Having successfully raised the bar on design and build quality in the span of a few short years, Kia has now set its sights on getting the ride and handling of its cars to a world-class level, according to Autocar.
European chief operating officer Michael Cole used the appointment of former BMW M vice president of engineering Albert Biermann as an example of the company’s stated goal. Biermann is now the executive vice president for vehicle testing and high performance development at the Hyundai Motor Group, and leads the development of high-performance Hyundai and Kia vehicles.
“Dynamics is a key focus for us, with teams working on it across the business,” Cole said. “We have built a reputation on design, quality and reliability, but now there is a lot of focus on ride and handling. We also want to be a benchmark on ride and handling – we can compete, but we want to better that and be renowned for our dynamics as well.”
Cole added that Biermann’s appointment has “strengthened” Kia’s prowess in vehicle dynamics. “He chiefly works on performance cars like the Optima GT, but his influence is now felt everywhere, and he’s more involved across the business. He’s a sign of our commitment that we want to make this a real strength across our brand.”
Kia’s performance lineup currently consists of the cee’d and pro_cee’d GT as well as the Optima GT. “When we did [the] cee’d GT, our plan was not to have an outright high-performance muscle car, but a car that’s comfortable to drive, responsive and fun to drive – not at the really hot end, but still fun,” Cole said.
At the top will sit the Kia GT, a four-door coupé that is very much inspired by the original concept from Frankfurt 2011 – it is expected to be unveiled next year.
The car is still “a work in progress,” Cole said. “There’s been no final announcement. It’s a very exciting project. There will be a time when it’s right for us. We’re rightly focused on the core segments but we see this as an opportunity. We’ll hopefully go through with it and not too far away, but there’s nothing to confirm yet.”
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Ride and handling?
Albeit Lotus tuned, Proton remains the Supreme Leader. #noquestion
Oi get your own name.
Also, after having driven the Pro Cee’d GT in the UK I think it handles superbly. Even fifth gear crew approved of it’s handling. But I don’t those cars are not destined for markets outside of EU & USA
Proton Lotus is the real no1 claim by BN ministry and P1 supporters.
inb4 somebody says poton ride & handling.
The leader in handling is claimed by our Ministers who have strongly proclaimed that Proton is No 1 for handling and drive and it is BETTER than BMW and Volvo.
This is to justify their billions spent acquiring Lotus, a still debt laden company.
We still syiok sendiri with the “Engineered by Lotus” badge behind our Proton cars
Oi get your own name
Still prefer p1/conti’s
You are better than Lotus. Good enough?
Ride and handling are registered trademark of Proton. Patented also in all countries in the world except Israel. Even Oxford dictionary can’t use the words.
from my experience.
Proton is good in handling only, not ride.
Many car is more comfortable than a Proton.
Agree! Proton is good only in ride. Others is bad RV, bad campro engine & bad CVT bising clutch Punch Powertrain gearbox!
U must test the new Perdana then.
Best in class ride and handling.
Proton doesnt put any engineering touch on new perdana at the moment, except grill bumper design at its not allowed by honda. But they plan to do with e01 perdana
perdana? you mean previous gen accord izit?
Go karts are also good in handling. Doesnt make them good cars.
Take those comfortable cars for a spin and feel the floatiness.
German cars excluded.
shiok sendiri p1 fans…the car cant even sell outside of bolehland…
Impossible.
adios proton,
hi kia
Riding a Kia is like riding a well-equipped papan beroda.
Cee’d GT is a muscle car? LOL
Leader in Ride & Handling..rofl
These Korean has such a big sense of humor… :p
At least Kia can sell car to USA, EUROPE, CHINA than Proton’s self proclaim happiness..
Agree. Its a joke. Engine refinement also still not on par yet with the Japanese , not to mention the Europeans .
At this moment, they are still as good as plain water.
Tasteful people wants coca-cola.
I don’t think those cars are destined*
a little brain fart there
Korean cars can be many good things but here in Boleh-Land, the RV is king. Everything else is useless. The God car handles like a boat in a storm but it has “great” RV, hence a best seller.
Lets come n join venture with our PROTON if nid to improve ur ride n handling and PROTON can improve on build quality like KIA. Win-Win～
Focus on engine refinement and NVH first. Kimchi D-seg are still rougher than sushi.
I predicted this.. but no biggie.
Its a brilliant simple strategy by Hyundai. They are late in the game, and to see it we have to begin with POSCO – one of the world’s largest steelmakers. POSCO was created with self-sufficiency in steel in mind. They eventually became among the world’s most efficient steel makers.
