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Sportage, Sephia Honored for Great Value

8 September 2000

Sportage, Sephia Honored for Great Value

 Automobile Club of Southern California Names Sportage Best Value Among SUVs

    IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 8 The Kia Sportage and Kia Sephia
today were acknowledged by the Automobile Club of Southern California as being
two of the best automotive values on the market.
    The Sportage was named the best value among all sport-utility vehicles in
the Auto Club's 2000 Target Car Report, and the Sephia compact sedan was
selected as one of the three best overall values among passenger cars.
    According to the Auto Club (http://www.aaa-calif.com), its "target" vehicle is
one that comes closest to possessing the features that Auto Club members say
they want in cars and trucks.  Those features -- based on periodic member
surveys -- include braking, crashworthiness, visibility, handling, ride
quality and fuel economy.  The Auto Club's Automotive Research Center tests
and evaluates dozens of cars each year to determine which ones come closest to
being the ideal consumer vehicle.
    Since its introduction in 1995, the Sportage has received several other
honors.  Four of the last five years, Four Wheeler has named the Sportage one
of the "10 Best Buys in 4WD"; in 1997 and 1998, IntelliChoice named it a Best
Overall Value of the Year; the Men's Journal 1997 Buyer's Guide named it a
"Best Buy" among compact sport-utility vehicles; and Popular Science gave it a
"Best of What's New" award in 1995.
    Kia Motors America is the U.S. sales, marketing and service arm of
Kia Motors Corp. in Seoul, South Korea.