Car Throttle

Remember that? That’s the Azera. It was hailed as a big step forward for the brand when introduced. Then they had to come along and outdo it with the Genesis. Hyundai and Kia have been on a roll lately!

They’re the only volume automaker other then Subaru to see sales increases in a falling market. A large part is due to the Assurance Program, but also to customer’s recognition of the impressive new vehicles they’ve been putting out.  Let’s get to the news here though.

That’s the Kia “VG” Concept, codenamed KND-5. It’s based on the Hyundai Azera, and in my opinion is a big improvement on the car. While nice, the Azera is clearly a generation behind in the company’s styling evolution. The Kia VG Concept illustrates this very well.

It’s very modern, with an sleek and upscale look. It’s interesting to see how Hyundai will position Kia, like if they’ll infringe on each other’s territory.

The VG is an new entry, slotting above the Optima but below the flagship Amanti sedan. The Amanti replacement is being developed on the Genesis platform and is codenamed CH.

While report say it’s a “luxury sedan” and it certainly looks the part, they also include information of the base engine being a 4-cylinder Theta. That would lead me to believe Kia is going to position this car as their true mid-size competitor. The current lackluster Optima hasn’t done a great job of doing that for the company.

You might have noticed the Concept moniker following the Kia VG. Like has been the case with a lot of introductions lately, it will be a concept in name only. It a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) kind of a deal.

As always, we’ll know more soon when the official information comes out. I’m keen to see how they position this car, and also what the Amanti-replacement holds. I know Kia is supposed to have a bit more of a sport-oriented slant then Hyundai so we’ll see.