Hyundai and Kia designs have always been a ‘rojak’ patchwork of other car designs and they know it, and admit it. We have the new Sonata looking like an Accord, and the previous generation Sonata looking like a Jaguar, the new Kia Sportage looking like a Volvo XC90, just to name a few examples.
Hyundai Group Chairman Chung Mong Koo decided it’s time for Hyundai and Kia to develop it’s own proprietary brand identity and styling language and has invested USD$50 million for two design studios in Irvine, California.
To head these design studios, Chung pulled Joel Piaskowski and Tom Kearns from General Motors, and put them in charge of Hyundai America and Kia America’s design houses respectively.
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Hyundai and Kia ready to take on the world with this aggressive european styling.Naza, if you can produce this car with style like this at the fraction of cost, definetly can win the Malaysian market.
about bloody time.
what? a accord which exchange rear light from left to right, from right to left…….
its inspiring that thy are actually addressing the problem,and admiting it, is solving half the problem,personally wil neva buy a korean car…thy look fake to me…bt as company with the right mngment n atitude thn i suport thm…any of our national makers listening?? btw,heard of the new naza sorento??i tink its lunched today….thy r assembing everyting now…too bad for previous owners of the original sorento…ur price wil depreciate like hel i guess……this is one reason of not buying a korean car,bcos at the end of the day naza will asemble thm n sel thm cheaper…wat a headache!
to say the truth…
i find the rear more similiar to the latest lexus IS..
http://lexus.jp/models/is/design/gallery.html
except that it's not as aggresive as the lexus… ;)
change subject a bit ah… but i wonder when will lexus consider opening a full dealership here in m`sia?
rojak ? who call me who call me ?
Shai, naza doesnt produce cars lah, only assemble, same as perodua. They CKD them, throw in some locally made parts, in Naza's case, very little locally made parts and rebadge them as Naza's. So whatever Kia builds, Naza will practically bring the whole thing, rebadge, sell.
Yep, thats the beauty of Naza, partnering with the comrades from Korean, rebadging the car and sell it cheaper. Whats next after Sorento. Anyway, Naza much better in term of contribution to our economic compared with other AP king who kept the money for their own usage only. Heard that Naza give 6 month bonus to its employee.
this car was voted a better performance, better styling & comfort but very importantly cheaper around USD10K compare to Camry & Accord. This car has the shortest time in stopping in 80km/h compare to Camry & Accord.
Source: from edmunds.com
Hullo Shai…..
From whom you heard NAZA gave 6 mnth bonus to all staffs?… Hehehehehe, You bet!!
Bullshi
Somehow, Kia cars seem to be always better looking than Hyundai cars. Why is that so? Kia cars seem to be more curvy, better shaped somehow.
I must add the design of new Hyundai Sonata is an improvement over Honda Accord i-VTEC :)
At least Hyundai/Kia is listening.
They are paying attention to customer feedback very seriously. In the span of 10 years, we saw drastic improvements as they prepared thier assult on Honda and Toyota. Each subsequent model is a marked improvement over the previous ones.
Sure, their cars looks like copycats, but in the price range that Hyundai/Kia competes in, value and reliability usually takes centre stage.
I've driven most of thier range, and yes, they do feel cheaply built and cost cutting exercises are apparent, but those were North American models so they are sold at a price. Our local ones however are better appointed.
Becasue of our road stax structure, we loose out on some of the more impressive engines, like the 3.3L V6 Lamda engine which is a marvel in torque delivery.
Now, if Proton can just ape Hyundai/Kia, thats an achievement in itself. But will they ever listen to customers???
To the person that said they will never buy a Korean car…man..are you missing out….Korean cars now are no where near the tin cans of yester-years. One must remember thats how the Americans thought off Hondas and Toyotas when they first came to shore.
why copy from Honda Accord??? copy from Proton la…
looks like accord 99 model
shai .. u totaally out of economic knowledge i think.
To much IMPORT is bad for the country.. but if you said it's good for you. it's fine. But for the long term, Ringgit will lose NILAI = inflation .
Export is good, more KDNK (Keluaran dalam negara kasar ) that's mean = Much money come into our country, that make ringgit high value and u can buy more stuff with a little money then.
Talking about inflation, too much thing relate, but this only a few of them.
IF, proton/P2 can sell more car to outside. bring back so much money to malaysia .
For the time being. We're only almost biggest Minyak sawit exporter. thats bring lots of money into malaysia. others is tourism. The car do not have so much impact yet..
Shai, its hard for you to understand rite? . EASY .
Which one is better? Selling product and got lot of money or :
Just buy Products? Go back. bukak buku teks Perdagangan tingkatan 5. ;)
Talking about hyundai + Kia back.
Yep.. seems they all lack of identity.
about identity, i think that our Proton is more better by than they.
because at least proton already had small identity = Lampu look alike Mata .
even Lotus Europa launched = some people (not in malaysia, but in europe also) . Thy said = thats lamp similiar to proton!. And many more thing unreveiled too ..
