Kia’s last redesign of the Optima was actually pretty surprising as previous versions of the car were nothing more than bland, somewhat cheaper alternatives to the Hyundai Sonata. With the redesign, however, the Optima became the more appealing of the two, which is why the car has risen to become the best-selling car for South Korea’s second-largest automaker, an impressive feat to say the least. That redesign was introduced back in 2010 at the New York International Auto Show and now, five years later, Kia has returned with a brand new redesign that looks like it will only further solidify the Optima’s dominance.
Described by Kia as having a more mature styling, the 2016 Optima is both longer and wider than its predecessor, which not only adds more cabin space, it also improves ride and handling. Crash protection has also been enhanced by Kia’s decision to use more adhesives, high-strength steel, and hot-stamped components which also result in a somewhat quitter ride. There are also a collection of smaller changes that help to enhance the vehicle’s aerodynamics, improve steering response, make the vehicle lighter, and much more.
The automaker also improved the Kia’s infotainment system, an important aspect in today’s market, which features integration for both Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto, the first Kia vehicle to do so. People who enjoy streaming music in their car will be happy to hear that the new Optima comes equipped with a 630-watt Infinity system with 14 speakers. Some of the Optima’s other electronic additions include a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise, automatic braking, blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, and a collection of other information-based features that will help make driving the Optima as simple and easy as possible.
All in all the redesign looks very impressive, definitely not as revolutionary as the Optima’s last redesign, but impressive nonetheless. Kia will be releasing the updated car sometime this year but hasn’t announced for what price. However, we do know that, at launch, the 2016 Optima will come with three four-cylinder engine choices and five trim levels: LX, LX Turbo, EX, SX Turbo, SXL.
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