Alongside the bland new Magentis saloon, Kia revealed a concept car at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show, intended to take a look at a possible new crossover vehicle in the marque's future. Kia calls the Multi-S a 'PUV', which is a mix between an MPV and an SUV, though we're not quite sure what the 'P' is supposed to stand for.

Under the attractive, chunky body is a well-thought out interior with loads of oddments space. The show car has three rows of seats, though the rearmost row has very little legroom and zero luggage space with it in place, so it is thought that the buyer of this car would only occasionally require the two extra seats. Most of the time, they would be folded flat. The second row can also fold flat, and to demonstrate the lifestyle aspirations of the concept, the car on display in Frankfurt had a mountain bike wedged inside.

There are no plans at present to put the Multi-S, or anything like it, into production at Kia. Though it theoretically has seven seats, it is a lot smaller than the Kia Sedona, so it won't replace that car. It may hold styling cues for the new Carens compact MPV, but we don't think the rugged bumpers and 19-inch alloys will make it onto a car aimed at quite a conservative market. Interestingly, the show car was built on the same wheelbase as Hyundai's Accent SR concept car, and comes with similar new technology due for production in new cars for both of the companies. The Multi-S show car was theoretically fitted with the 2.7-litre V6 engine and five-speed automatic gearbox from the Magentis, though would easily take the 2-litre diesel engine too if it ever made it to Europe.

Shane O' Donoghue - 26 Sep 2005