korean investors made several serious financial investments in the enterprise, so we can safely say that this is the leading plant in Russia.

It is worth noting that each Avtotor employee who is involved in the assembly of the Sid underwent a special training course.

The first batch of cars, despite the pessimistic forecasts of foreign experts, successfully passed all the tests and received the "Excellent" mark.

The Kaliningrad plant uses a SKD assembly method, so it is not surprising that Slovaks supply here:

• body panels;
• gear boxes;
• engines.

At the plant in Kaliningrad, the final stage of assembly is underway: employees are installing power units and assembling the salon.

Since 2010, after another restyling, the FL marking has been added to the Russian assembly LEDs. The changes mainly affected the trim levels.

Video: assembling Kia Sid

The qualities of Russian Kia Sid

The Russian enterprise is constantly attended by independent specialists who monitor the assembly process. But, recently, more and more often you can hear negative reviews about the domestic Kia Sid. Car enthusiasts are not satisfied with the rigid suspension and unstable ground clearance. Considering the Russian road conditions, these malfunctions are very significant.

While driving on the domestic Kia Sid, every hole is felt, in addition, many note poor sound insulation.

The body, which, by the way, is supplied from Slovakia, is very unstable to corrosion, and the main reason lies in the fact that the developers used cheap metal. Also, not the best quality and paintwork.

Of course, these shortcomings negatively affect the reputation of the Russian Kia Sid, but this does not prevent it from remaining in the top three of the best-selling rating.

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Where is Kia Sportage collected for Russia and other countries

The popular crossover Kia Sportage is one of the best-selling cars in Europe and the CIS countries. This is not at all surprising, because the model has been on the market for a long time and has established itself as very high-quality and comfortable.
Photo: Kia Sportage 2017

A big plus is that the cost of the car is relatively low, even for the option with the maximum configuration.

However, for most buyers, these indicators are only secondary, and they consider the place of assembly of the car to be the most important point, because in spite of the general concept of production, cars produced by different factories differ significantly.

In today's article we will try to find out where the Kia Sportage is assembled for Russia and consider the most powerful factories of the South Korean giant.

The main factories where Kia Sportage is produced are facilities in Slovakia and Russia. A logical question may arise here: "Isn't Sportage released in Korea?" The answer, of course, will be positive, but since the cars that are made in Korea do not enter the domestic market, we do not consider this plant.

Factory in Slovakia

Photo: Kia Motors plant in Slovakia One of the most powerful is the Kia plant in Slovakia. It should be noted that it was the cars of the local production that flooded the Russian market in 2014.

It is equipped with the latest conveyors and equipment, and its total area is as much as 223 hectares.

Located in the city of ilina, which is the second most populous city in Slovakia.

The Korean concern announced a tender for construction back in early 2000, and it was the Slovak designers who were lucky enough to get it. Investors have poured $ 1 billion into the building to make it a worthy competitor to other European giants.

The Slovak government fully supported the idea of \u200b\u200bconstruction, and it was thanks to this that it was possible to build the plant in a relatively short time.

Annually, about 300,000 units of cars come off the assembly line of the Zhilinsky plant Kia, which can be called quite a good result, given that the number of employees is 3000 people.

It is worth noting that the plant in Slovakia also produces cars of the BMW and General Motors concern.

Kia Sportage plant in Russia

Photo: assembly in Russia Many motorists know that in Russia, namely in the city of Kaliningrad, there is also a fairly powerful Kia plant. But it must be admitted that the domestically assembled Kia Sportage cars are significantly inferior to the Slovak ones.

Alas, there are really too many weak points. First of all, motorists who have purchased a Kaliningrad-assembled Sportage name are not very high-quality doors. The problem is that they walk very tightly, and it looks like they don't close completely. All appeals of dissatisfied buyers regarding doors, official dealers comment very simply: "Depressurization of the cabin." Rarely does anyone manage to fix this problem on their own.

