The most important debut for SsangYong at this year’s IAA was the XIV-1 Concept. This crossover marks the start of a new era for the Korean firm.

And in this new era SsangYong name is no longer synonymous with catastrophically ugly cars. Thanks to the new design language they have applied, the new models are going to look cool and crisp and trendy, reflecting on SsangYong’s corporate product development philosophy, ‘Robust, Specialist, Premium.

The XIV-1 is a concept car that blend functionality of a B-segment SUV with the affordable running costs of a small family car, according to SsangYong. And that, affordability and simplicity is going to be its real winning card in this busy segment of the market.

The car is not going into production like this, of course, it has too much conceptual details such as the suicide doors or glass roof. But it will eventually spawn a new crossover vehicle. And it’s not jut the exterior design that is an exercise for the upcoming model, they’ve spent a lot of effort on the interior too.

The user interface embraces the concept of an extended living space rather than providing just a means of transport. Control of many of XIV-1 functions is via the interaction of Smart mobile devices and the vehicle itself. Using the kind of devices that the driver and passengers are likely to be carrying at all times, they can control everything from the audio system, the display of information on the dashboard and online communications.

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