Kia Motors' redesigned K5 [Optima] mid-sized compact car went on sale in the South Korean market last week with the global roll-out to follow in 2020.
The third-generation car is available with four engine variants: 2.0-litre petrol; 1.6-litre petrol turbo: 2.0-litre LPi; and 2.0-litre petrol-hybrid. Prices start at KRW24m (US$20,500) for the entry-level model, rising to KRW34m depending on specification.
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Kia said it had received 16,000 pre-orders for the model in the past month and had set a domestic sales target of 70,000 units for 2020, compared with just 30,600 actual sales in the first 10 months of 2019. Demand for conventional passenger cars in South Korea has weakened in recent years in favour of SUVs and crossovers.
The new K5 has sharper, bolder features than its predecessor including a more aggressive front end with a prominent bumper incorporating large air intake vents and multibeam LED headlamps.
The car features a voice recognition system which operates the air conditioning system, windows, seat heaters, steering wheel heater and other functions.
It also includes safety features such as lane keeping and following assist, forward collision avoidance, rear cross traffic collision avoidance and blind spot collision avoidance systems.
