Kia will use the Detroit auto show in January to introduce the Kue concept vehicle -- a crossover that Kia says holds clues to future styling for the automaker's vehicles.
The Kue, produced by Kia's design studio in California, "focuses more on giving the driver an exhilarating driving experience on the way to the home-improvement center than on how much it can haul," Kia says.
The concept is a unibody design. The Kue's wheelbase of more than 114 inches puts it on par with the Mazda CX-9 crossover, set to go on sale early next year. But the Kue's overall length of 186 inches is just 2 inches more than Mazda's smaller CX-7 crossover.
Kia has not given any indication that it intends to put the Kue into production. But Kia's Sorento SUV is expected to be redesigned and move to the unibody platform used by the Hyundai Santa Fe. An introduction is planned in the fall of 2008 as a 2009 model, according to the Automotive News future-product series.
Also, automakers typically give concept vehicles exaggerated proportions in an attempt to conceal their intentions from competitors. The Kue concept rolls on 22-inch wheels.
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