If latest renderings are to be believed, the 2021 Kia Optima will put many other sedans to shame with its head-turning design
Currently in its fourth-generation avatar, the Kia Optima looks handsome and is one of the safest cars in its segment. It has won International Car of the Year award (ICOTY) twice and was the first Korean car to win the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Touring Sport. In short, if the Kia Optima was a human, this car would have been the guy all girls would have been crushing over.
The 2021 Optima was spotted testing in August this year, and was officially teased by the Korean carmaker recently. The internet has wasted no time in creating renderings of what the production-spec car could look like in real life.
Going by the renderings, the Optima gets an all new front fascia, featuring Kia’s signature ‘tiger nose’ grille, with headlamps merging with the grille on both sides to make the design look seamless. The elongated LED DRLs with their “S” shaped design, grab the most attention at the front-end.
At the rear, an LED strip runs through the boot lid connecting both the tail lamps. The window chrome garnish has been extended and runs through the C pillar and the rear windshield to meet at the other end. The multi-spoke two-tone alloy wheels complete the look on the outside.
A shot of the interiors of the 2021 Optima was also teased, which revealed a fully-digital instrument cluster along with a large touchscreen infotainment unit to its right. The traditional gear lever has been replaced by a rotary dial, and Kia seems to be trying to clean the clutter on the inside by providing lesser physical buttons.
The current fourth-gen Kia Optima shares its platform with the Hyundai Sonata. It is offered with 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre turbo petrol engines. The former is good for 178 HP/264 Nm while the latter makes 245 HP of power and 353 Nm torque. A 2.4-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine is also offered, which makes 185 HP of max power and 241 Nm peak torque.