Kia's Australian suspension tuning going global

Suspension tuning on the local version of the Proceed GT has worked so well that it has become the company's standard fitment across the globe.

The Proceed success follows an earlier breakthrough with the Sportage and could lead to a stronger connection with Kia cars for the USA.

"Our main goal is to make a car that works well for Australian conditions. And if we do the work well that makes a car that will work in all conditions, because we have some of the world's most challenging roads," says Jeff Shafer, senior product manager at Kia Motor Australia.

"Ride and handling is becoming a bigger focus for the whole company. It's a case of them seeing what we do and whether that works."

Former Toyota engineer Graeme Gambold leads the suspension team at Kia Australia and his work is regularly fed back to South Korea for everything from the baby Rio to the Carnival people mover.

But it's the Proceed that has provided the biggest breakthrough. "The Europeans tested what we are currently selling in Australia, and that's what they decided to take. But then we've done further work so they are taking that," says Shafer.

"It's not the first time. We did a local tune for the Sportage a few years ago and that was also taken up in Europe."

The local work is much more than just some tweaked dampers or a change to the anti-roll bars

The Proceed GT is built in Slovakia and Australia is the only country outside Europe where it is currently sold. An update is coming in July and that's when the Aussie suspension will go into full-scale production.

Shafer says the local work is much more than just some tweaked dampers or a change to the anti-roll bars. "In addition to the suspension, it's also the steering maps. It really works as a package.

"We wanted to deliver something that was really sporty, that the customer could feel straight away. There were a few characteristics we wanted to smooth out, in terms of the ride."

He says Kia engineers are now taking the Australian suspension work back to Korea for inclusion on a range of future products. "We just launched the new Carnival and that was the last model to get the local tune. So it's across every model in the range," he says.

"I think this is an area they are really looking at, to see where they can improve their cars. I think it's something we can all rightfully be proud of and it shows the work we are doing is acknowledged.

"It helps us with negotiation for upcoming models. It means the engineering people can give us a bit more support."