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What Is It?

Kia Mesa Concept

What's Special About It?

Kia's four-door SUV concept points a bold, new direction for the future of the company's trucks and SUVs. Slightly larger than the Sorrento, the Mesa shares its drivetrain and a similar body-on-frame construction with Kia's current SUV. The similarity between these models ends here, though, as Mesa debuts a considerable amount of new technology and features to its exterior. Four alligator-style clamps up top can secure anything from skis to luggage, while the roof is further adorned with an LED searchlight. The headlights, which are also LED-powered, flank a large grille that is emblazoned with a confidently placed company badge. Other interesting touches on the outside include an electric tow hitch door, electronically activated retractable running boards, a power-operated rear step and 22-inch wheels. On the inside, red and black leather trim extends all the way from the third-row captain's seats to the front dashboard. Dual skylights run the length of the interior, which is generously equipped with racing-type toggle switches, which perform a variety of functions. The concept displayed at NAIAS is powered by a six-cylinder engine, although the company indicated that the Mesa has enough room under the hood for a V8. Safety should be comprised, at the very least, of a substantial airbag package, which includes dual side curtain models. The Mesa is a product of the Hyundai/Kia design center in Irvine, Calif.

What's Edmunds' Take?

The Big Three already have enough to worry about with steady encroachment from the Japanese brands onto their home turf without having to factor these upstart Koreans into the equation. With the Mesa concept, Kia has hammered home the point that Korean manufacturers could pose just as big a threat in the coming years to American domestic auto supremacy as Honda, Nissan, Toyota and their peers. Undoubtedly one of the surprise hits of the auto show, the Mesa boasts, unlike many similar concepts, a coherent design strategy and a viable blueprint for production. While the outside is certainly attractive enough, with its functional gimmicks such as the retractable running boards and power-operated rear step, the real highlight of the Mesa is the gorgeously appointed interior. The stitching work on the red and black leather seats ups the ante not only for the rest of Kia's products but for that of the competition as well. Perhaps the greatest compliment that one could give Kia in regards to the Mesa is that it does not look like the company is imitating anyone else in this design. Expect this vehicle, when it goes into production, to give the Ford Explorer, among others, some real nightmares. — Phil Lienert