2016 Kia Optima Evolves Into Richer Version Of Its Revolutionary Self

The current Kia Optima really helped change perceptions in a big way.

                                  

With jaunty looks, a scintillating turbocharged engine, lots of standard features, and an affordable price, not only did it sex up the Korean automaker’s image, it also prompted others to be less stodgy with their own midsize family sedans.

Though it might be hard to imagine now, with automakers putting so much emphasis on creating jazzy designs, back when the outgoing Optima first debuted in 2011, its low-slung, sports-car-like looks made it an instant standout. It was the car that kicked off a design revolution within Kia, spearheaded by chief designer Peter Schreyer.

Styling of the 2016 Optima is an evolutionary step forward. The low, arching roofline, high belt line and taught proportions carry over. But the details are different, richer. The signature “tiger-nose” front grille is slimmer. Bumpers are more sculpted. Headlights and taillights look sleeker and higher-tech.

The interior draws inspiration from the more premium Kia K900, with soft-touch materials and a cleaner look with controls that have been paired down and regrouped.

The 2016 Kia Optima’s chassis is stiffer and lighter, thanks to being comprised of more than 50 percent advanced high-strength steel.

The car is marginally larger in every dimension, which allows for more headroom, should room, rear-seat legroom and trunk space.

The two perviously available four-cylinder engines—one turbocharged, one not—carryover. They’ve been retuned for better fuel economy (official Environmental Protection Agency figures are not yet available). But as a result, peak power for both engines is down.

With an output of 185 horsepower and 178 pounds-feet, the workaday 2.4-liter four-cylinder only loses 6 horsepower and 3 pounds-feet of torque, relative to the equivalent outgoing engine. Mitigating the power downgrade is the fact the full torque is available more immediately (meaning, at lower rpm—for all you gearheads).

The turbocharged 2.0-liter engine, which turns the current Optima into a speed demon, drops a notable 27 horsepower and 9 pounds-feet of torque. But once again, full torque comes on sooner than before, meaning that drivers might not feel too much of difference in acceleration off the line. Total output for the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine is 247 horsepower and 260 pounds-feet.

Kia added a third engine for 2016: a 1.6-liter turbocharger four-cylinder will only be available on the base LX trim level. It will produce an estimated 178 horsepower and 195 pounds-feet of torque.

The new 1.6-liter engine will be paired with Kia’s first-ever dual-clutch transmission, a seven-speed. The other two engines will get a conventional six-speed automatic as before.

In keeping with Kia’s focus of offering more for less, the 2016 Optima adds features thus far available mostly on luxury cars. One example is optional “bi-functional HID” headlamps that illuminate the road around turns and automatically switch between low and high beams depending on traffic ahead.

The 2016 Kia Optima goes on sale in the fourth quarter. Pricing was not announced, but it shouldn’t be too different from that of the current model, which starts at $21,690.

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