Also, quite often the Kia Sportage air conditioner of the Russian assembly fails. The problem lies in the fact that during production, its containers are not completely filled with the appropriate liquid. But that's not all. One of the tubes of the air conditioner has a sharp bend, which creates an unpleasant noise.

All problems can be corrected by contacting dealerships, but only within six months after purchase.

Video: assembly process in Slovakia

How to determine the assembly location of the Kia Sportage?

In order to determine the place of assembly of your Sportage car, you need to look at the VIN code. If this code begins with the characters XWE, then the car is assembled at the Kaliningrad plant. Korean cars are designated by the letters KNE. For Sportage, which are produced in Slovakia, use the VIN code with U6Y.

For those who do not know, this code is located on the inside of the windshield, near the windshield wipers.

Experts strongly recommend purchasing cars made in Slovakia. Ardent fans of domestically assembled cars need to know that in any case, all bodies are produced in Slovakia, even for the Kaliningrad plant.

It is interesting that the assembly process at the Slovak plant includes as many as 2000 actions, and at the Russian plant - only 20. Therefore, it is surprising why the cars from Zilina are of better quality than those from Kaliningrad.

Output

Kia Sportage is one of the most popular crossovers in Russia. They are assembled at factories in Korea, Slovakia and Russia. Only the products of the last two plants are supplied to the domestic market.

The highest quality cars are made at a factory in Slovakia.

We hope that our article has become as useful as possible for you.

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Where is Kia Sorento collected for Russia and other countries

If we carefully analyze the domestic car market, we can conclude that Korean cars are very popular here. Among all the models, the automaker Kia clearly stands out. The products of this concern can boast of a modern appearance, fantastic technical characteristics and excellent driving characteristics.
Kia Sorento

Among the company's SUVs, the clear leader is the Kia Sorento, which is very popular among domestic motorists. Therefore, many Russians are interested in information about where Kia Sorento and Kia Sorento Prime are collected.

First of all, it is worth noting the fact that the Sorento SUV for Russia is produced at the Avtotor Kaliningrad plant. The assembly started back in 2013.

Also, for some time Sorento was made at the IzhAvto enterprise, but, due to the unstable financial situation, very soon the production process was frozen.

Representatives of the company do not deny that in the future the production workshop of Kia Sorento may be opened at AvtoVAZ, but so far official information and terms have not been released.

In addition to Russia, Kia Sorento is also assembled at factories in Turkey and Slovakia. Do not forget about South Korea, where the most powerful enterprises of the company are located. Korean SUVs do not enter the Russian market, all products go to the local market.

The main advantages and disadvantages of the Kia Sorento assembled in Russia

The Sorento midsize SUV has a very large following. Most of the models are produced at branches of two countries - Russia and Korea. Therefore, from the moment the assembly began, there has been a fierce dispute between motorists on the topic of which country produces better cars.

Experts unanimously declare that Kia Sorento, assembled at the Kaliningrad plant, is not inferior in quality to its South Korean counterpart. This is confirmed by the fact that in parallel with Sorento, the company produces BMW cars. And, as you know, the Germans are meticulous in choosing a place of production.

At domestic facilities, the SKD method is used, and all parts and components are supplied from South Korean enterprises.

Kia car assembly in Mexico

The Kaliningrad plant pleasantly surprises with the level of personnel selection, because several highly qualified candidates apply for one job at once, and in case of any non-compliance with production standards or company rules, severe sanctions are applied to the employee.

During production, the focus is on the welding quality of the body. This process is monitored by Korean specialists who, by the way, also carry out the final control of products.

Before the start of the assembly of Kia Sorento, the production workshops of the Kaliningrad plant were modernized and equipped with modern equipment.

Relatively recently, a domestic enterprise began to produce a restyled version of an SUV - Kia Sorento Prime. First of all, the changes affected the exterior, the ground clearance also increased and the technical characteristics of the car significantly improved.

Also, the new Sorento Prime has become safer and more comfortable.

Features of the Kia Sorento assembled in Russia

As for the power units, a number of gasoline and diesel units are available for the SUV, with volumes from 2.2 liters to 2.4 liters.