Efficient steady supply of steel combined with a sizeable domestic market meant cars were a feasible industry for South Korea.
Being late in the game, Hyundai could not compete on ride and handling, design, quality – nothing. They could have spent billions on these things, but consumer sentiment means that all that means nothing without brand value and history. So they sold their cars cheap and with long warranties – just to get market share.
Reinvesting those profits into further R&D – in the late 90’s to 2000s, they begin improving the value proposition with cheap cars with full specs. Auto-manual gearbox, power windows, ABS, EBD, all the things the late 90s could offer.
Late 2000s, another paradigm shift – focus on design. Hire the world’s best car designers – pay them USD100mil and see USD 1bil in additional sales. Kia and Hyundai are now among the best looking cars on the road.
Today – among the best drivetrains available in the market – and now the hardest part – ride and handling. Once this is taken care of, combined with Hyundai Mobis push into OEM parts i.e. transmissions, misc parts – within the next 3 years, Hyundai and Kia will rival Toyota GM to be the world’s biggest carmaker.
All that, and see Proton. Not even close to even a simple-minded strategy let alone a smart strategy.
If 1947 is being late in the game, then what does 1981 means?
Models of previous generation from Kia and Hyundai looked good; the current gen doesn’t. They’re now ugly.
Look at the new Sportage and then the old one. The new Optima’s D-pillar design? New Hyundai Sonata and the old one? The previous gens all look better.
As for the drivetrain, yea they certainly impress on papers but one thing for sure, they’re not as frugal as the rivals’ best effort.
The Koreans have definitely improved over the years; I’m looking forward to even better products from them.
Wow.. Thats like the polar opposit of what they have now…. Respect the challenge…
They should buy Lotus, everybody wins, kia get the finest engineers around, n lotus will have lots of cash injected in, and importantly, it gets a big monkey out of p1’s shoulders….
Current KIAs drive like boats. But the story in the blog is about their intentions. They got ex-Audi guys working for them in the design department and now they make really handsome cars in and out. Now with former M guys working on ride and handling, I’ll be very worried if I were they’re competitors. Its a winning recipe… good management bringing in the best talents to work for them (and train their local engineers), honest hardworking workers and the love for their company and country. Surely there’s got to be something that we can learn from.
Sceptical, but hey go for it!
if they get it right, the rest will be doomed. it will be a winner all the way.
apa ride handling? enjin n gearbox pun mcm tahi. harap body je cantik, bila hantar servis naza kia banyak je masalah. puiiii..
As I mention before. Avoid KIA, Hyundai, Chevrolet & Proton! Bad engine & gearbox, bad RV, bad aftersale services.
Buy Toyota & Perodua better!
I don’t have any problem when sending my kia to naza kia sc so far.
I’ve had zero problem with Naza Kia SC for the past 6 years, what problem did you encounter?
At the very least they are trying to improve their brand by hiring high calibre people from the industry, not like proton that’s just wasting away the talents at lotus. Constantly lying by simply placing a “Lotus handling” badge on every car. Handling by lotus my foot, is proton really saying that their cars handle like lotus? now that’s very funny.
They r using Kyb shockers underneath ur proton
Obviously you never drive p1
Easy, ask Proton to sell you Lotus for RM1, just like how they dispose off Augusta.
I’m not sure why ppl bashed up KIA. This company really went through a hard ride in order to reached today achievement. Else you want like proton 20yrs same marketing slogan ride and handling? Today Kia set a vision and want to brace that. I don’t see any issue if they have financial to hire expert to get there.
It’s in the drive.
You all give no face to Kia. They already eclipse Proton in term of quality & image. Do you think they cannot become no.1 in ride & handling?
Ride and handling has never been about how much money or tech a brand has. It’s always been about acquiring the right talent and it appears Kia is doing just that.
That is the reason why ride and handling are often called the ‘dark arts’.
Clown like ride and handling.
Good handling? When can Kia produce a car that can beat the handling of Toyota 86 and the jinba ittai Mazda MX-5 ?
Not even mentioning about the ultimate driving machine yet.
How many toyota 86 have you sell in Malaysia? Or worst still lexus ? Everyday i see big taukeh driven ni German Marque only. Go n dream with your toyota
Not to find fault, but the same can be said to Kia.
The taukeh don’t get driven around in Kia and Hyundai. But if not mistaken, Hyundai started selling the Genesis here too; how many have been sold?
Now all they need is to hire someone from Mercedes for interior refinement, Toyota or honda for transmission, and mazda for engine. Then the world will be their oyster
Malaysian bashers good as though they have PHD in Automotive Engineering but turn up that they are good at bashing only.