Yes, it's true: SsangYong has somehow managed to concoct a concept car that might, just might, be attractive.
The XUV 1 Concept will debut in Frankfurt, and comes just after the announcement that SsangYong will re-launch in the UK in September with the
new Korando (which, in fairness, isn't that ugly either).
The concept sketches you see here are of a B-segment sized crossover, similar to the Kia Venga or Citroen C3 Picasso. SsangYong is calling it a 'Premiun CUV', which stands for 'crossover utility vehicle'.
At its core the XUV 1 has 'the ideals of a moving communication space' and was designed to create 'a new automobile culture based on performance, safety and awareness of the environment.' SsangYong is keeping it premium in the gobbledegook stakes, anyway.
Its seat layout is intriguing, however, able to be configured '1+1+2' or '1+3' in a big two fingered salute to cabin convention. And in another, similar salute, the cabin controls are accessed via 'mobile devices and smart instruments.' We assume that doesn't mean penknives and keyboards that play themselves.
As it stands the XUV 1 is a million miles from production, although with a more conventional cabin, fewer LEDs and smaller wheels we reckon it'll hit a SsangYong showroom within a year or so; B-segment utility crossover type cars are all the rage today.
Frankfurt Motor Show
Mark Nichol - 18 Aug 2011