- Kia will formally unveil its new 2011 Optima at the 2010 New York Auto Show.
- Only two photos of the future Optima have been released.
- Pricing has not yet been announced, but is likely to be similar to the outgoing Optima.
SEOUL, South Korea — The redesigned 2011 Kia Optima, which will arrive in U.S. showrooms in the fall, will make its world debut at the upcoming 2010 New York Auto Show, said Kia.
Kia's U.S. spokesman Alex Fedorak told Inside Line on Friday, in response to an e-mailed query, that there is "no clue about pricing, but judging how we've done it in the recent past, expect pricing to be similar to [the] current Optima."
The base 2010 Kia Optima LX starts at $18,690, including a $695 destination charge.
The redesigned Optima now picks up the look of the new Kia Forte, Sorento and Sportage.
"The striking visage of the Optima features a new interpretation of Kia's bold 'tiger' family face that's edged by piercing projector headlamps," said Kia in a statement.
Technical specs have not been revealed, but Kia said the Optima will be "longer, wider and lower than before" with a raked roof line, high shoulder line and flared wheel arches.
The Optima is the work of Peter Schreyer, Kia's chief design officer and the former director of design at Audi.
Inside Line says: Has Kia's German design boss adopted the BMW ethic of "one sausage, three sizes"? — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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txguy977 says:
09:44 AM, 04/01/2010
http://www.kia.com/#/upcoming/?fvVehicleID=optima&fvPageID=features
According to that site, it will have a 2.0 turbo 4 cylinder (SX model) with 274 hp!
wikiwiki says:
11:12 AM, 03/24/2010
These new Korean cars are looking and sounding awesome. Wish I could say the same about the latest American cars have to offer. These Korean cars look way more cutting edge. Retro is so stupid. Why not think harder and come up with cars like these?
nutsaboutcars says:
02:31 PM, 03/19/2010
Since the new sonata is not avail with a v6..Iam hoping this would be
n2guru says:
12:54 PM, 03/16/2010
It's certainly a better version of the TSX, style wise, without the hideous bottle opener. And if the Sonata is an indication of the possibilities for this car, I can't wait for it, to debut! Maybe the the DI turbo four is slated for this car? Love the LED lights up front. Another winner from Hyundai/Kia!
j2j says:
09:19 PM, 03/15/2010
I'm not saying that the Hyundai/Kia relationship is totally like what the Ford/Mazda relationship was, but it is more like the Ford/Mazda relationship than Ford/Lincoln or Toyota/Lexus.
Btw, back in 1997, Ford had a controlling 33.9% interest in Mazda (which is greater than Hyundai's current stake in Kia) - which not only resulted in almost total platform sharing (as well as many engines), but also the 1st non-Japanese CEO of a Japanese automaker.
@jsc4321
- While Kia will still undercut Nissan products in price, I'd say the new Kia lineup is on par, if not nicer in certain instances, than the Nissan lineup.
Rio - Versa (Rio in dire need of replacement; edge to Versa)
Soul - Cube (pretty even; might give a slight advantage to the Soul)
Forte/Koup - Sentra (the Sentra has seen better days; edge to Forte)
New Optima - Altima (considering that the Optima will be very similar to the Sonata, most likely edge to Optima)
Cadenza - Maxima (will be interesting to see how the Cadenza matches up to the Maxima)
Upcoming Sportage - Rogue (likely comparable)
Sorento - Murano (comparable)
Borrego - Pathfinder (comparable)
The one thing is that Nissan has a fuller lineup w/ pick-ups and a full size SUV (Armada); but Kia is in development of a high-end RWD sports sedan based on a shortened Genesis platform.
lawboy26 says:
05:46 PM, 03/15/2010
I see a lot of Audi A6 at the rear quarter of the Optima. This is definitely not the Kia of the 1990s. It will be interesting to see how it sells with new Altima, Malibu, & Accord on the way in 2012/2013
jsc4321 says:
11:51 AM, 03/15/2010
@j2j: I agree...Hyundai competes with Toyota. I would also add Honda to the list. I think Kia competes well with Nissan but I'm not so sure it's their direct competitor. Nissan does make nicer and more expensive cars than Kia.
I don't think this looks anything like the Sonata....they're smart to hire Peter Schreyer to design their cars.
mohatu says:
11:31 AM, 03/15/2010
"The redesigned Optima now picks up the look of the new Kia Forte, Sorento and Sportage"
To be fair, those three listed picked it up FROM the '09 Optima (on sale, AFAIC, November 2008), which was the first Kia with a new corporate 'face'.
ed124c says:
05:51 AM, 03/15/2010
@vic_pe: I wondered about that also, until I went from "Straightline" to "News" and saw that there are two separate blog threads on this car.
I am amused by how many people are shocked that similar design elements appear on many cars. Ever see a 1930s family sedan? Try to tell the difference between a Chevy and a Plymouth.
And even Auburns, Cords and Duesenbergs of that era look somewhat alike.
The bottom line is that KIA has designed a unique looking vehicle which is also quite attractive. That is not easy to do-- just ask Acura.
tbone85 says:
05:19 AM, 03/15/2010
40% ownership of a public company by any single entity is usually an indicator of strong influence or more likely outright control. I'm no expert on business law in Korea, but it seems logical that unless another single entity owns more than 40% of the remaining shares, then Hyndai would have a far easier time gathering a 50.1% voting majority than other share owners. They also could decimate the stock price of Kia if they elected to sell off a large quantity of shares. Those two chips would seem to indicate strong influence or outright control.