Kia is hard at work to refresh the Optima midsize sedan.
Ahead of its official public premiere, we are bringing you exclusive spy shots of the subtly restyled Kia Optima mid-size sedan.
Set to go on sale in the second half of 2013, the revised Optima mid-size sedan will make its official public premiere at the forth-coming New York Auto Show, which kicks off on March 27!
Up until now, the automobile spies have caught several heavily-camouflaged Optima prototypes testing on the U.S. soil, but with the official launching date approaching fast, the Optima test cars are starting to lose the cladding and show us more of their refreshed skin.
The latest spy images from South Korea show the Optima facelift with a partly undisguised rear-end which features a set of subtly restyled tail-lamps and updated rear bumper.
Up front, the 2014 Optima incorporates a slightly refreshed honey comb grille and LED day-time running lights. Hidden from the public eyes are restyled front bumper new fog-lamps and other equally subtle design changes.
There’s no word yet on likely engine line-ups for the 2014 Optima, but you can expect the current 4-cylinder engine line-up (2,4L GDI and 2,0L turbo) to carry over, though with significant revisions to make them even more responsive and environmentally friendly! [Photosource: Hankyung]
Kia Optima facelift spy shots
Especially since they benchmarked the Fusion….
The K9 is higher priced, and in a much more reserved market than the Cadenza. If the Optima and Cadenza were competing in the same market, it would be a different story, but they aren’t. It’s like saying that the new Forte is going to steal away Optima sales…..umm, no, it’s in a different market.
So the Fusion steals sales from the Taurus? The Altima steals sales from the Maxima? The Camry steals sales from the Avalon? The Malibu steals sales from the Impala? I could go on….
They ALL have overlapping pricing structures. The Optima’s class is simply a larger volume selling class. When you take the mathematical ratio of sales difference between a manufacturer’s full size and mid size offerings, I have no doubt the Cadenza will reflect similar numbers to everyone else. The Cadenza already has an advantage – V6 engine. Regardless of how much power or efficiency you can pull from a turbo-4, there are still people that want a V6, and don’t care how much power or efficiency the turbo-4 gives. An entry level Cadenza with all of its standard features will probably cost about the same as a loaded EX Optima – with similar features, larger dimensions, and V6 engine. That is going to appeal to a lot of people, more than just “looks”. Even after the facelift, I have no doubt that the Cadenza will still look more mature than the Optima.
From what I can see from the spy shots, don’t like the changes to the tail light design and I hope the designers didn’t mess around too much with the front fascia of the SX.
Even tho being an older model, the Optima has held up very well against the newer competition, only being beaten out by the Accord and Fusion (but finishing ahead of the Altima, Camry as well as the Sonata in comparison tests).
In the Cars.com/Motorweek/USA Today comparison, the Fusion just barely edged out the Optima for 2nd place (think if they had tested the top-trims, the Optima may have finished ahead of the Fusion), so that bodes well for a refreshed Optima.
As for the Cadenza, it won’t be a huge seller, but it’ll do fine.
The Optima is better looking in most respects, but the Cadenza has a nicer interior and some buyers just want a V6 under the hood.
The Azera has been selling about 800 units a month due to limited supply for the US market (the Azera is still one of the biggest sellers in Korea) and due to that Hyundai is only offering the Azera pretty much fully loaded (no lower end trim to increase sales).
I expect Kia to do the same with the Cadenza.
Also, Kia was never going to bring over the Cadenza/K7 soon after it launched in Korea since the US market simply wasn’t ready for a $30k+ Kia sedan.
The Cadenza needed the current Optima to lay the groundwork for buyers to get used to a better (and higher priced) Kia (the Sorento also helped in that regard).
Cause the Optima hybrid looks unreal whereas other two you mention look like weird as whitegoods with wheels