After getting our hands on this all-new Kia Ceed crossover sketch last month, we went on to deduce that the production model won’t look as beefy and imposing as the drawing, and we stand by that, especially since spy images indicate that this will be a Ford Focus Active-like product.
However, the Korean automaker has now decided to say a few things about the car unofficially called XCeed, throwing a little mystery shroud over what we thought was a forgone conclusion.
“There’s another style, another type of vehicle, that we feel very strongly deserves to be a new member of the Ceed family,” said Kia Motors Europe VP of Design, Gregory Guillaume. “It will play the role that’s needed to make the Ceed range stronger and even more exciting, more appealing to European consumers.”
He then goes on to say: “The design will be nothing like you’ve seen in the Ceed family so far. This will be the next big surprise from Kia.”
Interesting choice of words, right? It almost sounds like there will be a design language difference between the regular Ceed hatchback and this crossover version, as opposed to just taking an already finished product and increasing its ground clearance while adding some plastic bits to the body – the Ford Focus Active recipe.
Still, even if that’s true, don’t expect to see this sketch come to life with such a sharp shoulder line, muscular fenders and massive wheels. The overall shape of the taillights however could be indicative of what some of those differences might be, with the current 5-door Ceed boasting much thicker units than the ones found on the sketch.
In the end, we still have to wait until later this year for the new Ceed crossover to be unveiled, although now that we know there might be a clear difference in design, we can go back and point to the fact that the shoulder line sweeps upwards toward the C-pillar on previously-seen XCeed prototypes, whereas the regular Ceed has a simple, more horizontal design.
So we’re dealing with a little more than just an increased ground clearance/plastic cladding/skid plates treatment, and that’s exciting news.