I saw kia Optima, yess good, spacious , business class.. but POOR. no identity yet like Jaguar, BMW, etc..
+++ Naza pasang kereta kia karen = naza citra? nampak buruk dan murah Citra antaranya dashboard plastik murah dan lampu belakang yang pakai Plastik murah!..
Mitsu,
You are comparing a Kia Optima/Magentis to a Jaguar and BMW?
You must be joking right? You want identity then you pay for it.
As for the Citra, What do you really from expect a 2.0L engine'd MPV that costs $79k. The older Perdana costs $25k more….and its no better than the Kia Optima.
Seriously, as expensive as cars are here, I would gladly TRADE identity for value.
But who knows, maybe you can afford a Jaguar or BMW, since your expectations are so high.
Aiyyoo, mitsu….thanks for the critics…sory I don't take Perdagangan. Aku budak Sastera la.
I just jot down some of my view about Naza and its contribution to the economics and yet you go criticize me about my lack of knowledge in economic.
I don't want to speak about all the macro econnomics impact of Naza towards Malaysia for the reason of unavalibality of data and facts.
But afaik, Naza open up a car factory, giving out thousands of job opportunity, provide a chances for automotive vendors- this is what I'am talking about.
I respect your view on the topics and I know they are better way in educating people about your economics knowledge, please share with us.
Yang indah itu Budi, Yg baik itu Bahasa.
My brother just bought a brand new Kia Pregio. Within weeks of delivery, the weatherstrip on the front left-hand-side door has peeled off. The list does not end there. If it is not because of the high price of Toyota Hiace (RM100K..!!), the Pregio would never have been bought.
My dad drives a 2002 Kia Carnival, CBU Korea. Mileage is less than 25,000 km but the cockpit is making lot's of noise. Even the ignition cables have been replaced. If not for the steep price of the Estima, my dad would never have bought the Carnival. Oh, by the way, it was my mom who didn't allow my dad to buy the Estima.. :)
I'm not sure about Hyundai quality, but if you ask me about Kia quality, it's still a suspect.. Maybe they are just better than Proton.
If China is the King of Copying, then Korea is definitely the Prince of Copying. The only difference is that those smug Chinese car-makers copies the whole car as opposed to the Korean way of copying by chunks.
Its noteworthy for me to quote Fumihiko Minami, the CEO of Mitusbishi Motors Malaysia, who spoke at the launch of a Mitsubishi showroon in Taipan USJ today.
"We see in Malaysia competition from Korea is getting stiffer. We think the Chinese will take a few more years to come up to mark".
The Japanese, in this case troubled Mitsubishi reckons The Koreans are a threat.
And 4G63T is right e-Nabill… the Koreans are fast catching up, especially Hyundai. Kia has now gotten their design factors better, but quality still suspect.
As I said in my earlier posts, I've given up on PROTON until they can prove they are worth the money.
That's a good point someone made about the Citra being RM20k cheaper than the Perdana V6, with better quality, more seats and passive safety features.
yeap if only proton were to take customers more seriously like naza im sure they can win customers but nooo they jz cant …..their after sales n customer service sux so badly i give them 1/10
is it me or kia spectra looks like saab lol…
i think i better put twin exhaust pipes for my accord 2.4l, very chun
hyundai and kia is not bad to actually – re-design or re-innovate based on their other brand "honda, jaguar, lexus and more…"
but still, they are not compromise its performance and quality, thumbs up~!
Nice…i've seen one in puchong lately…bearing a singapore plate number. Very nice. Better looking than the current Accord. But i'm not sure on the maintanence though.
The previous Sonata was more towards the older generation…this one is a BOM to the new comers.
Price should be competitive though. Well done Sonata
Body shell should be rigid…
This car will give Accord & Camry a run for their money
Life is all about trial & error !
Proton cepatlah……try to come up with a newly designed Perdana V6, Wira, Waja, Iswara.
Pls if you're reading this article at all…..do have dual airbags & abs as standard accessories. Nor forgotten the body structure……must be strong….should conduct crash test ……. must acheive 5 star…no excuses. Then only people will have trust in our cars…
Can we do it ?
Korean cars are definitely no tin can. Take the Hyundai Getz for example. It weighs 1.2 tons for crying out loud. That's very heavy for a supermini. That's why its fuel-efficiency is not so fantastic. Afterall, its weighty proportions are meant primarily for the European market.
Baru nak belajar design sendiri ke..Selama ni cut & paste sahaja….? Atleast PROTONG dah design sendiri……Macam tu beli satu kereta korea boleh dapat 10 kereta jenama lain lah ye…..
Razib,
If we were to measure success or progress merely by the quantitative aspects, Republic Czech's Skoda would be miles ahead of many other carmakers.
It would also mean the Holden marque, an Australian car of the sixties and seventies was a success. Today Holdens are merely re-badged Suzukis and Toyotas.
Just because a car company has designed its own cars does not mean its a success.
