Kia revitalises Cee’d range, previews new Optima

Kia is going to have a busy Geneva motor show. While brother brand (and frequent rival) Hyundai will be unveiling its new Tuscon compact crossover _ the replacement for the ix35 – Kia is at last having a crack at a mid-size family estate to take on the likes of the Mondeo wagon and Passat estate.

It will be based on the saloon version of the new Optima, which is being previewed by this Sportspace concept – a concept with more than a hint of Alfa Romeo about it, and an indication of how Kia’s current styling will develop and evolve. It’s also more of a hint about how much more seriously Kia is taking the European family saloon market. The current Optima has always been a touch half-hearted – stuck with its US-centric suspension settings and cabin, and lacking the low-Co2 version of its 1.7-litre CRDI diesel engine as deployed by the mechanically similar Hyundai i40.

All of that is set to change with the new Optima, which will be much more closely geared to European tastes, while the slinky new styling language is designed to snare the sort of buyer who might fancy a BMW 3 Series but can’t quite stretch the budget that far.

“We set out to design a car that is a totally new breed of grand tourer — one for active people who need reasonable cargo space on the weekend, but don’t want to compromise moving around in style, comfort and with an element of sportiness,” said Gregory Guillaume, chief designer of Kia Europe. With more than half of sales in this segment in Europe being estates (albeit a much lower proportion here in Ireland) it’s a market that Kia can’t afford to ignore.

In similar vein, Kia is also getting on the downsized petrol bandwagon. With diesels coming under increasing pressure from an environmental point of view, and with that pressure leading to higher development costs and therefore purchase prices, buyers are slowly but surely turning back to petrol. Kia is aiming at the Ford EcoBoost and Opel’s new EcoTec range with the new 1.0-litre T-GDI three-cylinder petrol turbo, which will make its debut in a refreshed Cee’d hatchback range.

Fitted with a six-speed manual transmission, the new engine boasts 120hp and 172Nm of torque, but Kia hasn’t released any emissions or fuel consumption data yet, as the engine is still being officially homologated. Also in the midst of that process is the existing 1.6-litre diesel engine, which is getting an upgrade from 125hp to 133hp and from 265Nm to 285Nm.

Kia has also developed a new seven-speed DCT dual-clutch gearbox that can be optionally specced on both of these engines – it’s Kia’s first dual-clutch box and replaces the old six-speed conventional automatic.

And for buyers who want any of the above with a sportier look, Kia is now offering a ‘GT-Line’ pack which apes the more muscular styling of the slow-selling 190hp Cee’d GT hot hatch, with chunkier bumpers, sports exhaust and 17” alloy wheels.