The Future, by Kia: 'Imagine by Kia' EV Concept Bows in Geneva, Carries Familiar Baggage

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Kia’s much-teased EV concept turned out to be less attractive and more serious than we initially assumed. Following an announcement suggesting the vehicle’s wild arrangement of 21 interior screens was a humorous jab at industry trends, the automaker officially debuted the car at the Geneva Motor Show. Styled at the company’s European design centre in Frankfurt, the “Imagine by Kia” concept manifested into a slightly puffy crossover serving as an exercise in design.

In the end, Imagine is guilty of some of the show car sins Kia seemed to be railing against. For starters, it uses a single sheet of glass for the windscreen and roof, features rear-hinged doors at the back, rides on bespoke Goodyear tires, and hosts the ever-popular menagerie of interior displays.

This all adds up to a billboard for features you’re not likely to find on any subsequent Kia — at least not in the foreseeable future. Officially, the automaker says the Imagine “represents a more progressive Kia design language for the future.” It also says it’s not a crossover; rather, it’s the joining of a muscular utility vehicle and an athletic family sedan “designed to not sit within the industry’s predefined vehicle categories.”

Which sounds at lot like a crossover.

“We imagined designing an all-electric car that not only answered consumer concerns around range, performance, recharging networks and driving dynamism, but one that also gave you goose bumps when you looked at it, and made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when you drove it,” explained Gregory Guillaume, Vice President of Design for Kia Motors Europe, “That’s why our all-electric concept is designed to not only get your pulse racing, but to also signpost our holistic and emotional approach to electrification.”

Beyond contributing to an open interior layout, we’re not sure how electrification is telegraphed through the vehicle’s design. It’s unfortunate, because Kia’s playful joke about the industry’s obsession with interactive screens turned out to be affixed to a car that still takes itself a little too seriously. It almost feels like mentioning the angled, multi-screen display as a joke was an afterthought to avoid someone else bringing up how utterly ridiculous it is. And it is ridiculous, though it also happens to be one of the most visually appealing and clearly realized aspects of the car.

While the minimalist interior is fine for a concept vehicle, the exterior gives off a sense of pure confusion. We can see elements of modern-day models though the tiger grille illumination and Stinger-inspired tail lamps intermingling with its confused identity.

Every strong styling choice is muddled by the Imagine’s bloated bodywork. There are interesting little creases everywhere, the kind that you’d expect to find on a sporting vehicle, but they’re lost in the vehicle’s overall shape. It’s like encountering a professional bodybuilder decades after they’ve retired — the musculature is gone and there’s just enough leftover definition to subtly hint at their former glory.

As for what powers Kia’s concept, the company didn’t say much — and any answer given would be pointless, as this is a concept vehicle without any pathway to production. Despite being designated as an EV, helping to promote the other e-cars Kia brought to the Geneva Motor Show, the Imagine is both figuratively and literally powered by human creativity.

[Images: Kia]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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 8 comments
  • Jatz Jatz on Mar 06, 2019

    Only eight year-olds and Yanomami could fit inside concept cars of the past 10 years.

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    • PrincipalDan PrincipalDan on Mar 07, 2019

      @forward_look I live in NM but still haven't been to the Trinity site down south. It's on my bucket list but there's only 2 days a year they take visitors there due to the radiation.

  • Vehic1 Vehic1 on Mar 06, 2019

    What feature makes this a "crossover" and not a fastback or hatchback sedan? The "stratospheric" ground clearance? Automotive segment boundaries have been so compromised that they're mangled beyond recognition. Maybe number of wheels, doors, ranges of curb weights would be more definitive.

  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
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