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Written by Paul Horrell
After the Stinger gave us a competent impersonation of a BMW 4 Series GranCoupe, Kia now has its eyes on Mercedes with the new Proceed. While it isn"t a direct rip-off of the CLA Shooting Brake, Kia"s people are open about why they built this car, and how that CLA was involved. The Proceed, like all Ceeds, is designed, built and sold entirely in Europe. The old Proceed was a three-door. But sales of that kind of car have fallen, and coupes and cabrios (at least from the mass brands) have almost entirely stalled. So after the five-door Ceed and the straightforward estate version, Kia was in a bit of a conundrum for the next body style. They interrogated their sales spreadsheets to see what what body styles are doing well. Broadly, five-doors and estates, came the answer. So the Kia planning bods commissioned some research to ask estate owners what they wanted. Boot space came the reply, but also style too. Which, Kia figured in a light-bulb moment, is how come Mercedes is selling lots of CLA Shooting Brakes.
Date written: 13 Sep 2018
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 13315
After the Stinger gave us a competent impersonation of a BMW 4 Series GranCoupe, Kia now has its eyes on Mercedes with the new Proceed. While it isn"t a direct rip-off of the CLA Shooting Brake, Kia"s people are open about why they built this car, and how that CLA was involved. The Proceed, like all Ceeds, is designed, built and sold entirely in Europe. The old Proceed was a three-door. But sales of that kind of car have fallen, and coupes and cabrios (at least from the mass brands) have almost entirely stalled. So after the five-door Ceed and the straightforward estate version, Kia was in a bit of a conundrum for the next body style. They interrogated their sales spreadsheets to see what what body styles are doing well. Broadly, five-doors and estates, came the answer. So the Kia planning bods commissioned some research to ask estate owners what they wanted. Boot space came the reply, but also style too. Which, Kia figured in a light-bulb moment, is how come Mercedes is selling lots of CLA Shooting Brakes.
Date written: 13 Sep 2018
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 13315
