'EVs have to be fun': Kia lifts the lid on its wild Vision Meta Turismo concept that uses a joystick as a gear shifter | Tech Radar

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'EVs have to be fun': Kia lifts the lid on its wild Vision Meta Turismo concept that uses a joystick as a gear shifter

Kia wants to create an "immersive" experience for future drivers

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The Meta Turismo concept was on display at Milan Design week

Designers revealed more details about its sporty intentions

Virtual gear shifts are “just the start” as Kia looks to make EVs more fun

The creatives behind Kia's latest Meta Turismo concept say they want to “bring back a sense of joy and a sense of theater” to the EV market, as the company looks towards the next stage of its design language.

Briefly unveiled at an 80th anniversary celebration in Yongin, Korea last year, the Vision Meta Turismo provides an insight into what we can expect from future Kia models, particularly the four-door saloon, of which there has been a gaping hole in the Kia line-up since the Kia Stinger departed.

“The Vision Meta Turismo is really a car designed for a generation that hasn’t grown up with posters on their wall. Instead, they’ve probably experienced their dream car in virtual realms,” explains Oliver Samson, Kia Europe's design chief.

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As a result, the long, sleek Vision Meta Turismo borrows elements from the gaming world and racing simulators on the inside.

The front passenger, for example, enjoys a lounge-like experience that is “free from any distractions” and can rotate through 180-degrees when the vehicle is stationary.

In stark contrast, the driver adopts a much more focused, cockpit-like position, with an Augmented Reality display that tracks the driver’s eyes so it is always in the correct field of view.

There’s also a new steering wheel shape that Kia says serves as the “central interface through which users engage with three distinct digital experience modes”. These comprise of Speeder, Dreamer and Gamer.

The former places the car in a focused driving mode, where it’s possible for the driver to enjoy the marque’s virtual gearshifts and any future driving technology that may arise, while Dreamer sees virtual layers added to the vehicle’s cockpit so occupants can interact with their infotainment system via an Augmented Reality Head-Up Display or AR glasses for the passengers.

Finally, Gamer is a mode reserved for when the vehicle is parked and transforms the AR display and steering wheel into a place to 'Sim race', while an exterior projector creates a “group gaming hub”, according to its designers.

“Everyone knows that EVs can be fast as hell, but we have to bring back a sense of joy, something exciting and something different in the way we interact with them,” explains John Buckingham, head of future exterior at Kia.

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Highlighting the joystick-like gears shifter inside the Vision Meta Turismo concept, Buckingham claims that technology, such as the Hyundai Motor Group’s virtual gear shifting, is “just the beginning” of a long list of innovative and engaging driving features we can expect to see on its future EVs.

“Vision Meta Turismo explores the character differences between the sportiness of a Kia and Hyundai’s N models. That has to be separated and we can’t do what they are doing. Rather than racing, we are about the personal enjoyment of driving,” he adds, suggesting that Kia could offer the electric Grand Tourers to Hyundai's hot hatches.

As a result, the concept vehicle features a launch control button, as well as a GT Boost functionality, which unleashes full power to deliver an “instant surge of acceleration”. Yet it remains a quiet, comfortable and lounge-like experience to while away long highway miles.

While this is a just a concept for now, Kia has recently been updating its EV range with GT-badged variants that offer virtual gear shifting borrowed from Hyundai and a more focused driving experience. It’s not quite the all-out raciness of a Hyundai N product but it serves to ramp up driver engagement.

The Vision Meta Turismo offers a glimpse at ways in which Kia can crank this sensation up further in the future and gives us our best idea yet of what form a fully electric sporting saloon from the Korean brand could take.

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Leon has been navigating a world where automotive and tech collide for almost 20 years, reporting on everything from in-car entertainment to robotised manufacturing plants. Currently, EVs are the focus of his attentions, but give it a few years and it will be electric vertical take-off and landing craft. Outside of work hours, he can be found tinkering with distinctly analogue motorcycles, because electric motors are no replacement for an old Honda inline four.

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Key Takeaways

• News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets

• Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more

• Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards

• 'EVs have to be fun': Kia lifts the lid on its wild Vision Meta Turismo concept that uses a joystick as a gear shifter

• Kia wants to create an "immersive" experience for future drivers