In the flashy explosion of interpretations that marks the crossover universe, by now the dominant type of car, it is always nice to encounter proposals that germinated within a less orthodox creative process. On that note, Gr\u00e9gory Guillaume, head of design for Kia, has a story that stems from a while ago: \u201cWhen we began to design the current Ceed hatchback, we thought that a sporty three-door version would be introduced to the range, as had happened for a previous model.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>
![\"Kia](\"http:\/\/autodesignmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2019091002_KiaXCeed.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div>\u201cThen we realised, quite suddenly, that cars without rear doors did not meet with the same appreciation that they used to, so the manufacturing plans changed quickly. At the same time, however, the image of the brand gained in dynamism: we definitely couldn\u2019t imagine renouncing the idea of a seductive and powerful version. The challenge began at that point for us designers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>
<\/a><\/span><\/div>The intriguing research into a concept that could reinvent a formula that was in decline, spurred us to choose two ideas that could stand out from the others: a peculiar shooting brake with five doors, which became the Proceed, and a high ground but high spirited and vivacious vehicle. The latter, which was also promising enough to receive the directors\u2019 approval, has, today, become the XCeed. \u201cAt the beginning it almost seemed as though the family of compact cars would have to comprise one unit less, but, in the end, it had one more.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>
<\/a><\/span><\/div>\u201cThis peculiar gestation changed everything. If we had begun by designing a simple crossover for families, the definitive product would have been fairly different. The need to substitute a model that could, without any hesitation, be defined as \u201csporty\u201d spurred us to conceive of the style in a way that was quite a bit more expressive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>