It is worth noting that the Kia Sorento, which is equipped with the most powerful diesel engine in the maximum configuration, is capable of reaching a top speed of 200 km / h.

A car with similar equipment, but already with a gasoline engine, is capable of accelerating to a maximum of 176 km / h.

It must be said right away that the Sorento SUV is definitely not an economical car, as the representatives of the Korean company have already said more than once.

Sorento with a petrol unit in mixed mode consumes 9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers. For a diesel engine, this indicator is much less, since a car with "mechanics" consumes only 6 liters.

Good performance indicators are encouraging. For example, it takes only 11 seconds to accelerate from zero to hundreds of kilometers.

As a transmission, for the Kia Sorento of Russian production, they use a six-speed manual transmission and automatic transmission.

There are two variants of the car, in terms of the number of passengers - for 5 and for 7 people.

Video: stages of production of Kia cars

Output

Kia Sorento, which is produced in Kaliningrad, is rightfully considered one of the highest quality cars in the class.

The domestically assembled SUV has a number of features and is perfectly adapted to Russian road conditions.

Analysts predict a Russian-assembled Kia Sorento a great future. Therefore, we can safely expect the emergence of new enterprises.

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Where is Kia Optima assembled for Russia

Back in 2000, the process of assembling the Kia Spectra car was launched. It was a brand new Korean car that Russian customers liked right from the start. In addition, the quality of the first and subsequent games was at a good level. Consequently, a quite expected decision was received from the Koreans - to expand and improve the production of cars in Russia. What happened as a result? Russia has become one of the countries in which the Kia Optima is being assembled.
Photo: Kia Optima

Some argue that this car is only assembled in South Korea. This was true, but only until 2014. Since then, production has been established in Russia and in the United States.

It is worth noting that there are no factories in European countries at all. The question arises: why is this? This is because Korean factories are able to cover the demand for this model.

Where is it assembled and in what configurations?

Photo: assembly in Korea

The fundamentally new Optima has been slightly increased in size: 10 mm in length, 10 mm in height and 25 mm in width. The general indicators were as follows: 4855 mm, 1465 mm and 1860 mm, respectively. The boot volume was also changed and ended up at 510 liters, which is 5 liters more than the previous version.

There are 3 engine options to choose from. You will have to choose from 2.0 liters, 2.4 liters for 150 and 188 hp. respectively. Well, option 3 - a 2.0 liter turbocharged engine with a capacity of 245 hp.

Kia Optima cars for Russia are assembled in the city of Kaliningrad, and a fairly well-known company, Avtotor, is engaged in this.

Thanks to the vast experience of work, as well as the high qualifications of the personnel, a high level of quality of the produced foreign cars was achieved.

At the plant, only the assembly process takes place, all components are supplied from Korea.

What is the difference between Russian and Korean assemblies?

Based on this, that all parts are supplied from Korea, and Korean engineers are directly involved in quality control, the models are almost identical.

Video: Kia car production

Owner reviews

The opinions of motorists differ. One half says there is absolutely no difference between the local and Korean builds. Well, the second one says that after a certain time of using the car, roughly speaking, it turns into a “bucket of nuts”. How do we see it? It was said above that the supply of parts comes from Korea, which means that there are several stages of verification - before shipment and after receipt. And what do you think is the quality level? Not only are the parts checked, but in the end a thorough analysis of the already assembled car is carried out.

If we compare the assembly of the USA, Korea and Russia, the only difference will be the engines and body colors. Of course, there will also be those people who fundamentally do not trust the local assembly and are looking for foreign analogues by all means.

Ultimately, it's up to you to decide.

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Where is Kia Soul collected for Russia in 2017-2018

The well-known automotive manufacturer Kia has a feature that consists in assembling vehicles where they will be subsequently sold. This feature began to appear in the Korean company already in the mid-2000s, when the Spectra model was being assembled at the Izhevsk plant. Today, a completely different model Soul is popular. Users want to get an answer on this about where they collect Kia Soul for Russia.

