Look for a New York Auto Show debut for the 2011 Kia Optima.
If the name, Kia, calls to mind cheap and cheerful subcompacts, you might think again after checking out these renderings of the new midsize sedan the Korean carmaker plans to unveil at the upcoming New York Auto Show.
Kia has been making a move up-market, it recent years – though not quite as successfully as its sibling, Hyundai. The new model, which replaces the outgoing Optima, could prove a big step forward for Kia.
Set to reach dealer showrooms in the fall of 2010, the 2011 Kia Optima will be longer, lower and wider than the old model. It features a “significantly longer” wheelbase than the old ’10 Optima, Kia says, (though it’s holding hard numbers for the NY Auto Show preview). That should translate into a fair bit more interior passenger and cargo space. The comparable Hyundai Sonata, for example, slips into the EPA “Large Car” category in terms of cabin room, though it sits on a midsize platform.
The 2011 Kia Optima will be longer, lower and wider than the old model, with a "significantly longer" wheelbase, the maker hints.
Also like Hyundai, Kia has been putting a premium on upgrading its design language, which has tended towards the stodgy and derivative on past models. These images suggest the 2011 Kia Optima will be a fair bit bolder and more athletic in appearance, with a coupe-like roofline, a high beltline, the sort of tall decklid seen on luxury cars, and a particularly strong hoodline.
Whether the details seen here carry over to the production model remains to be seen, of course, but the general theme suggests that Kia is aiming to overcome its old reputation and hopes to go after more mainstream competitors, like Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Ford Fusion.
Also known as Magentis, in some markets, the next-generation Kia Optima will also launch in Europe early next year.