Kia has been revealed in South Korea the facelift for the Korean Kia Optima, also known as K5, that confirms the slight changes that has received and we told you a few weeks ago.
The facelifted Optima has been suffered small design changes, with a new Kia Cadenza inspired front grille, new alloy wheels designs, as well as redesigned front and rear bumpers. Despite this changes, had the same front headlighs & taillights (except for a new interior design stripes).
Improved interior, with the latest safety & technology systems has been applied on this facelift. Full LED headlights, smart cruise control & autonomous emergency brake, alloy wheels, colours, steering wheel, etc… but the still using the same infotainment system.
The Kia K5 will be offered with a the same engines as before, all shared with other models from Hyundai & Kia, like the 1.6-liter T-GDi with 180 hp and 195 pound-feet (265 Newton-meters) of torque, a 1.7-liter CRDi Diesel engine with 141 hp and 251 lb-ft (340 Nm), a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter mill producing 163 hp and 145 lb-ft (196 Nm), and an LPG 2.0-liter producing 151 hp and 143 lb-ft (194 Nm).
Just cosmetics tweaks and maybe not enough to re-launch the sales of this model worldwide.
Hyundai and Kia need to start making their safety technology suite standard on all their models, as Honda and Toyota do in the U.S. market. Also, they should put together better powertrain combinations, like the 1.6T and 8-speed automatic, to remain competitive.