Kia has revealed details and images of its new generation Optima saloon, which will make its first public appearance at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show. It will launch across Europe in the final quarter of this year.
The exterior shape and design is very similar to before, save for some more premium-looking redesigns for the grille and headlights. That might make some assume at first that this is simply a facelift for the Optima, but it is in fact the all-new, fourth generation of the family car.
Although the chassis is not entirely new, Kia says it has retuned it, making it lighter and stiffer than before. These changes should improve the ride and handling of this saloon, with a new suspension package also helping in this regard. Another major difference with the new Optima is that it is made of much more high-strength steel than before, making the bodyshell 50 per cent stronger.
The body itself has grown too, thanks to a 10mm increase in the length of the wheelbase. The Optima is now also 10mm taller and 25mm wider. Thanks to all of this, and the redesigned rear seats inside, the Optima offers 25mm more legroom. The interior design is in general more sophisticated than before and rear passengers even now gets separate heater vents.
A new eight-inch touchscreen is a highlight of the redesigned dash, and this will be able to control Kia’s Connected Services apps which include satellite navigation.
Like its predecessor, the new Optima will be offered with just a single diesel engine from launch in Britain – a 1.7-litre unit linked to a six-speed manual gearbox. This has been upgraded however, now producing 5bhp extra to deliver 139bhp in total. CO2 emissions are also decreased by 14g/km to just 110g/km in total.
Adaptive cruise control and blind spot detection are among the safety features available for the new Optima.
At the moment, there’s no plan to bring a petrol engine to new UK Optimas, but a plug-in hybrid version is expected to arrive during 2016. Next year, an estate version of the new Optima will reportedly make its first public appearance.
Pricing for the new Optima saloon is unconfirmed but likely to start from about £19,000.
