Fleet professionals experience the latest vehicles and technologies from Kia.
Kia Canada recently hosted their 2019 Ride & Drive at one of Toronto’s best known landmarks, Ontario Place. The day began with a presentation by Stephanie Smith, Manager, National Fleet Sales at Kia Canada.
Smith asked the question, “Why Kia?” And the answer was simple: When you work with Kia, you’re guaranteed a seamless transaction. With fleet reps at each of the 194 Kia dealerships across Canada, as well as a competitive warranty, a focus on safety and quality, availability of product (which is a challenge these days), and a competitive concession, Kia offers fleet professionals numerous reasons to do business with this rapidly-growing brand.
Smith also announced the launch of a new fleet portal, kiafleet.ca, as well as the introduction of a new Kia Demo Program. “We have vehicles across Canada now,” she said, admitting that the program used to be very Ontario-focused, but not anymore.
Product presentation
Reg Furoy, National Training Manager for Kia Canada took the more than 50 guests in the audience through a brief explanation of some of the new vehicles and technologies available today.
Furoy said Kia is celebrating 20 years in Canada this year, and that the brand has been at the top initial quality ranking for four years running… and intends to stay there.
The audience learned about the many safety technologies Kia is offering, including Lane Keeping Assist, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, a 360-degree Camera Monitoring System, Parking Sensors, Dynamic Headlights, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Smart Cruise Control, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone chargers, an Advanced Heads-Up Display System (even for lower trim vehicles), and UVO Intelligence.
UVO is free for the first five years, and transferable if the vehicle is sold. It allows the vehicle owner access to a broad range of features including Remote Start/Stop with Climate Control, Remote Door Lock/Unlock, Find My Car, Automatic Collision Notification, SOS Emergency Assistance, Vehicle Health Monitoring and much more.
UVO works remotely, meaning distance is not an issue. You can access the vehicle from anywhere in the world via a phone app
New vehicles
Some of the new vehicles available to drive at this year’s event included the brand new third-generation Soul, packed with some of the latest technologies and safety systems, including a massive 10.25-inch touchscreen.
At the other end of the size spectrum, the all-new 2020 Telluride proved to be popular with the fleet audience. This is the first full-size SUV for Kia, built and designed for North America.
It features fold flat second and third row seats, 601L of cargo space, and innovative technologies like Driver Talk Mode, which lets the driver talk to third row passengers through the speakers.
It also comes with a wireless charger, 6 USB ports, room for seven or eight passengers, and a “One-Touch Walk-In Slide” feature for easy access to the third row.
An innovative blind spot monitoring system uses cameras on both side mirrors to show the driver who or what is in the blind spot. Rather than simply illuminate a light on the mirror, the system displays an image of whatever is in the blind spot within the instrument cluster.
Kia has certainly come a long way in the 20 years that they have been in Canada, and the latest vehicles from this forward-thinking brand prove that advanced technologies and safety systems don’t necessarily have to come with a hefty price tag.
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