30 YEARS OF KIA
tristan_shale-hester@autovia.co.uk
@tristan_shale
Kia Picanto (2020)
Model: Kia Picanto X-Line
Engine: 1.0-litre 3cyl petrol, 66bhp
0-60mph: 14.1 seconds
Top speed: 100mph
Length: 3,595mm
Width: 1,625mm
Height: 1,500mm
Kerbweight: 978kg
Kia Pride (1992)
Model: Kia Pride 1.3 LX 5dr
Engine: 1.3-litre 4cyl petrol, 60bhp
0-60mph: 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 91mph
Length: 3,615mm
Width: 1,605mm
Height: 1,460mm
Kerbweight: 825kg
THE life of a large, multinational car company is frequently a complex, varied narrative tied up with global politics and history, and Korean giant Kia is no exception. Starting out in 1944 as a bicycle manufacturer called Kyungsung Precision Industry, the company changed its name to Kia Industries in 1952, at which point it started making motorcycles, trucks and eventually cars.
The firm has faced some major challenges in its time, being forced to stop car production by a military dictator in the early 1980s, for example, and even filing for bankruptcy in 1997 before being rescued by its current parent company,
