02/22/2007, 4:19 PM

Kia

Kia ex_cee’d concept

Kia will use the upcoming Geneva Motor Show to reveal its latest concept — the ex_cee’d cabrio. The car is the work of Peter Schreyer, Kia’s new Chief Design Officer, and hints at the future direction Kia vehicles could be taking under his guidance.

Based on the new three-door cee’d hatchback, due to go into production at the Zilina factory in Slovakia from December, the ex_cee’d shares the same platform, but features all-new exterior panels and a powered folding fabric roof.

Peter Schreyer paid special attention to designing a classic cabrio with a traditional soft-top roof: “I’m convinced that the fabric roof will have a renaissance. We’ve all lived with the romantic idea of open-air driving for a long time and for me, the fabric roof is the quintessential element of a truly rewarding cabrio.”

“With this new cabrio concept car, Kia has once again demonstrated that it is a young, style-conscious company that knows how to combine elegance with dynamics,” enthused Mr Yong-Hwan Kim, Senior Executive Vice President and COO Kia Motors.

“The Kia ex_cee’d is a fresh aesthetic high-point in our history, an encouraging sign of the growing internationalisation of our brand and a step in the process of evolving into a European company with Korean roots,” he added.

 
 

02/22, 4:22 PM

posted by:

Bush

Too much “stuff” in the grill. The wheels are overkill ugly.

02/22, 4:25 PM

posted by:

CTS DRIVER

not too shabby for a kia, never thought i would say that.

02/22, 4:25 PM

posted by:

Bobzooki

Awesome, I love it. The koreans are on a roll. Sorry don’t get the above joke, someone please explain.

02/22, 4:34 PM

posted by:

Cobradreamer427

Why do Kia’s have to look so wierd!

02/22, 4:36 PM

posted by:

Impulsive

That is one sweet ride.

Styled better than most anything with which it will compete. The other car companies should get a clue … Kia’s got one. Start building cars for which people have passion. Add a warranty to back it up. Totals a winner.

02/22, 4:45 PM

posted by:

CTS DRIVER

BOBZOOKI, explain what above joke? the fact that this is actually a nice looking kia that has character and class for once, they have come a long way and are making really good looking cars. never thought i would say that either.

02/22, 4:53 PM

posted by:

PrimeGTP

Ugly shape, ugly wheels, ugly rubber around the headlights, ugly grill, ugly just about everything.

But I will say this: I never thought Kia would make it this far.

02/22, 4:57 PM

posted by:

joseph

This is a concept….wheels will generally be overkill.

Overall, this is pretty nice looking. Need more pics to be sure, but so far it seems like a little Mercedes-ish front and Audi-ish rear…IMO.

02/22, 5:06 PM

posted by:

Enzo

or they could call it the exceed

02/22, 5:07 PM

posted by:

roadrage

nothing mercedes about it. yes, this car needs better set of wheels

02/22, 5:07 PM

posted by:

Piablo

Where can I get a bottle of that car wax??

02/22, 5:11 PM

posted by:

lotusfire

^lol

02/22, 5:31 PM

posted by:

BAMF

lol piablo

Quite honestly I’m surpised at how attractive is, though I question whether the production model will look as good. It does look a bit like a gussied up Euro Focus. I suspect they used a fabric roof to keep costs down for a production model, and Peter Schreyer is just trying to hide that fact with his “fabric roof renaissance” BS. You can use a fabric roof and say it was for romantic reasons if you’re Rolls-Royce, but not if you’re Kia. Nice try.

02/22, 5:46 PM

posted by:

acura_el2000

Holy smokes! Due to be in production by December!!

Does anyone else see how this totally bites the FORD IOSIS concept ???????
Its funny how a corporation who has an empire of capital to invest in some radical company saving designs, gets beaten to the mark by a quickly-growing but relatively poor Korean automaker

Ford you got owned.

02/22, 5:47 PM

posted by:

Bobzooki

CTS Driver, I posted my comment after Piablos joke about the car wax, but my post now appears ahead of the joke. bugs in the software I guess. Istill don’t get the joke

02/22, 5:48 PM

posted by:

lotusfire

BAMF - “You can use a fabric roof and say it was for romantic reasons if you’re Rolls-Royce, but not if you’re Kia. Nice try.”

lmao, that’s so true though.

02/22, 5:52 PM

posted by:

lotusfire

Bobzooki: Yeah, I noticed that too. I think the joke was because of how overly shinny this concept (a lot of concepts) is.