Production options

You can consider three options where Kia Soul is collected for Russia:

1. Most are produced in Kazakhstan.
2. Directly in Russia in Kaliningrad there is an automobile plant "Avtogor".
3. And, of course, South Korea, which is considered a historical homeland.

So you can find completely different options for assembling a car from a Korean manufacturer. It is worth noting that information leaks on the network about the assembly of the Kia Soul by factories in China, with which partnerships have been built. Some of them are sent for sale to Russia, and some are exported to numerous countries around the world.

It will seem to everyone that there will be a distinctive feature between all such models. Everything will depend on the specificity of each specific plant. So, for example, Kaliningrad has a peculiarity, namely "screwdriver production". Spare parts, components are not produced here, since they come ready-made. The workers only twist them together. The finished car is assembled only from the elements of the Korean manufacturer. Not a single part of domestic components is used here. That is, there is not much difference in production.

This applies to all other factories where Kia Soul is assembled for Russia. All of them receive ready-made kits, after the connection of which a popular car comes off the assembly line. Components are sent to Kazakhstan and the same China. The regional factor has no effect.

What is popularity?

A lot of doubts creep in, due to which the presented car gained popularity on the territory of Russia, where “pretentious” body shapes are of interest. Everything is manifested in the ease of use of transport, its functionality.

In addition, Kia Soul became the first representative of the compact crossover class, which began to move on the roads of Russia. It is distinguished by sufficient ground clearance, acceptable dimensions. It is very easy to operate and has a decent quality. All of this together increases the demand for the car, which is manifested in sales. Their number has not dropped since 2014. And 2015 was marked for the Korean-made model the best-selling among the representatives of the Russian market.

The car also has versatility, as you can safely drive it out of town, regardless of the time. Having looked at a large number of reviews on thematic forums, you can easily cope with average off-road conditions on Soul. That is, if the weather is normal, you can ride through the forest. Broken ruts and snow porridge will not be able to come here. A "Korean" for such an element will not feel confident. An urban crossover, in fact, is not intended for this.

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Where is Kia Soul collected for Russia and other countries

If we analyze the situation that has developed in the automotive world, we can come to the conclusion that the market has been flooded with the products of Korean auto companies. And this is not surprising, because South Korea has always been famous for its powerful enterprises that produce high-quality, inexpensive cars.
Photo: Kia Soul 2016

According to experts, such a high popularity of "Koreans" is due to the fact that each company aims to open a large number of its branches in the world, and the cars that are assembled there are sold not to local markets. This allows you to save money on transportation, and, thus, to establish a low cost.

The Kia company was no exception. Russian motorists were able to see this for themselves in 2005, when the Izh-Avto plant began to make the Kia Spectra model.

In today's article we will talk about the assembly sites of another car - the Kia Soul crossover. Where is Kia Soul produced?

First of all, it should be noted the Kaliningrad plant "Avtotor", which has been cooperating with the Korean company for quite a long time, and supplies cars both to the local market and to the CIS countries.

Another branch is located in Kazakhstan, but in terms of capacity it is significantly inferior to the Russian company. But, nevertheless, he collects a significant number of crossovers for Russia.

Also, on Russian roads, you can find Korean-made Soul. It is the enterprises in South Korea that are considered the main and the most productive, so it is not surprising that their products are supplied to all corners of the world.

Recently, information appeared that the assembly of Kia Soul has begun at Chinese enterprises, and the first batch has already hit the local market. According to experts, soon the Chinese branch will catch up and surpass the level of productivity of South Korean facilities. Most likely, cars from China will be delivered to Russia.

Most car enthusiasts may have a logical question: "Are there any differences between cars from different countries of manufacture?" The answer is simple - more likely no than yes. For example, at a Russian enterprise, only the final assembly cycle is carried out. In more detail, the parts and components are supplied to Avtotor ready-made from South Korea, and they are assembled at a domestic plant.

