MOTORING: KIA reveals upgraded K5 sedan

Kampala, Uganda | MOTORING GURU | Car maker, Kia has revealed an upgraded K5 sedan in South Korea offering a new look of the new 2018 Optima.

Bringing fresh front and rear designs, new alloy wheels and more technology, the facelifted mid-size sedan features a more aggressive front bumper with three-part lower LED lamps instead of foglights and a revised grille with vertical slats.

Out back there are fresh LED tail-lights atop a reshaped rear bumper with relocated reflectors and new contrasting-colour diffuser element with twin oval exhaust outlets.

Inside, there’s a different four-spoke multifunction steering wheel, new LED ambient interior lighting and revised trims including a luxurious quilted leather option.

Finally, Kia has fitted an updated infotainment system with surround-view functionality and new driver aid called Highway Assist, which works with the adaptive cruise control and lane assist systems to provide semi-autonomous high-speed functionality.

However, despite the fact the Optima was the only Kia model to decline in popularity last year, when the new Stinger large sedan was launched with a $45,990 starting price, it’s clear that Kia’s direct rival for the Toyota Camry and Mazda6 will not be discontinued.

Chief operating officer Damien Meredith recently told motoring.com.au that Kia Australia was currently rethinking its Optima strategy, in light of the Stinger’s success and the mid-year arrival of the Korean car-maker’s larger new Cerato sedan, which debuted at the Detroit motor show earlier this month.

“There’s two issues we’ve got to look at,” said Meredith at the time. “One is that we did have a strategy in place for Optima; how we’re going to handle it, put it back into the market and make it more competitive.

“I think that we will have to review that with what we saw in Detroit, with the new Cerato sedan. It’s a big car. I think the top end of the Cerato sedan will put pressure on the Optima, so we’ve got to rethink that.

“Personally I don’t want to cut it [Optima] loose at all, but we’ve got to make sure it fits in between the new Cerato sedan, which is a bigger car, and obviously the Stinger.

“We’ve got a bit of homework to do on itIt’s not as easy as just re-pricing the car and de-speccing it and things like that. We’ve got to work smarter than that.”