Photo: autoevolution
In Korea, they have a saying that roughly translates as "If there's something that's worth doing right, we're going to copy it". It seems Kia took one nice, hard look at the MINI Paceman and said "Nice! Let's make one just like that."
Or at least they're considering the idea quite seriously, according to the guys at Car & Driver. Of course C&D is an American magazine, but Kia has taken quite a heavy dose of Californication in recent years as many of their concepts are US-designed, including the famous Track'ster from the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, which has long been rumored for production but never quite made it.
C&D also says there could also be a performance version of the car, and yes, we've heard that before as well, especially since the Track'ster was shown with the same 2-liter turbo engine you get in things like the Sondata or Genesis Coup'.
This sort of "it's tough but it's approachable" attitude to making crossovers leaves a lot of room for personalization and performance is usually only the proverbial icing on the cake. But even MINI, who have a cool badge and reputable name, hasn't managed to turn the Paceman into the same success story that the Countryman was. So maybe Kia should play it safe, forget about $25,000 crossovers that nobody will actually buy and just mover its brand upmarket with a streamlined range.
C&D also says there could also be a performance version of the car, and yes, we've heard that before as well, especially since the Track'ster was shown with the same 2-liter turbo engine you get in things like the Sondata or Genesis Coup'.
This sort of "it's tough but it's approachable" attitude to making crossovers leaves a lot of room for personalization and performance is usually only the proverbial icing on the cake. But even MINI, who have a cool badge and reputable name, hasn't managed to turn the Paceman into the same success story that the Countryman was. So maybe Kia should play it safe, forget about $25,000 crossovers that nobody will actually buy and just mover its brand upmarket with a streamlined range.
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