NEW YORK: The wraps are off and the new Kia Optima is finally revealed.
Conceived by Kia’s president and chief design officer, Peter Schreyer, the man with the Midas touch, the Optima maintains its athletic identity but rides on a chassis that is longer, wider and stiffer for improved ride and handling and a more spacious cabin.
Available with three engine choices, including a new 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that’s mated to a seven-speed Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT), the Optima is more confident than ever on the road.
The all-new Optima’s roomier, more luxurious cabin features an impressive level of craftsmanship that will come standard across several trim levels when sales begin in the fourth quarter of 2015 in the US.
Improving ride and handling was a top priority for engineers. Overall, the chassis is lighter and stiffer, resulting in improved steering response, high-speed stability and handling. Moving the suspension location points of the front and rear sub-frames outward optimizes suspension geometry for a smoother ride over uneven pavement. Where the previous Optima made due with dual bushing mounts, increased lateral stiffness was achieved with a four-bushing mount system for both sub-frames. The increased stiffness pays dividends in improved steering response and tractability through corners. More robust wheel bearings up front and the addition of larger dual lower control arms at the rear also help refine the all-new Optima’s ride and handling characteristics. Available Rack-mounted Motor Driven Power Steering (R-MDPS) improves steering response with a higher gear ratio.
Kia’s connectivity system, UVO2, comes standard with four additional eServices not previously available on Optima: Geo-fencing, Speed Alert, Curfew Alert and Driving Score3. Additionally, Optima is Kia’s pilot vehicle for the introduction of AndroidTM4 Auto and Apple®5 CarPlay (late availability), which allow drivers to access a suite of core functions from their smartphones.
The new Optima and the old one (below).
After connecting their smartphone to the head unit via the vehicle’s front fast-charge USB port (another fast-charge USB port is located in the rear seat), the 8-inch touchscreen screen displays the smartphone’s most important features. Core functions including music, messaging, navigation and voice calls are available via the screen, the steering wheel or via voice command. Kia is one of the first to deliver this technology, which is available for select Android phones operating with Lollipop or Apple phones operating with iOS8.X or higher. Any future third-party apps that are added by either Android or Apple will be available for customers to enjoy from their respective app store.
While the standard six-speaker audio system will satisfy most people, Kia also offers the available Infinity Premium Audio System6, which includes 14 speakers, Clari-Fi 7 technology and an upgraded 630-watt digital amplifier.
“The Optima changed the way people felt about the Kia brand, and KMA owes much of its growth and success to its head-turning design and sporty performance. It was – and still is to this day – a fresh alternative in the midsize sedan segment, and it amplified a five-year design-led transformation that propelled Kia to record-setting sales year-on-year,” said Michael Sprague, executive vice president, sales and marketing, KMA.
“The all-new Optima retains the signature personality of its predecessor, but we’ve literally improved everything, providing more space, better ride and handling, more technology and greater refinement.”
Kia has decided against producing a wagon Optima, first previewed in the Sportspace Concept at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, saying it did not think it was commercially viable.
Keyword: New Kia Optima revealed