This isn't one of those cars that you have to say, "oh, I have to wait to see it in person" when having mixed feelings seeing it on line. The design speaks very nicely for itself: simple, clean and modern. But does looking "too European" hurt the car's true Korean heritage? Their designs went from looking like Mitsubishi knock-offs to German flavored contenders so suddenly. Am I wrong here?
3 COMMENT(S):
Interesting question Woody. I agree both Hyundai and Kia made very purposeful decisions to stop trying to sell Korean cars to the Europeans and Americans, and instead sell them European and American cars. I think that's also one of the biggest reasons for their recent swing to success.
But when looking at older Hyundais in Europe it's hard, as a European, to tell how much of the design I didn't care for so much was 'korean' and how much was just 'bad'. I do believe that their design had 'soft' elements to it which turned europeans off (soft curves, meak shapes).
Looking at modern Kias and Hyundais I can still see Korean elements, sometimes, but again I'm not an expert at spotting them. Maybe the curves on the rear lights of this car? But yeah, it does remind me of German cars, mainly for its economy of line, and in Europe, that's no bad thing.
Kia does have 'tech' design elements in its cars which aren't obviously German or even European -- those seem Kia's strongest theme. But I couldn't say if they qualified as Korean. Maybe eastern, simce it's something the Japanese also do.
Thanks Ash for your comment. There is a video of the CEO of VW checking out the newest I30 (Elentra Touring). It's hard to say what he felt, but he spent at least 10 minutes with a small ruler inspecting the dimensions, quality and layout of the car. I don't think he would have done that 6 years ago.
More importantly, the perception consumers have of South Korean cars have changed rather dramatically.
The shift began around five to seven years ago when the South Koreans abandoned their mundane, quirky designs and embraced an entirely new approach towards car design, engineering, technology and marketing.
For one, their previous designers were all South Koreans so that limited spectrum of ideas produced cars that no one outside of South Korea thought were all that appealing. Once companies like KIA and Hyundai embraced the concept of openness and change in their thinking by hiring non-domestic designers, an influx of fresh ideas and approaches lifted the brands' appeal and made them much more desirable.
It is no accident that KIA and Hyundai now have design centers in both Europe and the U.S. This bodes well since their success have become most prominent after years of investments in R&D, engineering, ergonomics and marketing.
Speaking of marketing, this is the area they have also improved upon quite significantly. By first producing cars that were equal to and in some cases, significantly better than the competition, they were able to leverage these advantages in their marketing campaigns. The results were that consumers noticed and sales have been on an upward curve ever since.
Their gains in the marketplace are bound to continue as more and more people recognize South Korean cars have the same level of built in quality standards, engineering and technology that they have come to expect from European, Japanese and American auto manufacturers.
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