Kia CUB concept

Kia gave its new CUB concept its official debut at this week's Seoul Auto Show. The B-segment five-door hatchback was designed at Kia's Namyang Design Center in Hwaseong, South Korea, under the direction of the carmaker's president and chief design officer Peter Schreyer and is less than 4 meters long.

Developed as the latest study into Kia's B- and C-segment future models following last year's Trackster concept and the Provo concept unveiled earlier this month at the Geneva show, there are a number of design features taken from the 2007 Kia Kee 2+2 concept. The slight dip at the top of the windshield is reminiscent of the designs of the Optima, Sportage and cee'd models. The CUB features another possible direction for Kia's now-familiar tiger-nose DRG, with a slim, horizontal air intake running underneath two-point LED headlamps.

Aerodynamic ‘turning-vanes' on the rockers are designed to streamline and add definition, while the automatic touch-type door handles, aerodynamic side mirrors and flush glazing reduces drag.

Inside, the cabin is trimmed in black leather with yellow accents around seats, door armrests and steering wheel. Kia says the instrument cluster is inspired ‘by the eyes of a wild animal', while the deliberately minimalist center stack features touch sensor-controlled air vent. The steering wheel rim can check the driver's biorhythms for additional safety and the Driving Information System (DIS) controller is operated by a gesture camera.

Gallery: Kia CUB concept

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