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Detroit Show: Kia Kue Crossover Concept Offers Future Styling Cues
DETROIT — Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia are doing a better job than some sister brands at differentiating their products and identifying the audiences at which they're aimed.
Even as Hyundai was pulling the wraps off its new seven-passenger family hauler, the Veracruz, Kia was unveiling a four-passenger crossover concept that shares its basic underbody architecture with the Veracruz but little else.
The Kia Kue is one of the first vehicles developed under Peter Schreyer, the company's new global design chief, working with Tom Kearns and his design team at Kia Motors America. The Kue is intended to provide a peek at the brand's future design direction.
But the vehicle also further establishes Kia's sporting credentials. According to Len Hunt, chief operating officer of Kia America, the Kue "embodies the next phase of our brand evolution, which will instill pride and passion in our customers through great design."
At 186 inches long overall, the Kue is several inches shorter than the Veracruz and sits on a wheelbase of just over 114 inches. The vehicle rides on 22-inch wheels and tires.
Because it's a pure concept and not intended as a production vehicle, the Kue employs some unique and distinctive design features, including a single side door that opens scissors-style for easy access to both rows of custom bucket seats. Front-seat occupants access climate and audio systems via a touch pad and motion-sensing controls; rear-seat passengers get their own control interface.
Another hint at the brand's future performance aspirations can be found under the hood: a supercharged DOHC 4.6-liter V8 that delivers 400 horsepower and more than 400 pound-feet of torque. A full-time all-wheel-drive system is fitted.
What this means to you: The Sorento may get a big brother — and it could look a bit like the Kue.
Even as Hyundai was pulling the wraps off its new seven-passenger family hauler, the Veracruz, Kia was unveiling a four-passenger crossover concept that shares its basic underbody architecture with the Veracruz but little else.
The Kia Kue is one of the first vehicles developed under Peter Schreyer, the company's new global design chief, working with Tom Kearns and his design team at Kia Motors America. The Kue is intended to provide a peek at the brand's future design direction.
But the vehicle also further establishes Kia's sporting credentials. According to Len Hunt, chief operating officer of Kia America, the Kue "embodies the next phase of our brand evolution, which will instill pride and passion in our customers through great design."
At 186 inches long overall, the Kue is several inches shorter than the Veracruz and sits on a wheelbase of just over 114 inches. The vehicle rides on 22-inch wheels and tires.
Because it's a pure concept and not intended as a production vehicle, the Kue employs some unique and distinctive design features, including a single side door that opens scissors-style for easy access to both rows of custom bucket seats. Front-seat occupants access climate and audio systems via a touch pad and motion-sensing controls; rear-seat passengers get their own control interface.
Another hint at the brand's future performance aspirations can be found under the hood: a supercharged DOHC 4.6-liter V8 that delivers 400 horsepower and more than 400 pound-feet of torque. A full-time all-wheel-drive system is fitted.
What this means to you: The Sorento may get a big brother — and it could look a bit like the Kue.
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