DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: No N for Kia
Kia performance boss says youthful brand needs no standalone performance armThe man charged with the development of performance cars across the Hyundai group says there is no need for Kia to have a standalone performance brand.
Speaking at this week’s Detroit motor show, ex-BMW chassis and performance guru Albert Bierman told motoring.com.au that he believed the Kia brand had the potential to stretch to include vehicles with performance exceeding the just-launched 270 kW rear-wheel drive Stinger GT.
“Kia has GT and I think that works nicely for Kia,” he said, clarifying “GT Line for the trim and GT for the more substantial sporting character.”
“I think the Kia brand itself can stretch more than Hyundai. I think Kia is younger and if you look at the slogan “the power to surprise” [then] why is there a need for a sub-brand? Kia is good for everything,” he stated.
Bierman stopped short of stating all future Kias would be more performance focused. Instead, he said, the performance and handling standards would very much be tailored to suit the individual vehicles’ “missions”.
“I think that [performance] depends a lot on the model — if it’s important for the model or not…
"We have all sorts of different character in the Kia line-up and depending on the mission of the car, the driving performance is very important or is not so much important,” he explained.
“[Kia is] Not necessarily more sporty [than sister brand Hyundai or Genesis] but younger maybe. Not so traditional…”
<a href="https://motoring.li.csnstatic.com/motoring/general/editorial/Kia-Stinger-GT-006.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-csn-inline-image wp-image-201984" src="https://motoring.li.csnstatic.com/motoring/general/editorial/Kia-Stinger-GT-006.jpg?height=427&width=640&aspect=fitWithin" alt="kia-stinger-gt-006" width="640" height="427"></a>
Bierman stated he believed that there was a role for a hot hatch in the Kia line-up moving forward but his definition of hot hatch may not match some consumers’ expectations.
“That depends on where the hot starts by your definition,” he stated.
“If it's based on power, probably not… If it's based on driving fun, the next c’eed is it.
“Fun to drive would be the key parameter. You can expect the next c’eed to be a little bit more agile than the current one.”
Although Bierman nominated c’eed, he said the same learning could be applied to the next-gen Cerato which will be much closer in mechanical specification to Kia’s Euro market hatch.
“I haven’t discussed [the car] yet for Australia specifically, but I cannot see any reason why we would not do that if the market likes it.
"The other car from the Hyundai brand [Elantra Sport] has received very positive feedback from the [Australian] marketplace…
“Australians seem to like that more sporty driving character and that’s a good lesson to learn — also to use it for Kia cars,” he stated.
Bierman also hinted that a better performing dual-clutch transmission could also be on the cards for the next-gen ‘fun to drive’ hatch.
“We have a seven speed DCT — it’s a dry clutch one. I haven’t looked at it really in depth but I think we can squeeze out some sportiness.
“It’s just a matter of focusing,” he said.
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