Therefore, due to the fact that domestic-made parts are not used, there are no special differences between different assemblies.

The same situation is at the Chinese and Kazakh branches, where parts are supplied from South Korea.

Photo: Kia plant in the USA

Reasons for the popularity of the Kia Soul car

After the official presentation of Kia Soul, the automotive world was very surprised. It's all about the extraordinary appearance. Indeed, it is very difficult to find a crossover with the same defiant and bold exterior.

Most of all, I was surprised by the fact that Soul, despite disappointing forecasts, gained great popularity in the Russian market. But how did he do it? It's all about the wide functionality of the Korean car and the level of comfort.

It is noteworthy that Kia Sol bears the honorary title of the first compact crossover that appeared on the roads of Russia. Among the main advantages of a car, which directly and positively affect the level of sales, it is worth noting:

• compact size;
• optimal clearance;
• excellent management;
• high quality.

The peak of sales in the Russian market was in 2014, but at the moment this figure is quite decent.

In principle, Kia Soul can be called a completely universal car. Of course, this does not mean that the car freely overcomes "difficult" rough terrain, but outside the city, especially if it is a forest road, it feels great. Countless positive reviews from owners and experts can confirm this.

The main enemies of the Kia Soul are muddy roads and mud, but the same can be said for most crossovers.

A bold appearance, high-quality interior and excellent dynamic characteristics - this is what makes the Kia Soul one of the best-selling crossovers of our time.

Video: the assembly process of the Kia Soul EV electric car

Output

At the moment, one of the best-selling crossovers in Russia is the Kia Soul. The car is produced at the Kaliningrad enterprise, as well as at the facilities of South Korea, Kazakhstan and China. Each of the options can be found on domestic roads.

Among the main features of the car, including the Russian assembly, it has a unique appearance, fantastic dynamics, high-quality and comfortable interior, as well as low cost.

The car has been nominated for "Best Car of the Year" and "Best Crossover of the Year" awards several times, and in 2015 it became the best-selling Korean car in the world. And this is far from the limit.

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Where is KIA Sportage assembled

Kia sportage is very popular in the Russian Federation, and, in principle, throughout Europe, it is here that one of the main factories is located. Today we will tell you about two factories from where Kia cars can be supplied to Russia.

The plant in Slovakia is a state-of-the-art plant located on 223 hectares of land. It is the largest enterprise in ilina and one of the largest in the entire Slovaks. In 2000, Kia decided to build a plant in Europe. As a result, Slovakia won the tender and received about $ 1 billion in investments. Today, about three thousand people work there, with the plant's design capacity of about 300 thousand vehicles per year. The plant was built in the shortest possible time, the help of the Slovak government, for which this enterprise was simply necessary, affected here.

In Russia, Kia is assembled in Kaliningrad at the production facilities of the Avtotor company. By the way, it also produces BMW and GM cars.

Where is Kia Sportage best collected?

This is more of a rhetorical question. Sportage is completely assembled in Slovakia, then disassembled into car sets and sent to Russia. The number of operations performed in the Autootor is minimal. For comparison, in Slovakia, for the Assembly of Kia Sportage, about 2000 operations are done, and in Russia, only twenty.

Last summer, the third generation debuted in South Korea, known here as Sorento Prime. And in February-March next year, the updated Kaliningrad-assembled crossovers will appear at Russian dealers. This is an important event for our market, because Prime leads the sales rating in its market segment: 4,271 vehicles were sold in the nine months of 2017.

The updated SUVs differ in different bumpers, a radiator grille and headlights with running lights in the lower part, and in rich configurations, the head optics will be fully LED. Inside - a new four-spoke steering wheel, automatic selector and climate control unit, as well as wireless charging for a smartphone. But the main changes are technical.

We got acquainted with the Vehicle Type Approval, which Rosstandart has already issued for the updated car. According to the document, our Sorento Prime will have a new flagship V6 3.5 (249 hp, 336 Nm) engine with the factory designation G6DC. These multi-point injection engines were previously used in second-generation Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento crossovers, Kia Sedona minivans and Kia Cadenza sedans. However, he developed 280-290 hp on them, and for the Russian market the output was reduced to fit into a profitable tax category.

