Kia has taken the wraps off it’s latest concept at the Seoul Auto Show today. The VG concept presents the new direction of design that reflects the style of the upcoming near-luxury Kia sedan, which is scheduled to go on sale in Korean market in September this year.
Designed under the guidance of Peter Schreyer, the VG concept sports an elegant, yet sporty exterior design. Front VG fascia features Kia’s latest family-look and a radiator grille based on a symbolic representation of a tiger’s roaring countenance. It’s refined side profile reveals a strong side character line ending at striking rear lights equipped with latest LED technology.
The 4,945mm long concept car is sitting on 20-inch large-diameter alloy wheels and is equipped with the panorama sunroof, which extends seamlessly from the front windshield to contribute to its open and sleek facade.
The Kia VG concept is a front drive vehicle, outfitted with a 3.5L V6 Lambda engine and produces 277 horsepower. The gasoline powered powerplant is mated to the six-speed automatic transmission with manual shift capability.
The VG show car is a near-production concept vehicle, that will go into production later in the year. Initially, the car will only be available in South Korea, but plans to expand it’s sales to international markets, including US, where it will be replacing the aging Amanti sedan.
Here you also can see the cabin lay-out of the Kia VG concept car, which clearly follows VG’s refined exterior design.
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:59 am
Wow, very impressed. Looks really stunning in the white. The front appears a little busy, but I say that because of the grille. I prefer black grilles myself. Love it.
April 2nd, 2009 at 1:14 pm
This thing is a looker!! Looks better than any Audi or Bimmer!
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Nice! And those look similar to the reconfigurable gauges on the new Ford Fusion Hybrid, which would be great to see on this Kia.
April 2nd, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Well looks like there is a 3.5L V6 after all. And it’s got 9 more HP than the Avalon. Wonder if that’s with regular or premium?
April 2nd, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Looks great and I hope those reconfigurable gauges make it. It’d be awesome to cycle through weather, traffic, navi?, and back to tachometer or something similar. Now I can’t wait to see what Schreyer does with the Optima. That thing is a mess.
April 2nd, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I hope those mirrors with the razor-thin integrated turn signals make it to production. A pano roof would be nice, too.
April 2nd, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Hot damn that is a sexy car. The rear end reminds me of an Audi S5. Very nice!
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Very bimmerish, specially the back. Perfect.
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:39 pm
This car is make me crazy , it’s very nice & great design .
April 2nd, 2009 at 7:18 pm
I really. really hope Kia will build the VG. The VG ia a real luxury sedan and will buy one when it comes out.
April 2nd, 2009 at 7:37 pm
I just read the press release over at autoblog.com and Kia says this car will JOIN, not replace the Opirus/Amanti.
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Yes, because it is not the Amanti replacement, like everyone thinks. The now canceled CH was the Amanti replacement. The Amanti will stay in the line up for a while yet.
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:14 pm
That’s what I thought as well!
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“Kia says this car will JOIN, not replace the Opirus/Amanti”
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But just recently have been told that it will replace the Amanti and… well, I should not talk further as this is confidental information.
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:55 pm
I’m loving this as a replacement to the Amanti!!!!
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:24 pm
The more I look, the more I like. I have one problem though. I realize the final production model will look less attractive than this and that’s what bites me. They should take led’s out of the frontlights and taillaights and put 18 inch tires on it, and keep the rest as it is.
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WHat I expect is different front bumper and rear bumper design, slightly different lights at front and rear, smaller tires. What I expect to see is the side profile and side character line and similar if not the same hood and trunk design.
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:27 pm
I hope they put the front Kia badge on the grille. On the hood looks awkward.
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I like the emblem on the hood. It would be fantastic if Kia offered the 20″ along with the standard 18″
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Greg, what do you know about the CH? Was it based on the BH Hyundai platform (Genesis)? Too bad it’s canceled.
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:50 pm
The CH was supposed to be approximately 8 inches longer than the VG, RWD or AWD, with a 3.8L V6. Yes, built on same platform as Genesis.
