If there's one thing the guys at Kia are good at, it's making niche models with plenty of character. And you can't ask for a more original machine than the Track'ster, their latest concept car which has just made its debut in Chicago, offering the first glimpses of new styling, downsized engines and a crucial e-AWD system.
Kia says this is just a concept, but if they decide to put it into production, it will appeal to "lifestyle" buyers who need efficiency, style and something that can tackled the weekend adventure trails.
The concept's powertrain consists of a 185-hp 1.6-liter turbocharged petrol, the same one used by the Forte 5-door, coupled to a 35 hp electric motor that motivated the rear wheels when juiced by a 1.2 kWh battery pack.
That electric motor also adds another 135 Nm (100 lb-ft) of torque to make a total of 386Nm (284 lb-ft). We can compare that to Audi's new A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid and the Golf GTE equivalent. That gives a bit of credibility to Kia's claims of engaging performance and driving fun.
Sure, this Soul-based concept has been designed to be "about 25 to 30% more efficient a US-spec 2.0 petrol version". But the electric motor is used as a performance assist feature and to give it all-wheel drive traction, so this isn't a Prius. Unfortunately, the benefits will be less obvious on the highway, where only 5-10 percent improvements in consumption can be expected.
On the appearance side…
The Trail'ster features a retractable canvas roof, just like the Fiat 500C and a number of small European cars. It's a simple setup and we hope that many companies will adopt it in the future. When the asphalt ends and the rugged wilderness starts, it will call on th air of its 2.5-inch lift kit, LED-ringed auxiliary lights.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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