Kia has a new concept car out. They call it the Novo and expect it to foreshadow Kia’s new direction in terms of styling. As has become the trend, there’s a lot of coupé-inspired cues and minimalist design both inside and out.
The Novo was designed at Kia’s state-of-the-art Namyang design centre and is based on a specially-adapted version of the Cerato platform. But instead of the K3’s conventional sedan styling, here Kia have shifted overhangs towards the rear and sloped the roofline. To top off its coupé look, all of the glass surrounding the Novo’s half is slim and lengthy, giving it a sportier profile.
The Novo still sports Kia’s trademark ‘tiger nose’ front grille, but in this iteration it’s a lot wider and more recessed. The front fascia also features a set of slim laser headlamps that amplify the look of the car. Wing mirrors are slim as well and mounted pretty low and on the door panels rather than on the pillars. Just like on the Model D Tesla, the door handles pop-out.
Round the back we find exhaust tips that are integrated with the rear bumper. Besides the odd angles on the rear diffuser, the rest of the car’s looks very sleek, with a lot of classic car inspiration shining through. There seems to be a big emphasis on creating a two-toned look with chrome inserts, which can be seen from the rims to the roof.
The Novo’s interior is just as impressive as its exterior. They really took minimalism to a new level here, with most of the controls and information being integrated into a touch pad on the centre console and little else to interrupt the dashboard’s lines. The touch pad reads the driver’s fingerprint in order to automatically recall his or her preferred seating position, music selection and preferred information. There’s even a neat little three-dimensional hologram display at the centre.
The concept car is equipped with a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine mated to a new seven-speed DCT that drive the front wheels. The Kia Novo concept is fitted with innovative new ‘adaptive concave profile’ tyres, with a sunken middle section between two contact points serving to cool the rubber and channel excess road water away from the wheels for greater grip. The unique 20-inch tyres feature two slim contact points on the outer edges to provide lower rolling resistance and reduce road noise, while contributing to provide a high level of grip under cornering. There are currently no plans to bring the Kia Novo concept to production, though Kia has a history of delivering production vehicles that bear a strong resemblance to concept vehicles that precede them. The Kia Novo concept provides a glimpse into Kia’s plans for its future compact car line-up.
