Kia Keeps the Punches Coming With its New Optima: First Official Photos

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Getting ready to debut its tiger-style in New York is the Kia Optima or, in other markets' case, the Magentis. Set to go on sale this Fall (Spring 2011 in Europe), the new Optima is clearly light years ahead of the outgoing model in regards to looks.

Big news other than the leap forward in design is that, much like the recently-debuted Sportage, the new model is "longer, wider, and lower"; that seems to be the name of the game.

This, along with its longer wheelbase, will provide more space in order to go up against D-segment top dogs like the Passat, Camry, and Mondeo.

Considering that the Optima is essentially Kia's tasty take on cousin Hyundai's Sonata, we can probably expect the same power trains and hybrid systems in the future. For any official specs, we'll have to wait until Kia's ready (but that shouldn't be long).

Peter Schreyer, Kia Chief Design Officer and owner of a very emotionless title, says, "The next generation Optima possesses the power to surprise." Couldn't have said it better myself.

Thanks for making my job all the easier, Mr. Shreyer. In regards to that new look that's putting ToyoHonda to shame: 잘만들었다.

Oh, and check out the gallery below to see just how different this new Optima is compared to the decidedly outdated old model.

- By Phil Alex

2011 KIA OPTIMA SEDAN