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Autoweek's top-12 most read stories of 2012

From an infamous Texas house fire, to the death of one of the greats, autoweek.com's top-12 most read stories of 2012 offer a look back at a wild year. This year while we tested some of the best enthusiast vehicles, ran around auto shows and spoke with automotive movers and shakers, we kept track of what piqued your interests. What, you thought we weren't paying attention?

"Room for debate" on minimum driving age increase

MOTORISTS are concerned about the minimum driving age, according to new research. More than a third of drivers (35%) think the minimum age should be raised, with 40% of those people believing the starting point should be 21, according to the study carried out by British Car Auctions (BCA). Four in 10 of all people questioned said they felt that a reduction in the overall accident rate would be a welcome outcome of an adjustment of the legal minimum driving age.

Kia Sportage KX-4 range topper

Kia has added a new model at the top of the Sportage range – the Kia Sportage KX-4 – with plenty of toys, a 181bhp 2.0 litre CRDi and 4WD. Just like sister company Hyundai, Kia no longer looks to be the cheapest on the block and is instead looking to offer the best it can, including range-topping cars with decent levels of power and plenty of toys. So step forward the new Kia Sportage KX-4 with a 181bhp version of the 2.0 litre CRDi diesel engine, 4WD and plenty of toys making it the most powerful Sportage on sale – and the best equipped.