Spy Shots: Kia VG foretells next Azera
Spies have caught a sleek new sedan doing the rounds in Korea. Word is that it's codenamed VG, will be arriving in '09, and will be "closely related to" the Hyundai Azera. While there is no word on engines yet, the car is expected to be front-wheel-drive. That doesn't exactly bode well for Kia's brief of being the sporty brand -- so sayeth Hyundai -- but the car is supposed to be "near luxury" and appears to have some all right lines, even under the camo. We look forward to seeing more.
[Source: Kia World]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kumail 6:00PM (7/17/2008)
from what i could make out of it, it's pretty nice, kinda late, but nice.
how come the photographers who get that close to the car can't even take a pic of the interior?
Reply
Torrent 2:16AM (7/18/2008)
The front view makes it kinda look like a Pontiac G8.
Tourian 6:37PM (7/17/2008)
Why even bother with the Azera anymore now that Genesis is here? I think they'll cancel it just like the did the Tiburon after they claimed they were going to sell both cars side by side.
Reply
tanooki2003 9:16AM (7/18/2008)
The Tiburon, from my understanding, is not going to be canceled. Instead there will be a FWD replacement somewhere on the horizon.
Kotse 7:43PM (7/17/2008)
Must be Kia's ES350 "fighter"...they even slapped some Genesis "shoes" on it.
Reply
Crackberry Addict 8:54PM (7/17/2008)
it looks like RWD, and from the genesis wheels its more then probable.
Reply
MM 12:18AM (7/18/2008)
BFD, looks like the side and front profile of every other Asian car on the market. I see Lexus LS, Toyota Camry, and Honda Accord in the front and side profiles. Shockingly ordinary.
Reply
wagonphile 9:38AM (7/18/2008)
Potentially handsome, if nothing terribly exciting. Sounds like the current car, which is very competent.
I wish they'd ditch the FWD setup and make the Azera on the Genesis platform with only V6s. They could turn down the luxury, tune the suspension for a bit more sport, and give it some edgier styling. Offer a decent manual tranny and price it in the high 20s. Moving Hyundai upscale makes sense with the Genesis, but for Kia I'd like to see more affordable performance. No sense following the Ford/Mercury and Chevrolet/Pontiac cloning strategy. Time to differentiate the brands.
Reply
Lx 4:35PM (7/18/2008)
FWD seems just fine for this offering. The technology is thoroughly mature and all major brands do it well. Would be an appropriate standard bearer for the Kia showroom, and if done well a refreshing sporty counterpoint to the Azera. Bring it over, Kia.
Reply
SMS 2:00PM (7/19/2008)
looks like a optima/magentis replacement
if you ask me
Reply