What's all this about?
Concurrent to the New York International Auto Show is the Seoul Motor Show, and the Korean car makers are using it to showcase their most dramatic concepts.
Is this a Hyundai or a Kia, then?
What, you're automatically discounting SsangYong? Shame on you. But... yeah, it's a Kia. It's called the Novo.
Looks pretty striking - will it ever go on sale, though?
We'd have put money on 'no' without an intriguingly ambiguous statement from Kia, but we'll come back to the question of production after we've taken you through the details. The Novo has tiny front and long rear overhangs, a fastback roofline and a slim glasshouse necessitated by a coupé-inspired shape. Some details are current Kia - such as the tiger-nose grille - and some defiantly aren't... like laser lights in the air intakes, rear-hinged back doors and sculpted aluminium door mirrors. Despite being green-and-silver two-tone and having clunky haunches above the rear wheel arches, we think it's a truly beautiful thing.
How about the cabin?
Suitably futuristic, driver-centric and utterly impossible to realistically put into production, at least before 2045. It's all edgy and minimalistic, with 3D holograms displayed in the instrument cluster. Take a note of that oblong shape to the right of the steering wheel. That's the 'blind control'.
Either that drops fabric down at all the windows, or... no; I don't want to even think about it.
Calm yourself. It is a touch pad that allows the driver to control the car's many functions without taking their eyes off the road. It has a fingerprint scanner incorporated into it too, so elements of the car (music selection, audio volume, seat position and so on) can be quickly set up when the driver presses their digit to it. Marvellous.
What about the engine? Is it a 500hp hybrid?
No, the Novo has a 1.6-litre T-GDI turbocharged petrol engine that you can find in the current Kia range and here it is mated to the company's new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT). No power or torque figures, though.
Anything else of interest?
The tyres are pretty zany. They are 'adaptive concave profile' items, which provide the following benefits over conventional rubber: the tyres are kept cooler while rotating; they channel more surface water away from the wheels for greater grip; they have lower rolling resistance and therefore improve the Novo's economy; and they're less noisy, because there's not as wide a contact patch on the road. Clever, eh?
Very. So, stop prevaricating - is Kia going to build it?
We don't know for sure, but the company signed off its announcement like this: "Although there are currently no plans to bring the Kia Novo concept to production, Kia has a history of delivering production vehicles that bear a strong resemblance to concept vehicles that precede them. The Kia Novo concept provides a glimpse into Kia's plans for its future compact car line-up." We're therefore hopeful that something similar might sneak into Kia showrooms in the not-too-distant future.
Matt Robinson - 3 Apr 2015
