Having unveiled the new Forte Koup and refreshed Soul and Optima in New York, Kia decided to reveal its Cub Concept back home at the Seoul International Motor Show. The turbocharged hatchback concept was penned by the Korean carmaker's chief designer Peter Schreyer. Further expanding on the styling themes first seen on the 2007 Kia Kee 2+2 concept, the Cub measures less than four meters long and loses its B-pillars for suicide rear doors opening into a four-seat cabin.

It has a broad wraparound "mouth" at the front, the latest interpretation of Schreyer's tiger-nose grille with an integrated air intake, and a "dip" in the top of the windshield – a motif Kia has also employed on the Optima, Sportage and Cadenza. Under the hood is the Kia cee'd GT's 1.6-liter turbo four rated at 201 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. In the European-market hot-hatch, the GDI unit is paired to a six-speed manual and can shift from 0-62 mph in 7.7 seconds en route to a 143mph top speed. Two-point LED headlights, similar to those on the Quoris, are paired with rear LED taillights where the front end's "cheerful smile" has been replicated.

Other exterior highlights include minimum-drag wing mirrors, automatic touch door handles, 19-inch alloys, aerodynamic turning vanes, and a two-tone paint job with racing stripe. The interior is trimmed in black leather with yellow accents and comes with a sparse center-stack, a touch sensor air vent, and a steering wheel that's capable of monitoring driver's biorhythms. The Kia Club's Driving Information System is connected to a gesture camera that enables the driver to navigate through menus with "well-defined motions." Kia has no current plans to put the Cub Concept into production.