Kia Cerato and Optima show new style

The Optima and Cerato five-door hatch take that stance much further than the somewhat blocky Sportage SUV that arrived a few months ago.  Both well-proportioned, fresh and attractive, they’ll probably be noticed in traffic long before people can get close enough to be surprised by the badge.

We’ll have to wait until early next year for the Optima, but the Cerato five-door – based on the popular Hyundai i30 platform -- arrives within weeks and carries pricing that starts at $20,240 for the Si manual and ranges up to $26,240 for the SLi automatic.

It will have a 115kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, mated to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic, the first of which Kia says will deliver a 0-100km/h speed of 9.1 seconds and a top speed of 190 kph.

The automatic has a sequential Sport mode, and F1-style paddle shifters on the steering wheel for the SLi model. It makes a Cerato trio here, joining the Koup and the sedan, and bringing with it features that will benefit those two in an upgrade later this year.  It’s the second of the Kia stable, after the recently-arrived Sportage SUV, to get suspension and steering expressly designed for Australia.

While it is still too early for confirmation of Optima pricing, there’s no secret that Kia is hoping to stir up far more interest than there was in the Magentis it replaces – and which failed to excite real interest while it was here.

However, the sleek coupe-like lines of the Optima have a very real chance of reviving the Korean brand’s presence in the mid-size field.