Caught! Kia gets its sport on with cee'd xR
Kia has always had aspirations of being the sporty brand to Hyundai's volume image, but unfortunately never fielded the hardware to convincingly make the case. Things seem to be changing, as word came last week that the South Korean automaker is planning a rival for the Audi TT. Today we've come across pics of what appears to be a sport version of the Euro-market cee'd. Apparently called the cee'd xR according to a badge on the grill, this sport model features styling reminiscent of the pro_cee'd concept shown at the Paris Motor Show last fall. Up front is a black diffuser that forces air into the lower intake, while another body-colored diffuser is recessed into the new lower bodywork out back. According to Caradisiac, the cee'd xR is powered by a new turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder from Hyundai, though power figures weren't mentioned. That's all the info we could cull from the French-language site, but the pictures speak volumes. Unfortunately, the cee'd isn't sold in the U.S. so we'll never see this model Stateside, but hopefully the xR moniker makes it across the pond on other models.
[Source: Caradisiac]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
DPC car videos 3:09PM (3/26/2007)
It better have AWD if it wants to rival the Audi TT, Just by looking at the picture I would say its a great challenger for the Honda Civic Type R more then the Audi TT.
http://www.dpccars.com
DPCcars
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Scott 3:22PM (3/26/2007)
It's a nicer looking car than anything Kia currently sells here in the US. Apparently they've been studying Ford's policy of tormenting us with nice Euro and AU market cars with no chance of import.
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Ben 3:27PM (3/26/2007)
My impression of Kia will forever be stained by the Rio. They will have to show me something phenominal before I ever consider one.
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Uhh... 3:37PM (3/26/2007)
I don't get it; I see a 5 door wagon. Not a tiny sports coupe.
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Todd 3:43PM (3/26/2007)
Looks like a nice Mazda3 copy.
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felipe 3:44PM (3/26/2007)
yea, dont get me wrong, i love to see Kia rise to be a power, but this is a TT fighter?
it looks like Matix/Mazda3/ wagon type.
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wren 5:00PM (3/26/2007)
I'm confused. The Cee'd (and Hyundai i30) seem exactly the car/s that some of us (many of us?) want to buy over here, but they seem to duplicate (and improve?) the Spectra5's market entry. As good as they are, please, H/K, you have our go-ahead to drop the Spectra and Elantra and bring over the twins.
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Praeliber 3:58PM (3/26/2007)
I've read the french site and it doesn't say that much..
Only that this european cee'd could later be decline in 3 doors hatchback and convertible model. They also bring up the point that this car (the Xr, with the turbocharge 2liters) could make good impression with a competitive price packed with the Kia 7 years warranty.
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Jay 4:41PM (3/26/2007)
For those confused about the TT comparisons, Autoblog posted an earlier article about a convertible 2-door concept version of this car which looks more TT-ish.
It's about time Hyundai/Kia started looking into making production versions of their turbo-fours. A street version of the turbo-four they use in their racing programs would go a long way toward establishing some sort of credibility for their "sporty" models.
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BLS 4:01PM (3/26/2007)
The writer is refering to a different car when talking about the TT fighter.
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Nellydesign 4:04PM (3/26/2007)
Yeah, pretty sure the Mazda 3 spent some time in the Kia design studio. Geez, the side surface is identical.
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stevieb 9:13PM (3/26/2007)
is that and "xR' from the back of a toyota matrix pasted on the kia grill?
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judd 4:41PM (3/26/2007)
Matrix reborn!
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Tal 5:13PM (3/26/2007)
If you click on rival ...planning a "rival"...
a sportier convertible c'eed is shown. This may be the article #10 was referring to.
It's nice but as far as looks go... but it's not in the TT class and the hatchback is certainly not competition for a TT..not looks wise anyway.
Know nothing about Kia being able to compete head to head with an Audi TTs performance. Would guess it would be second.
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Kowell 5:19PM (3/26/2007)
it WOULD be nice to get a cool car once in a while.... Europe always keeps the best stuff
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Turboman5000 7:16PM (3/26/2007)
both of the cars pictured are miles better than the Spectra5. While the Spectra is a nice econo car it doesn't have the look of the c'eed cars. Europeans are just more demanding I guess.
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2o6 6:08PM (3/26/2007)
This Article wasn't written well. You Have People Believing that this is the TT Fighter. It isn't, It's just a Turbo Cee'd.
On another note; why don't we have this? It work more in the US rather than the already Crowded Euro C-segment Hatch market. We Don't have anything this competitive, and all of are C-segments are boring or expensive.
We need the Cee'd Kia.
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Bryan 6:26PM (3/26/2007)
I thought this was a Euro Focus at first glance. Typical Koreans..it is at the point that it does not surprise me anymore. If you hear of anything new coming out from Korea, you might as well look around at the others in that particular segment and place a bet on which one they will copy. Hmm, I could make money off of Hyundai and Kia! =)
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Noidor 9:58PM (3/26/2007)
Ran out of ideas I guess! Looks like a Euro Focus (mkII) in front, and Mazda 3 at c-pillar. What a blatant copy!
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Olivia 4:13AM (5/31/2007)
Hi todd are you the guy who was in the kia spring sales event commercial for 2007?
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