Thursday, July 26, 2007

Frankfurt Preview: Kia production

Kia on Frankfurt motor show

Last September, Kia took the wraps off of the Pro_cee'd concept at the Paris Motor Show. The Pro_cee'd concept was yet another variant of the brand's popular cee'd model, this time as a three-door hatch. Come this September at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Kia will unveil the production version of the Pro_cee'd that's scheduled to go on sale in Europe in early 2008.

The Pro_cee'd is a low and wide three-door hatch with very agreeable proportions. In fact, the car is longer, lower and wider than the standard five-door cee'd, which must mean it shares few body panels despite its similar appearance. We could do with out the character lines and deep indent that mucks up the side panel, but overall it looks sportier than what we've come to expect from Kia. In Europe, we would expect the standard cee'd engines including a 1.4L and 1.6L gas motor, as well as a 1.6L diesel, to be offered in the Pro_cee'd.

Frankly, we're more than a little bewildered why Kia hasn't yet considered selling the cee'd in the U.S. market, and this three-door model only compounds our confusion. We're guessing the base car itself wasn't developed to meet U.S. safety standards and to reengineer it would tank the business case for its transatlantic voyage. There's always hope for the next-gen model, though.
Source: autoblog

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