The South Korean brand unveiled its first eight-speed automatic transmission specially developed for front-wheel drive vehicles.
Since 2012, the South Korean brand's engineers have been working on this new transmission, which has given rise to the registration of 143 patents for new technologies over the past four years. But what changes?
Compared to Kia's current six-speed automatic transmission, the eight-speed gearbox retains identical dimensions but is 3.5 kg less in weight. Although Kia has been working on a similar system for rear-wheel-drive cars, its application to front-wheel-drive models required a transverse gearbox mounting, “stealing” hood space for other components. As such, Kia has reduced the size of the oil pump, the smallest in the segment. In addition, the brand also implemented a new valve command structure, which allows direct control of the clutch, reducing the number of valves from 20 to 12.
