By: Jason Woosey
Detroit Motor Show - Kia says that its new Telluride concept hints at the styling of a "possible future premium large SUV", but let's face it: the company surely wouldn't have gone through the effort of making such a realistic looking concept vehicle and dropping so many hints if there wasn't a similar showroom vehicle lurking around the corner.
Also interesting is the design shift that it takes, looking decidedly more macho than Kia's existing SUVs, the Sorento and Sportage. On that note, the Telluride is based on a stretched Sorento platform and that production version that Kia keeps hinting at would theoretically be classified as a full-sized SUV of the kind that countries like the US are becoming increasingly interested in now that fuel is cheap again (for them, at least).
While the showroom version would no doubt have seven conventional seats, the Telluride concept (though still technically a three-row vehicle) puts the emphasis on the first two rows, where four black leather "captain's chairs" appear to float in front of the folded third-row bench and you'll even enjoy fold-out foot rests if you're in the second row.
WHEN CAR BECOMES DOCTOR
The concept also explores a future where cars care for your health.
Each chair has sensors that capture their occupant's vital health info, which is then displayed on screens mounted on the interior door panels.
But instead of just telling you what a bad day you're having, this car actually seeks to make you feel better with the help of the Light Emitted Rejuvenation system that uses a roof-mounted LED panel to display therapeutic light patters. These could treat things like jetlag and improve overall energy levels, according to Kia.
While you might expect such a vehicle to be powered by meditation vibes, Kia has at least stuck to a more conventional means of motivation, in the form of a hybrid powertrain that mates a direct injection 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine to an electric motor for a system output of 298kW.
That kind of power would certainly put us in a better mood.