Hyundai mounts the Curb in Detroit

Hyundai's next generation of compact SUV design has been unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show this week in the form of its Curb concept.

The twelfth signature concept vehicle to come out of Hyundai's California Design Centre, Curb is aimed squarely at at urban Gen-Y'ers with an active lifestyle and features Hyundai's 'Hi-Tech Rugged' design, which it says combines a high-tech interior with a rugged exterior.

Among the highlights, Hyundai's new Blue Link brings up-to-the-minute connectivity technology to the package via a Continental 30.5cm touch screens and reflective head up display. Additional touch pads in the doors eliminate the need for door handles.

Not forgetting practicality, Curb also boasts a large cargo area, pop-up roof racks and a pull-out bike rack.

Evolving Hyundai's 'Fluidic Sculpture' design language (as seen on ix35, i45, etc), Curb's design allows the glass to 'spill' into the bonnet and wrap around the cowl, covering the A-pillars.

A bold front fascia sees thin, sleek headlamps wrap upward and aft over the fenders creating the illusion they are connected into the engine compartment or interior. A prominent hexagonal 'family' grille sits front and centre.

The profile sits over 22-inch five-spoke alloy wheels and is dominated by a 'boomerang trajectory' side body line that designers say reinforces the feeling of strength through both positive and negative shapes.

At the rear, a sculptured clam shell tail gate is also accessed via a touchpad and is flanked by flowing lamps that sit above central exhaust vents designed to 'pop-out' to form a bike rack.

"We wanted the Curb to be urban tough without looking like a Brink's truck," said designer, Jason Brown. "City driving was going to be its forte, not crossing the Rubicon trail, but we wanted it to have urban armour for daily driving on city streets. It needed to empower its passengers in this setting."

Inside Curb promotes the theme of connectivity via a large acrylic touchscreen with multiple zones allowing information to be passed seamlessly between passengers. The screen flows from the instrument cluster to the centre stack along the console and into the back seat.

"The goal was to make sure passengers felt connected to each other and the urban environment around them," said Bradley Arnold, Curb interior designer. "We wanted to empower the passengers with information and make them feel that the exterior was connected to the interior."

An opaque steering wheel allows monitoring information to be seen, including the head up display, satellite navigation and infotainment systems. The head up display is also linked to cameras that replace the rear view mirrors.

Saffron accents inside match the ones on the tyres while the seats are made of super-stretch, fast-drying board short material. The Curb features Finn Tech air bladder seats that are less than 50mm in thickness. Up the back the rear bench offers forward and aft movement. Rear head rests are mounted to Curb's ceiling, rather than to the seats, and swivel up into the roof to allow the rear seats to fold flat.

Curb is powered by a turbocharged version of Hyundai's (130kW/229Nm) 1.6-litre direct injection four-cylinder engine married to a DSG transmission. Aided by stop-start technology, Curb would deliver an estimated combined cycle fuel economy figure of 6.85L/100km.

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