They won’t call it a station wagon anymore because the term conjures images of soccer moms and runny-nosed kids. A Station wagon is seen like a minivan, but somehow worse. They call it a “shooting brake”. And Kia’s outrageous new concept certainly doesn’t seem like a vehicle one would drive to the (train) station full of luggage. No, this wagon is all about performance. It’s called the Proceed Concept and it took the 2017 Frankfurt International Motor Show by storm.

Kia has been aggressively redefining itself for the last couple of years, and in an attempt to shake off the reputation as a maker of cheap econoboxes, Kia seems to be determined to reinvent itself as a bona fide performance brand. While sibling automaker, Hyundai veers more towards luxury-oriented vehicles, Kia has been creating some of the most exciting and promising new performance vehicles on the market, most recently the explosive Stinger rear-drive sedan. 

This time Kia is exploring what is possible in the compact market and, in looking for the next iteration of their European-only Ceed compacts, they have somehow created yet another inspired concept we hope will one day make it to Canadian streets. 

When Kia pulled the cover off their Proceed Concept at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, everyone was stunned. Clearly the hit of the show, crowds swarmed the display to demand answers; most commonly to the question… “when can I get one?”

Low and lean with a rakish “shooting brake” roofline, its compact footprint more than hints at it agility. With four swinging doors and a liftgate at the rear, the Proceed Concept is the ultimate extended “hot hatch” and screams of performance even when sitting still.

The silhouette of the car is complemented by an array of dramatic details. A dynamic window frame follows the roofline to the hatch, while the striking ‘Sharkblade’ in the bodywork, complete with GT logo, reinforces its lack of B-pillars. Lateral strakes exaggerate the Proceed Concept’s slim waistline and lend an air of muscularity to the rear of the car. It runs on six-spoke aluminium alloy wheels, 20 inches in diameter. In short, it looks like it means business.

Kia was clearly in pursuit of an emotional response and wisely chose to create a completely custom paint finish to make certain hearts raced. The Proceed Concept’s paint is called “Lava Red” and was created by combining multiple hand-applied layers of black, chrome-effect silver, and red-tinted lacquer for a super-glossy and almost supernatural finish.

In most new vehicles, the daytime running lights have become a signature detail that defines how people “see” them in the wild. The Proceed Concept has gone much further with its lighting and features what Kia calls a ‘Luminline’ – an illuminated outline of the car’s glasshouse that greets drivers as they approach the car. This serves as a powerful nighttime differentiator for the concept, highlighting its fastback shape.

For now, Kia’s Ceed models are sold only in Europe, and there have been no plans to bring the line to Canada, but with such incredible buzz generated by the Proceed Concept at Frankfurt, we can only hope that once this concept hits production, that they’ll be sending them to the Great White North as well.