[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by guptad42

Styling is similar, but softer - probably to appeal to a more conservative buyer.

It is Actually the other way around. Its far more edgier in case of Kia. Have you seen their optima sedan! I would love its looks way more than the Hyundai's fluidic theme on verna or elentras. And the picanto is anything but softer as compared to i10. I think it sits right next to the Chevy Beat in terms of edginess of design.

This should be a good move if Hyundai does get the Kia brand to india.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

This should be a good move if Hyundai does get the Kia brand to india.

But then doing so would probably turn on the heat on i10. The biggest question for Hyundai would be :

[guptad42]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

It is Actually the other way around. Its far more edgier in case of Kia. Have you seen their optima sedan! I would love its looks way more than the Hyundai's fluidic theme on verna or elentras. And the picanto is anything but softer as compared to i10. I think it sits right next to the Chevy Beat in terms of edginess of design.

This should be a good move if Hyundai does get the Kia brand to india.

My comparison was with the same generation Hyundais. You can check out wikipedia pages for some of Kia models - Kia styling before 2011 models was in fact quite conventional. Look at how the looks have changed and the difference is striking.

The Kia Optima looks classy and sporty, for example. I do find Kia current models easier on the eye, and better looking than the current Hyundai fluidic designs, some of which I found overdone.

But I must agree, I was debating what to call this difference in design - and 'conservative' is the wrong choice of words for the current Kia designs that you may find soon in an Indian car dealer's showroom (hopefully).

[geeash]

Spotted this car on the Grandstatetrunk ( GST) road in chennai. The car was green hatch and was peppy and the logo was camouflaged with green tape. Was able to take only rear picture clearly and front was taken only from reflection from my IRVM as i was driving. It was a four door hatch with alloys. Only thing that was found fishy was that it was a left hand drive and was driven by a employee in a uniform. Once he came to know i was trying to take pictures he began to drive rash and unfortunately since i had my mobile on one hand i had to give way for him.

Here are the pics







Posting it here. kindly identify and see if it has any significance

Moderators: If there is a thread already on the car please merge this. i have posted it on a separate topic as i could not identify the car

[urajkumar]

may be this is not the right thread but when we are speculating KIA entry in India, i rawther see the below car as thier hatchbatch entry in India than a badge engineered version of i10

Come on Kia, give Kia Cee'd!

Second-generation Kia Cee

[mrajank]

Saw this car near the MIOT hospital (past the DLF complex) on the Mount Ponnamale high road this afternoon (just past noon). Interestingly, it was a left hand drive. Any idea what this could be ?

regards
Rajan

[klassics45]

Spotted this new hatchback near IIT flyover.

[JRD]

from the overall stance, seems to be the kia picanto. Nice find!

[determinus]

Great find and nice pattern matching. But what is Kia doing on Indian terrain? Since it is TN, obvious guess is if Ford has a tie up with Kia on some models?

[sai_ace]

^^ Kia's Indian connection would be hyundai.

[JRD]

Originally Posted by determinus

obvious guess is if Ford has a tie up with Kia on some models?

Actually, Kia is the sister brand to Hyundai. It will be interesting to see the brand positioning in regards to Hyundai if/when they decide to launch some cars.

[Lukeskywalker]

Chanced upon this thread now, here are some pics of the Kia Picanto I drove in Langkawi, Malaysia on a recent vacation

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

Chanced upon this thread now, here are some pics of the Kia Picanto I drove in Langkawi, Malaysia on a recent vacation

Those are some nicely shot pics there. I could actually smell the freshness in the air.

Coming back to the Picanto, even I have been in one of these previous generation Picanto once when I was in Dubai. Between that and the latest generation Picanto that we see in this thread, it is once again evident how much of a leap Hyundai and Kia have taken in their most recent models. The current Picanto looks, feels and drives so much better than the previous generation model if the international media reviews are to be believed. It's a pity that Hyundai isn't planning to bring Kia to India anytime soon.

By the way, this green Kia Picanto is still busy doing test runs in and around Chennai. I believe Hyundai is using this as a perfect tool to test the chassis and powertrain of the next-generation i10 that is due sometime in 2013-14. Here are a couple of pics shot by a friend of mine.




Source: ANYTHING ON WHEELS: Kia Picanto (Morning) seen testing in Chennai again

[Auto freak]

Spotted this at Guindy this morning!

[thoma]

Originally Posted by Auto freak

Spotted this at Guindy this morning!

Looking at the rear quarter glass, this is a bit different from the earlier spotted models!