In the Russian range, this engine will replace the aspirated V6 3.3 (250 hp). And along with the engine, a new eight-speed "automatic" of the Kia-Hyundai concern will appear. The power range of this transmission, that is, the ratio of low to high gear, has increased by 34%, which bodes fuel economy.

The familiar 2.2 turbodiesel with a capacity of 200 hp will also be aggregated with the new “automatic”. But the most affordable crossovers with a 2.4 GDI gasoline engine (188 hp) will continue to be equipped with the old-style six-speed "automatic". Six-speed "mechanics" are also certified for all four-cylinder Prime. In addition, front-wheel drive versions are provided for all motors. However, such versions were in the previous OTTS, but now in Russia Sorento Prime is sold only with all-wheel drive and with automatic transmissions.

It is not yet known how prices will change with the appearance of updated cars. Now Kia Sorento Prime costs at least 2 million 65 thousand rubles for a car with a gasoline engine 2.4 GDI, and a diesel all-wheel drive will cost at least 2 million 275 thousand rubles.

Korean cars are quite popular in our market. All domestic motorists are familiar with the Korean brand Kia, which has been producing reliable, beautiful and comfortable vehicles for a long time. Surely many Russian consumers and fans of this "Korean" will be interested in the information where they collect Kia Sorento for the domestic market. The Kia Sorento model has been assembled since 2013 at the Russian enterprise Avtotor, located in the city of Kaliningrad. In addition, information is slipping on the worldwide network that soon the AvtoVAZ plant will produce Kia Sorento, but these data have not been confirmed. There was a time when this "Korean" was produced at the IzhAvto plant. This plant managed to produce a limited number of cars. Also, the release of the Kia Sorento model has been established in Slovakia and Turkey. There is an enterprise in South Korea, but cars of this assembly are delivered to us very rarely and only through Vladivostok. Mostly in the regions of our country, crossovers assembled in Russia go.

The mid-size Korean SUV, both Russian and Korean, have their fans. You can argue endlessly about which car is better.

I declare with confidence that the Kaliningrad enterprise produces Kia Sorento in quality no worse than in South Korea. Indeed, at this plant, BMW cars are also assembled, and the Germans are famous for their pedantry and love for reliable products. Where KiaSorento is produced, today they use components that are supplied from Korean factories. At the Russian enterprise, strict control over the personnel is observed; in the event of "problems", none of the employees will receive indulgence. Also, at the Kaliningrad plant, the quality of the bodywork is strictly controlled. In addition, employees constantly attend training courses.

The conveyor line is fully automated, and each batch of new Kia Sorento crossovers is subjected to rigorous testing. After the appearance of an updated generation of Korean cars, domestic engineers released their own restyled version of the crossover. The exterior of the "Korean" was slightly altered, the ground clearance was changed, more powerful power plants were installed, and the safety and comfort of the vehicle were improved.

Car specifications

The Kia Sorento car is equipped with diesel and gasoline engines, the volume of which varies from 2.-2 liters. up to 2.4 liters. The diesel version of the Korean crossover in the maximum configuration is capable of reaching a maximum speed of up to two hundred kilometers per hour. Sorento on gasoline "squeezes" no more than 175 km / h. A big role is played by the fact where the Kia Sorento is produced. The quality and service life of the machine depends on this. The Kia Sorento crossover does not belong to the class of economical vehicles. The combined fuel consumption cycle is almost nine liters per hundred kilometers. A car with a diesel power unit and a manual gearbox "eats" less - 5.5 liters. It will take eleven seconds to accelerate the car to the first hundred. Kia Sorento models 2014-2015 are produced with a six-speed "automatic" and the same "mechanics". The car is designed to carry from five to seven passengers. Thanks to such excellent technical characteristics, this "Korean" has become so popular all over the world, including in Russia.