Kia's Future Will Be Sportier, but Let's Not Kid Ourselves

Hyundai has clearly committed itself to sporting models. While we’re positive the new N badge will attach itself to a handful of undeserving models in the years to come, go-fast versions of the overseas i30 and North American Veloster show it won’t be the norm. The brand seems to have hit upon something and intends to keep funneling high-performance models through its N sub-brand.

Now with a sporting model of its own, Kia wants in on the fun. But the Stinger GT looks to be in a safe place as the company’s premiere performance model for a while. Rather than focusing on lap times, the Korean brand intends to build smaller range of GT models with an emphasis on everyday performance. That could be a kinder way of saying “watered down,” or simply an admission that Kia wants fun-loving automobiles but knows it can’t step on Hyundai’s toes.

Kia is, after all, a value brand, and not many of its customers are interested in track day mayhem — or the associated expenses. But they would probably all appreciate the option to buy something that encourages you to misbehave slightly when the traffic clears up.

“For Kia, it is not the decision to enter with high-performance cars,” Albert Biermann, head of Hyundai Motor Group’s performance development division, told Autocar in a recent interview. “We did it with Hyundai N but there’s a clear decision not to with Kia, and GT needs to be a reasonable package. With the Ceed GT now, the minute you go high-performance, you need to work at a race track, and then the costs go up and the business case gets very challenging. Doing that next step is not an easy step.”

The company chose to keep the 2.0-liter turbo out of Europe’s Ceed GT, despite its presence in the base Stinger. That was likely done to minimize cost and ensure it doesn’t get in the way of the hot hatches coming from Hyundai. But the Ceed GT isn’t a snooze fest, either. Its 1.6-liter unit, found in the Hyundai Elantra Sport, is good enough for 201 horsepower — more than enough to be enjoyable in a relatively light automobile.

Kia’s progress toward performance will be steady, with GT versions introduced on some if its models in the coming years. Biermann said the next big leap takes place with the next-generation Optima. “For the next Optima GT, you can expect an interesting powertrain and suspension at the next level,” he said. “It’ll be the next level of Kia driving performance.”

However, the brand says it wants to see improved dynamics across the board, which is something else Biermann has been working on. “You can accept a little compromise on ride comfort, especially in Europe, for some sportiness,” he explained.

That should manifest itself primarily through improved body control and heavier steering. But Kia doesn’t want to paint itself into a corner, either. “It can be the way the gearshift feels, the way you feel when you sit down in the cabin — it’s a wider philosophy that’s being introduced and there are many more things to follow,” said Biermann.

While the automaker did not conform a GT variant of the Soul, the performance head did say it would be the next model to benefit from that wider philosophy. Expect superior agility from the third-generation model, scheduled to debut next month.

[Images: Hyundai Motor Group]