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:09 pm
I like the Kee like headlights. This is very very very very very nice and sporty. I didn’t expect it to look as good as the Maxima or Taurus. I really didn’t.
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:11 pm
I’ve heard that this car is going to have Haldex AWD.
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:55 pm
I heard that too!
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:37 pm
I wish they had those gauges in all Hyundai/KIA products, but they could use a little more color. Maybe a nice fadey blue or red. Its a shame all of our insurance premiums are going to up in the future, becuase people will definately be stealing our cars. Lol!!
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Himi the VG Joining the Amanti would be too much for the US market. Iam actually a little worried that we are over saturating ourselves with product.
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:45 pm
I hope those side molding go into production that looks sporty and diffrent to me.
April 3rd, 2009 at 2:46 am
Hmmmm!! large powerful front wheel driver, 4 door sedan, I’m not sure. I drive one myself now and I like it, but it just doesn’t cut it, here in Australia anyway, they just don’t sell. I myself think the days of 4 door sedans are limited, they are just not practical, especially with what else is available in the market now. people are flocking to SUV’s and CUV’s, almost all manufactures have them. Mark my words, it’s the trend.
I am on the look out myself for one of the above vehicles, I was hoping the Sorento was going to be it and it’s starting to grow on me already and it’s only the second day of it’s release.
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:56 am
One thing sedans have going over CUV’s and SUV’s is mileage. You only can do so much to offset the huge aerodynamic drag of a tall vehicle. If gas prices shoot up again, expect to see a stampede back to sedans, especially among those who really had no need for a CUV or SUV to begin with.
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:16 am
I dont know Derrick, the New Chevy Equinox coming out late this year, the Next Gen Tuscon, The Santa Fe Blue: will all have better MPG than the Accord, Mitsubuishi Galant which is essentially a Sport Sonata, Legacy, Passat, Sebring, Avenger, and Altima. The Sonata, Malibu, Fusion, VW CC,, and Optima all will still have beter MPG
April 3rd, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Still, this represents engine technology. Stick the same engine in a sedan, and the sedan will still get better mileage and if gas spikes, that is exactly what will happen.
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:28 pm
I like the side molding design of the VG, too. They ought to keep that on the production, by all rights, they will be using it. Reminds me of the side moldings on some former large U.S. sedans of the 70′s and 80′s, like Mercury’s. But it’s effective, not ugly looking.
April 4th, 2009 at 2:20 am
GORGEOUS car.
April 4th, 2009 at 2:21 am
PS – i can’t wait to see what the next sportage looks like!
April 4th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I wonder what name they came up with? And what price range they came up with? It’s still a bit silly to me. Both this and current Amanti (not CH) are both competiting for Avalon, Maxima and Taurus. With the Amanti still in production and doesn’t seem to by getting rid of anytime soon makes me wonder if they already gave the CH the greenlight. If I see a big Korean sedan covered up in that blackness and it’s RWD I guess that’ll answer my qustion.
April 6th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
OzyTone, There is still the Audi A6 which is large, powerful and comes in front wheel drive on some models. But I do understand where your coming from about it not selling in Australia. Then again, Toyota Aurion?
April 7th, 2009 at 2:26 am
Yes Martin, I’m not too sure if it’s just an Australian phenomenon (I don’t think so), but you won’t get your average “bogan” driver behind the wheel of a FWD car, ‘cos he can’t ‘light-up” up those rear bags. But there is a perception here that FWD cars are dangerous on the road and so Ford and Holden(GM) have jumped on the bandwagon with that theory. As an ex-Mitsubishi worker here in SA I own and drive a Mitsubishi 380 (Galant in the US) which is great to drive and handles very well in most, if not all situations, but we all know here what happened since and the Mitsy plant has since closed down here in Adelaide.
True as you say, the Toyota Aurion is selling reasonably well here and it’s got 200Kw (268hp) driving through those front wheels and it’s handling is also very good, but it’s riding on the back of Toyota’s success here in Australia.
