The Optima is dead. Long live the KIA K5 !

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It is now official! the all-new K5 sedan is replacing the Optima in the US as well.
Not sure why Ki thought it was a good idea to get rid of the Optima name. Let’s hope they won’t regret it. Like Acura and Cadillac should…
The car itself is the same impressive design we saw a while ago when it came out in Korea.
The US will get a K5. powered by a 1.6 Liter Turbo with 180HP.
And a K5 GT, with a larger 2.5 Liter Turbo with 290hp. (Option on the GT)
The new K5 is another headache for the Accord, Camry and Altima. And let’s not forget, it also competes with its cousin, the new Hyundai Sonata. Which seems to have a much cleaner interior…
Which seems better so far?
1- New K5
2- Sonata

Conversation 13 comments

  1. Based on front end design alone, the K5 is much more attractive than the Sonata. With the exception of the auto transmission handle, the interior is much better too. Can't wait to see the GT version.

  2. I've really tried to like the new Sonata but I just can't, the front is very weird, the back looks like a cheap copy of the Civic and the profile looks very plain. I do like the Sonata's interior a lot, that being said, the K5 all the way, I just don't understand why they changed the name. The Optima already had a very good reputation, this just reminds me about when Infiniti changed the G name for Q50….

  3. Interesting that when I first saw shots of this and the Sonata I thought the later was the more daring look…but, the Hyundai at less than a year out is not aging well. Sorry they dropped the Optima name. With the exception of Mazda, I can't keep alpha numeric models straight. Maybe because most are out of my price range.

  4. People in the US have been swapping the Optima badges to K5 for years.. wonder if the opposite will start happening after the name change?

  5. I think it has aged well since i first saw it, although the sides are still a little too soft and amorphous for my taste. I think time will be kinder to this than to the Sonata. No talk about pricing yet?

  6. Wonder if the US version will be getting the digital dash/dial shifter seen in some of the KDM pics?

  7. If numbers are used, then match to BMW or Audi, so this should be the K4 or K300 series.
    Prefer K300, with the Sonata being the i40.

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