Kia's Cee'd sprouts Cabrio, wagon

The three-door Kia Cee'd will be shown in open-top form at the upcoming Geneva motor show.

Called the Ex_Cee'd Cabrio, the soft-top concept is the work of Kia's new Design Chief, Peter Schreyer and was produced to give an indication of the future direction the look of Kia-brand vehicles will be taking under his guidance.

Schreyer says he opted for the soft-top roof to evoke the "traditional" convertible styling and driving experience. "I'm convinced that the fabric roof will have a renaissance. We've all lived with the romantic idea of open-air driving for a long time and for me, metal-roofed cabrios are not truly in tune with this emotional conditioning."

The Ex_Cee'd is based on the three-door Cee'd hatchback, scheduled for production at the company's Zilina plant in Slovakia in December. It shares the Cee'd's platform but features all-new panels and gets a bold, edgy look with 19-inch wheels and two-tone leather. The powered folding fabric roof is chocolate brown, matching the Ex_Cee'd's leather interior.

The cabrio illustrates Kia's interests in the European market and the company believes its latest range of European-designed and built models will "introduce a qualitative revolution for the brand". Kia applies a seven-year/150,000km warranty to the Cee'd models (five-door hatchback, and upcoming five-door Sporty Wagon and three-door Sporty Hatch) sold in Europe, and will transfer the warranty to subsequent owners.

Kia will also unveil the Cee'd Sporty Wagon and Rio Hybrid sedan at the Geneva show.

The Cee'd Sporty Wagon will appear at the show in production-ready form. It has an extended tailgate for maximum accessibility to the luggage area, availed by its 4.5m-long wheelbase.

Kia says the wagon will offer class-leading passenger and luggage space, and competitive levels of equipment including the latest in active and passive safety. Customers in Europe will be able to choose from a line-up of 18 Sporty Wagons, with three equipment levels (LX, EX and TX), five engines including diesel, with manual or automatic transmissions, and an extensive range of optional equipment.

Look out for CarPoint's coverage from the 77th Salon de l'Automobiles in Geneva, Switzerland which opens March 6.

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