We’re in a crazy car week with three big motor shows happening simultaneously – New York, Bangkok and now Seoul. With global attention on the Big Apple, Kia has elected to bring all its big guns to NYC (new Forte Koup, new Soul, Optima facelift) leaving a concept car for its home show. But it’s a cute one, the Kia Cub Concept.
Designed at Kia HQ studio in Seoul, the little Cub is less than four meters long, has rearward-opening rear doors and an “access-all-areas” interior concept without traditional B-pillars. Kia describes the Cub, which revisits the 2007 Kia Kee Concept in a new form, as a car “with a cheerful face and a daring character.”
The Cub’s face features a broad wrap-around “mouth” and there is a dip on the top of the windshield – a motif that we’ve seen before on Kias. The latest interpretation of grille is a shallower design incorporating the turbocharger’s air intake, highlighted in body colour.
The headlamps feature two-point LED lights that are similar to those which first appeared on the Kia Quoris flagship sedan last year. Large 19-inch alloys fill the wheelarches and the front doors have aerodynamic “turning-vanes” at sill level to streamline the flanks.
“The new Kia Cub is a compact, four-door coupe created with a clear focus on driving performance and practicality. Styled to appeal to trend-setting urban dwellers, the Cub features a comfortable four-seater cabin which generates an emotional, feel-good response and delivers everyday, real-world benefits,” said Thomas Oh, senior executive VP and COO at Kia.
The Cub concept features a new version of the company’s 1.6L GDI engine, the unit recently confirmed for the new Kia pro_cee’d GT and cee’d GT sold in Europe. The 204 PS/265 Nm engine is paired to a six-speed manual gearbox in the Euro hatches, giving them a 0-100 km/h time of 7.7 seconds and a top speed of 230 km/h.
Unfortunately, there are no current plans to put the Kia Cub concept into production. The key word is current because Kia is now seriously considering bringing some recent concepts to life.
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Sorry to all kimchi fans but this one isn’t remotely attractive as Kia’s other offering. Some bits if the front looks like the car had a allergic reaction. And for the first time for a Korean manufacturer for quite a while. There isn’t any attractive side profile on this.
It has a joker face. See that smile? :)
it is just a concept larr..why so serious??
Well a concept should show what a company is capable, just my critical analysis on the design.
myvi wannabe..
Suicide doors? Do it, Kia!
kia mustache
Like a sir….lol
aiyayaya, the bumper… Mister Potato official car!!
tiger nose -> mustache ?
its really a cunning smiley face. actual car sure wont look like this, haha.
cute…
i like
Lambatnye proton nk keluarkan model baru, nak tgu preve hatchback launch tp dh mcm2 model baru KIA bwk keluar…….agaknye lepas ni kne tgu dlm 10tahun bru proton bwk keluar da all new preve….agaknye la
Design are subjective…some may like it….some may not….
agree. it really depends on individual as we tend to not prefer exactly the same whole thing. human have personal preference in terms of look and feel. the part of which is arguable should be the spec and features – good to have, must have or optional
tinggal proton ja yang tak reti design..org lain semua dah maju..pastu asyik dgn cvt ja cubalah pakai twin clutch ka?
How can they imagine such a cute car like this, bravo KIA !!