The US is different kettle of fish though, even the Cadilac sedan is a front driver with a huge V8 up front, so a Kia with a small (in comparison) V6 driving the front wheels shouldn’t be a problem.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:36 am
Hmmm, maybe I was wrong about the Caddy, I just checked out their website, so they must have toned them down in recent years, no V8 and I see and AWD even. Although my perception of the Cadillac is the old Eldorado of the sixties and seventies.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Yeah, i’ll bet you’re right about the Aurion. It annoys me that too many people (the average bogan driver) here refuse to accept new things or different things. Was a shame about the 380, it was one of the only Mitsubishi’s that I liked.
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I don’t think front wheel drive should be a problem either. Though AWD would still be nice
April 15th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Well, if this is going to Join the Amanti then that means that this is the going to REPLACE the Optima! I’d bet that THIS is just UNDER the Amanti which means this will be the frame to be used for the next generation …wait for it … Sonata too! If this is true.. I want one! This looks like the shape of the concept photos of the Sonata on that other Blog site… HeHe. The dash is just truly innovative! I can’t see them doing this though. If they do… again. I want one. This is truly not a Kia… Yeah. like Kid Icarus said, I see Audi S5 rear and BMW 5 series here too. AWD too.. Wow. This is an amazing car! The car is just… unbelievable actually… Did I mention that I want one.
April 16th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
it looks like the american amanti is going to be replaced. i hope so the amanti don’t sell well. If the VG comes over seas into our market and is priced around the amanti its going to turn some heads.
people still view kia as a “cheep” car but in ten years that will change.
July 8th, 2009 at 1:48 am
the front looks hideous – fish face with braces! looks like mr. schreyer took his audi theme and grossly outdid himself.
the back looks terrific but definitely resembles a bimmer.
tone down that front fascia and you’ve got a winner!
July 8th, 2009 at 3:03 am
Unfortunately, I have to agree with you, I don’t like the front…AT ALL. I Love the sides and the back, but the grille needs to be toned down, and the badge needs to be centered in the grille.
July 18th, 2009 at 12:08 am
I believe this is a beautiful car if all Kia VG’s did look like the nice show case white paint and white interior, fully loaded. I would love to perches one just like the pictures white exterior and white interior.. lets be realistic here not everyone will be able to afford a fully loaded model. In this American economy I hate to say that I doubt that it will sell if it is pricey and expensive. Kia here are known and seen in the u.s.a. as economical vehicle. The type of consumers that perches Kia really cant afford a pricey vehicle, or just need a economical vehicle for work or business. The consumers i see on the road with Kia’s here in the u.s.a. are a younger crowd teens and young adults or elderly consumers. To to the fact that kia consumers need economical vehicles. Kia vehicles are look a bit down upon, i hate to say a cheap vehicle. i am in my mid 20’s i would not get a Kia myself, but on the other hand the white on white Kia VG is beautiful i would love to test drive it and see first hand the vehicle. In my most humble opinion I say if the car is 28k or more i would much rather go with a higher end make and model vehicle like a Lexus, Audi, BMW etc. Kia in the U.s.a. is not known for high end luxury vehicles. I myself drive a fully loaded 2009 Audi A5 … Most consumers that afford high end luxury vehicles wont even pay attention to a Kia dealer or vehicle. In other words kia to to a high end consumer will not have the thought or interest to buy a Kia. Not to mention the horse power the Kia VG has and size of engine. I hope the kia VG has good MPG. Here in the U.s.a. gas prices are high. This moment people here in the u.s.a. are looking for fuel efficient.
Thank you,
Joe
July 18th, 2009 at 12:33 am
I find myself looking at the vehicle and i am in love with Kia VG. The high tech look and space age design, is absolutely awesome!!!!!
Thanks again,
Joe
August 20th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
MAN that a nice car hope it make it so i can get it
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THANK YOU