The 2019 Kia ProCeed wagon is awesome…and we aren’t getting it here in the States.
…and that sucks.
As a self-proclaimed wagon fanboy, I’ve been swimming against the strong current in this country that states SUVs and crossovers are cool and wagons are for losers. This (flawed) thinking goes something like this: if you live in the US, have a growing family and/or like to haul your stuff around, you need to be at least a foot off the ground because, ya know, you might have to cross a small stream on your way to the mall.
The result of this mindset is that most manufacturers don’t bother bringing their wagons here as they’ll simply be collecting dust on dealer lots. And that’s a damn shame as there have been some really cool wagons of late. Hell, even our own Cadillac got in on the game only to immediately exit with its CTS Wagon, the “V” variant of which has reached god-like status since disappearing.
And that brings us to the 2019 Kia ProCeed. It is, quite simply, a home run of design and I think, their most compelling vehicle to date. It has more than a passing resemblance to Porsche’s new Panamera Sport Turismo at a fraction of the price and really really needs to be sold here. Its sporty, has a ton of utility and is, by all accounts, a vehicle…That sounds an awful like an SUV in my book. But because it’s not lifted, it has to wear that dreaded moniker that usually spells a sure death in the US. Sure, Kia could call it an estate or an avant like the Germans, but a wagon by any other name is still a wagon here.
So, what will it take for Americans to open their hearts (and wallets) to the wagon? I would say high gas prices, but we’ve been thru that cycle a few times: we dump our big rigs, retreat to economy cars then go right back as soon as prices drop. Wagons sit directly in the middle and are a seemingly perfect mix of both…and there are some manufacturers (Volvo, Subaru and VW) that do sell a semi-healthy amount of them based on their brand image, but we need mass adoption….Wake up people!
Anyway…rant over. I’m just coming up on needing to replace my Hyundai Genesis, could use some more cargo capacity for trips to the mountains and this would’ve made my choice a no-brainer.
Image: Kia by way of PhotoShop