02/22, 5:53 PM

posted by:

CTS DRIVER

bobzooki the posts are being added in strange places weird huh, i noticed that after i made the post too, but now im am curious about the link to your name, is that you fighting? if so thats pretty darn cool.

02/22, 5:57 PM

posted by:

Bobzooki

what link to my name?

02/22, 6:02 PM

posted by:

CTS DRIVER

your name is highlited in blue, when i clicked it it led to a ufc style link with a bunch of fighters rolliong around a ring, i just re clicked it and its some #1 bear dude site…..i figured you set it up that way.

02/22, 6:06 PM

posted by:

Bobzooki

I’ve been hacked

02/22, 6:31 PM

posted by:

lotusfire

LMAO

02/22, 7:03 PM

posted by:

MikeFX

Back on topic…this thing is great! Not too over the top like some Korean concepts, stole a bit from Iosis/XC60/EuroFocus, and needs new wheels. Aside from that, a good wake-up call to Ford and others who cannot seem to design their way out of a paper bag.

02/22, 7:28 PM

posted by:

Piablo

The car has a nice shine to it for being white. :)

In all seriousness, not a bad little cabrio, even with the diablo-like wheels. I haven’t a clue what kind of engines Kia has out there. So even if it’s a sled, it’s a decent looking sled.

Not sure how we posted in the future…time machiiiine! Probably has something to do with the new daylight savings corrections.

02/22, 9:53 PM

posted by:

Ricardo Head

Pretty cool. Better looking and most likely far better built than a VW Eos, probably for about 60% of the price.

02/22, 11:20 PM

posted by:

VDuv Kux Klan

Pretty cool car looks like an Opel, i like it!!

02/23, 12:16 AM

posted by:

Impulsive

“Ricardo”, you’re correct, the Eos is one of the most messed up looking cars on the road today. Add the pitiful mileage and high price. Total’s a failure.

02/23, 6:16 AM

posted by:

megator

ford already has a folding metal converible in this class based of the focus. and in europe there are a couple more cabrios in this class, the opel astra twintop, VW eos, Peugot 307CC, Megane CC, and higher upmarket the V70 and 3 series convertible. this thing looks kinda nice at first, but then it just seems tarted up.

02/23, 6:38 AM

posted by:

hm124

This is ugly. Please see ceed.

02/23, 9:10 AM

posted by:

Ricardo Head

SIDE NOTE: Auotmotive news has been dead the last few weeks. What’s going on?

02/23, 9:11 AM

posted by:

NOS2006

Ford Iosis/Mondeo anyone?

02/23, 9:21 AM

posted by:

Ricardo Head

Regarding the Ford Iosis/Mondeo, if Ford isn’t going to bring a good design to the USA, then by all means I pray KIA does.

I really wonder what goes thru the minds of product planners at some of these companies, but then again I’ve been a part of corporate america for a while, and every year I get more astonished byt the stupidity of upper management decisions.

02/23, 10:39 AM

posted by:

Leftlane

testing this

02/23, 12:02 PM

posted by:

HoosierHero

Looks like a next gen VW Cabriolet. Either way it’s still a Kia. They are where Hyundai was 10 years ago in my opinion.

02/23, 12:15 PM

posted by:

fixitfixitstop

HoosierHero, Kia is Hyundai.

02/23, 1:39 PM

posted by:

wetstuff

The Koreans are also putting the pressure on Detroit. You think of poor farmers and corruption but these people are a helluva lot more advanced than you think.

02/23, 3:36 PM

posted by:

maximus

Peugot rip off
Eos is also a rip off of that

02/23, 3:43 PM

posted by:

Boxster2.7L

It actually reminds me of a European Ford Focus. Nevertheless, it isn’t a very original design. KIA=BLAND! (not to mention shoddy build quality and terrible customer service). They are trying to be European…but they’re still Kia underneath it all.

02/23, 4:43 PM

posted by:

Impulsive

… in due time, my friend … in due time.

I think this looks better than the Euro Focus but we have to wait for the real car to arrive to better judge the styling.

02/26, 6:39 PM

posted by:

smelly

test

02/28, 1:59 AM

posted by:

Adrio

This is the first Kia that I dont hate. I think it looks pretty sporty. Not bad. I’m sure they’ll mess it up once it gets to production tho.

 
 
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