In this globalised world, personally I wouldn't say any company is a global company unless it achieves significant market share in each of the continents. The Koreans are actually in every continent, and in Europe their cars are well spoken of.
PROTONs are available in many countries, although the countries are not significant. Turkey, Nepal, and in Britain, they did much better re-bagding Mitsubishis then they did with Gen.2.
I do believe they are on the right track though, meaning yes, design capability is a quantum leap that brings about national pride and also cost advantages.
But quality is what counts. We fall flat on this aspect.
Again, we're doing the right things; TUV and classification of vendors and the like.
Its a mountain to climb, but the good news is we're already climbing it.
very good comments Twoxer Hayzen.
but on the contention that this car company copy that car company.. its very hard to quantify that la. IMHO, there is not such thing as 100% original design. everything is copied from some past experience somehow. the only difference is, teh skill of the designer to weave all those "common" elements together to make something "new" that works for its intended purpose.
Agreed Honda Driver,
Look how some years ago big bumps were all the rave among car designers…
to me I believe tt P1 obviously r capable of producing gd cars & models.. all r human, they sure can do tt.. nothing less nothing more just human. I do agree that V6 is nicer & macho than Sonata. But thn a Sonata looks like a boss car with executive look, class. V6 to me is like 3 Series.. superb & youthful looking… doesnt suits bosses out there.. its like entry level to new standard.
Thus, I say P1 can design a executive look car (not de waja or chansellor) to cope de std wit new sonata, accord & camry.. P1 has many car model from entry level to senior executive but no model to suit wht we call for boss level..
Ask urself tt if u being ur own boss, u wld take Sonata, Accord or Camry at least at 70% probablity or a current V6? V6 to me bcos of de $ tag at RM100K make ppl think its executive look car but it is not.. it just like a Mitsu Evo model.. cater for younger generation..
that's good. hyundai and kia are taking a good step to stay competitive in the car manufacturing. bila proton nak buktikan yg mereka ada identiti sendiri tanpa perlu meniru model kereta lain? teringin aku nak tengok wira dan saga yg berbentuk baru & berkualiti.
Kia dan Hyundai memang pandai tiru kereta lain.. depan kereta X, belakang kereta Y
one thing i always admire about malaysian, they alwast want the best, in almost everything from other people to achieve or to provide for them.
but i'm not sure they themself are which one in the following:
1. the best
2. trying very hard to be the best
3. trying oklah to be the best
4. want to be the best, some daylah, not now
5. want the best, and together hope to achieve the best
6. don't care about other as long as i got the best
7. don't care about me, but u must do the best for me
…
…
x. bolehlah attituded
y. boleh blah
as for me, tak payah ceritalah… masing-masing sendiri tahu diri masing-masing. u can lie others, but can u lie to yourself? something people can. how amazing…
—
soory, but kia/hyundai quality sukks…my brother bought a kia spectra 1.6, the door alarm mechanism jammed AFTER JUST 2 WEEKS…the dash vibrates…vely bad same as potong, maybe slightly (bitter) only
see fat taikoh… what do u expect from a cheap car? (spectra was designed, built and marketed as cheap car but only sold as expensive car in Bolehland)
yeah.. look at that sonata's rear! totally similar to the accord's..
well, if this both korean companies can be serious on their own design, i do believe they have the potential to be the world's car dominators.. by tat time, proton may be bankrupted.. if so, this will be the good news for most malaysians..
i walk in to hyundai showroom, they have receiving booking for this model alredi. selling RM 164K for the only model 2.4….they have another model 3.3 selling RM220K
the spectra is actually an old model, carried over from the sephia…they just chg the front lamps blablabla and calls it the spectra…in the old days, can see lotsa of spectra, but after the vios and city came out, virtually no sight of these stupid cars…people can get a much better japanese vios for only couple of thousand extra, who want to buy korean car?
the new sonata is even worse than the old model..the older model looks at least like a jaquar, unfortunately the new model tried to copy the honda accord's rear end, JUST AT THE SAME TIME HONDA DECODED TO GET RID OF THEIR LAMP DESIGN!!
Beware!!! if Proton bankrupt, the other assemblers will suddenly raise the price of their cars and bring in low quality cars….
If you compare the looks of the new Sonata with our local assembled Accord,then i say the Sonata wins.But if you look at the Euro Accord,the Euro Accord wins hands down.
just my 2 cents worth.
cheerios
totally agreed with PBâ„¢, those korean cars are cheap car desiginated, even after the crazy tax, they can be sold almost as same as protong, it's will be a major rip-off if u buy korean cars that priced almost similar to protong. It's only happen in Bolehland (Does this country exist? I try google, yahoo. msn, tmnet, cannot find this country) where 3rd class cars r being sold at 1st class price (this statement sounds familiar).
…the exterior look very 'CLASS' and its exterior much better than the old sonata
alaaaaa…what's the fuss??malaysian r stupid..even the ultra ugly kia sephia also malaysian buy.