Optima shows Kia turning design corner

And it's finally the turn of the mid-sized flagship sedan, which we knew as the Magentis that faded from our showrooms about a year ago..
The Optima is the new Magentis, and has reappeared not just with a new name but a new everything else to boot.

The Magentis never really fired the imagination in Australia, but Kia hopes that will change with this car.  It's a new vehicle from grille to tail, with a bolder look, which the brand's chief designer Peter Schreyer cites as having 'athletic and visual sporting energy'.

While you can often write off that sort of statement as PR optimism, in this case the Optima does have a noticeably better sculpted body, with strong lines over the shoulders and flanks set off by more muscular wheel arches.

Schreyer says the development of the design was swift and smooth, with the brand's three main design nodes working in concert.  "The final exterior was from the Frankfurt studio, the interior came from the studio in California, and the refinement was done in Korea," Schreyer says.

"We had some scale models done, and finally we had two full sizes done but there was one that had a lot of character and I always thought 'this is it' and it was it.  And it didn't change that much from say the first development to the end and it still has that kind of character and I think that's what makes it."

Schreyer says partly because the design concept was so fully resolved from the start, and partly due to Kia's well-meshed organizational operations, the development of the Optima was very swift - but its speed surprised even him.

"That was very quick, and it was quick because we had the idea from the beginning. And the way our company works is really fast. sometimes I'm stunned we deliver a full size model and then a few months later I come back to Korea, and walk in to our presentation room and there is a prototype.

"It's like wow, it's really amazing how fast this goes sometimes . it's unbelievable. And in this case also we were kind of lucky that we had a very substantial design from the beginning.  Also there was no bounds, there was no 'maybe we have to change it' and that would delay this and that. It was very smooth."

And that smoothness is echoed in the body design itself. While it's a four-door, Kia has followed the trend for coupe-ish shaping that trims the profile and lends some aerodynamic benefit in reducing drag - which is down to 0.29 from the previous 0.32) -- and hence also fuel consumption.

The car launched in Paris has plenty of opportunity to be dressed up even further, with optional spec-ups in the form of a mesh grille, body kit, LED daytime running lights and tail lamps and 18-in wheels with larger discs and black calipers.

It looks very purposeful, and sitting longer, lower and wider on a longer wheelbase, it promises improved handling and road manners - an aspect Kia worked hard on with the recently launched Sportage SUV.  In Europe it will be launched with two new engines: the 125kW 2.0-litre petrol and the 100kW/330Nm turbocharged 'U2' 1.7-litre diesel which has an optional stop-start system, but there are no firm decisions yet on drivetrains for Australia.

The petrol aims for frugality, with continuously variable valve technology and two-stage variable induction chipping in some effort.  And adding the optional stop-start to the diesel reduces the CO2 from 122g/km to 113g/km.

However, we are unlikely to get the system at this stage, as it's shackled to the six-speed manual transmission, whereas Kia would probably prefer to bring the six-speed automatic that should prove to be a more attractive choice to Australian buyers.

"The problem for Australia is the percentage of auto uptake in that market is huge, it's like 82 per cent," Kia Australia's new chief operating officer Tony Barlow says.

"I'm sure at some stage they will come up with an automatic transmission. We're still looking at it with the manual transmissions but it's like everything - you have to do a study, make sure it's viable, and we can get some numbers out of it."

However Barlow says Australia has its eye on a more powerful 150kW/245Nm 2.4-litre direct-injection four-cylinder petrol engine, which is likely to be mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.  "The 2.4-litre is the favourite at this point, but we're still investigating it," he says.

There are also no decisions yet on the fit-out and spec for Australia, but the Paris car included solar glass, powered lumbar support for the drivers seat, indicators in the side mirrors and six-speaker CD, with automatically folding mirrors and parking assist on the options list.

And we're yet to hear about pricing, which for the Magentis hovered beween mid-$25,000 and $30,000 depending on spec. But Kia aims to give the Optima the best possible start.

"The competition's tough but we'll continue our strategic pricing policies in that area and I think it's going to be a very competitive package," Barlow says.  "I think it's really going to take that segment by surprise. Itt's a real challenger product and that's what we're looking for."