Buying guide: Kia Optima

Korean saloon and estate are smart buys from just £9,000

KIA is riding on the crest of a wave right now. Launched in the UK less than 30 years ago, the brand was known for cheap-andcheerful prices and questionable styling. But, from the start, Kia’s products have been reliable and offered excellent value; while nothing has changed there, its quality and design have improved immeasurably over the past decade, and the firm now has one of the more desirable ranges on the market.

Yet as desirable as many of Kia’s cars are, the Optima has never sold in big numbers since its launch in 2012, something that can be ascribed as much to the falling popularity of saloons as anything else. That didn’t stop Kia introducing a sequel four years later, which also saw modest sales despite its wide range of talents.

History

THE second-generation Optima arrived in January 2016, priced between £21,495 and £28,895. Initially offered only in 1.7 CRDi diesel saloon form, there were three trim grades and six-speed manual or sevenspeed dual-clutch automatic transmissions.

In September 2016, Kia added an Optima SW (estate) with the same engine and trim options; this had a premium of £800-£1,000 over the saloon, depending on trim.

Kia’s first plug-in hybrid arrived at the same time, with a 154bhp 2.0-litre petrol engine and 67bhp electric motor, while the Optima SW PHEV was introduced in September 2017, along with a 2.0 T-GDi turbo petrol model. The range was facelifted in 2018 with a 1.6-litre diesel motor replacing the 1.7-litre, and a fresh nose, extra driverassistance systems, plus better connectivity.

FROM £9,000 Optima ticks lots of boxes to make the saloon and estate sound options for families