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2014 Kia Sedona rises from the dead, same as it ever was

Don't throw away your car seats just yet, Korean minivan enthusiasts - the Kia Sedona is back on the market. If you recall, Kia killed its minivan offering at the end of 2012 (there was never a 2013 model). But here's what's making us scratch our heads: Despite the fact that Kia did confirm that the Sedona would eventually be back, we were under the impression that it would return with a proper replacement for the aging van. (Earlier reports suggested something along the lines of that cool KV7 concept.) Instead, the reincarnated Korean minivan you see here is, well, the same as it ever was. Consider our buzz killed.
That's not to say there haven't been a couple of delightfully refreshed bits thrown into the new package. For starters, the Sedona wears a slightly updated schnoz with a redesigned grille, LED positioning lamps and standard foglamps inside the reworked lower fascia. (If we're honest, the Kia looks a bit Ford Windstar-ish from the front three-quarter angle.) There's a new 17-inch wheel design for the 2014 model year, and aside from a couple enhancements to the interior in terms of storage, that short list rounds out the full extent of the new updates.
All Sedonas are powered by the same 3.5-liter V6 that debuted in the 2011 model, producing 269 horsepower and 246 pound-feet of torque, mated exclusively to a six-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy ratings fall in at a rather mediocre 17/24 miles per gallon (city/highway).

2014 Kia Soul totally redesigned, now bigger and more refined

The 2014 Kia Soul has been unveiled at the 2013 New York Auto Show, and the all-new five-door box-on-wheels offers up nearly an extra inch of wheelbase and a track that's wider by .6 inches. The changes offer up a bit more space indoors, and since overall height has remained the same, the Soul now looks a bit less top heavy than before. A wider rear hatch opening also makes loading and unloading cargo easier. Indoors, the 2014 Soul offers a substantially revised cabin with more soft-touch materials, and leather seats are now on the option sheet. Designers borrowed inspiration from the Kia Track'ster Concept indoors, using organic lines throughout.
An available eight-inch touch screen takes care of infotainment duties on the center stack, and now features the ability to scroll through content by flicking a finger, just like a smartphone, instead of paging through multiple screens. Buyers can also fit their 2014 Soul with a larger TFT LCD color screen in the instrument cluster, which now displays turn-by-turn directions on vehicles equipped with navigation.
Engineers managed to create a chassis that's also 29-percent stiffer, with 66 percent of the shell using ultra-high-strength steel for safety and rigidity. Under the hood, base models bow with a 1.6-liter direct-injection four-cylinder engine with 130 horsepower and 118 pound-feet of torque, while Plus and Exclaim trims get a more potent direct-injection 2.0-liter four-cylinder. That engine develops 164 hp and 151 lb-ft of torque, and both mills can be bolted to either a six-speed manual or automatic depending on trim. Check out the full press release below for more information.

2014 Kia Soul SUV Styling Pack adds some aggression

Last month, Kia released a few photos of the European-market 2014 Soul ahead of its Frankfurt Motor Show reveal, and we happened to notice that the hamster box looked a bit different - a bit tougher. That's because Kia is adding an SUV Styling Pack to the car's options list, which includes the blacked-out lower fascias, wheel arches, side skirts and painted roof seen here.
At the time, we polled Autoblog readers if they thought bringing the optional visuals to SUV-happy North America was a good idea, and the voting split 70.3 percent in favor, 21.4 percent against, and 8.3 percent undecided.
At the present time, Kia representatives tell us that it has no plans to offer the SUV Styling Pack in our market, so you'll have to take a better look at it with our new gallery to decide whether its absence from North American order sheets is a tragedy or not.